Oh I did it. Here's the pic I was talking about. Does anyone remember Sanford & Son? Well this brings back memories of my childhood....that's exactly what my Dad's truck looked like as long as I can remember...he's come full circle!

Elizabeth I'm a comin. Love that tailgate decal Hoop.

Thanks for the info Kelly. I knew he would be a "man on a mission" doing the most he can. I reconize a couple pics....man !! I am going to give him a buzz...

I have been sending disaster equipment down like crazy the past week plus and have had to do so via "courier".. All regular shipping, tourism, travel, etc. has been shut down. It is pretty crazy..

The last picture of flooded area was in Venice area where a feeder band gave them 7 - 10 inches in about 2 hours. I was trying to drive in that mess.

First of all I want to thank all who wished us luck and prayers. Y'all are my insperation. I am thankfull I have friends like you.

It was an interesting experience to say the least. I will try to let you know how things went down here. The innitial storm was to be a tropical storm. We don't get nervous untill a cat 2 so I just took precautions and settled in. We lost power at 13:15 on the 28th. The rest of the area lost power on the 29th. The storm sat on us for about 3 days. My cat Buddy hid under the bed most of those 3 days. Both cats never got near the door to the screened in porch which is thier favorite place in the house.

I don't know if it was the first or second night but around midnight or 1:00 am I get a call that the water is splashing over the 18 foot levee in Buras across from the firehouse. I have my EPIRB attached to my life jacket and the cat carriers each had a life jacket attached to them. My truck was backed up th the Americat and all I had to do was pull it ahead and when the water came in I would cut the strap and run the boat as best I could untill I could beach it on a levee. The cats and I would then have to sit there untill rescue came. That senerieo never came.

The third day I took a ride to see what had happened. The rain was still hitting us but the wind had changed direction and was letting up.



Just down the street was part of a neighbor's porch blocking the road.



Across the road on a side street was a singlewide 70 footer that was never anchored down. It was flipped upside down and crushed.



Every where you looked camper trailors weather anchored or not were tossed around like twigs.



The power system was in shambles. I even had to pull a pole off the road with my truck to open it up. I teamed up with a young neighbor and we started removing debris and trees in order to make all roads accessable. I helped cover homes with tarps.



These cattle were roaming along Hwy 23 at Fort Jackson and 2 pit bulls were trying to attack them. I would have interviened but the cattle were doing quite well. There were a lot of people that left pets behind to fend for themselves. This is one thing I did not like at all. Most people could not get in for a week and several pets sat on vehicles or porches waiting for the owners to return. They got food and water as best they could.

I went 8 days before we had full running water. Flushed the toilet with water from the pool. Had a trickle of water, about 2 1/2 gals in 3 hours, so I could wash up each day. We were already under a water emergency because of saltwater in our drinking water before the storm. We did not have a police force for 4 or 5 days. The flooding north of us cut us off from the rest of the United States. Went 13 days without electricity. Just got land line phone today. Directv was scheduled for repair the 26th but after several days of calling I got it moved up to the 20th.

Several evenings I would take a break from doing something and wet a line off the side of the road. I was supplying many people with flounder and redfish. Got some nice park and cast honey holes.

Had a job for the last 2 days salvaging a steel long line boat. It hit the rocks at southwest pass and sank in 10 minutes This was not storm related. Do not know the story but 3 people were heloed out by the coast guard.



After the CG had all the fuel removed the owner never came to claim it so the CG gave the order to cut it loose. It is in very shallow water. After 2 days of hard work there it sits.



For this job I ran this boat bringing people and supplies to the work barge. I also set out boom and even pushed the barge when asked to move it againsr the wind and currant.



The boat I ran was called Miss Joanne.



Today was my first day offshore again. We hit some shrimp boats. Only a few dragging nets and not in good water. Marked some fish but could not get anything to bite. Did manage 3 blackfin before giving up. Had a lot of bonito and skippies for action. Dropped for amberjack and quickly limited out on them. Went looking for cobia on the way in and lost a good one at the boat. Spit the hook. Did get a nasty bluefish about 5 pounds and had a jig stollen by a kingfish. Same people tomorrow. Should do better.



Things are starting to get back to normal-------Not So Fast!!!!

On the way home my belt on the truck breaks. Made it into the yard with no brakes, no steering, etc. NO FISHING for me. Have to bum a ride to town and get a belt for the truck. Town is only 55-60 miles away.

Just another bump in the road. Would not trade it for any other place.

Have a lot of interesting pictures on my phone and some vidio but do not know how to download it.

Life is Good!

Glad your safe Hoop and life is getting back to normal for you.