The Adventure Begins

Saturday, November 13th

We spent a leisurely day tying up loose ends at home and then took off for Midway.  After clearing security (Why do I always forget to wear slip-on shoes when flying?), Colleen suddenly brightened up.  There in front of us in the food court was Manny’s Deli, one of the benefits of flying out of Midway.  (It's one of her favorite delis.)  We had enough time to split a corned beef on rye before our flight left.

When we got to the departure lounge Colleen noticed a group of ladies the next row over.  She had found out somehow a few weeks ago that there was a group from Maywood who was also flying to New Orleans and commented that she had a feeling that they were also headed for Nuns’ Build.  So I sidled over and asked them if they were familiar with the St. Bernard Project.  Bingo!  They were part of a group of 18 folks traveling from St. Eulalia’s Parish, which is right near Loyola Medical Center.  We spent a few minutes getting acquainted before the flight.

The flight was uneventful.  I spent a glorious two plus hours reading the WSJ and the Sunday Trib (which we buy on Saturday – go figure).  Colleen read Grisham’s latest The Confession on her iPad.

After collecting our bags, we were met by our hostess, Sister Frances Duos.  She followed us to Enterprise where we picked up our car.  (They give a 10% volunteer discount for those who are working on rebuilding efforts.)  Our trip started in typical metropolitan neighborhoods, then along interstates.  We crossed water at least twice and drove past refineries and ports with huge lit-up loading cranes.  The landscape became sparser and more desolate, and finally we were cruising along absolutely pitch-dark country roads.  After about 45 minutes, we finally turned off onto a country road.