another update
I just sent the message below out as an email to many friends and family, but wanted to just copy it to my LJ in order to inform those of you who I don't have email addresses for. Here is the latest update:
I just wanted to send out a quick email to as many of you as possible to let you know our current situation. Sean, I and our two cats are currently safe in Birmingham, AL with three other friends, their three dogs and one cat (we make quick a traveling menagerie in all) at our friend, Heather's parents home. We arrived here this evening at around 7:30pm after a 12 hour drive from Canton, TX, where we spent two nights in a motel. We are planning on staying here for another day or two (it's so nice to be in an actual home, with home cooked food, I can't even explain), and then we think we are going to take up our friend, Jen's (Otter), offer of a place to stay in Pensacola.
We have no idea what condition our condo is in, and although we have heard that the Uptown area has remained relatively dry until now, there are several levees that have broken and we are increasingly concerned about what we will eventually come home to find. We are struggling to keep our spirits up, but it's becoming pretty difficult to do even that at this point. The best things we have going for us is, of course, the fact that we are safe and healthy and have food, water and shelter. We are so grateful for our friends with whom we evacuated, and the help of every person along the way. We are so grateful for your support - every call and email sustains us and helps to keep us going during this overwhelmingly sad time.
We are not sure how long it will be before we are allowed to even go back to New Orleans to survey the damage to our own property, and of course, this affects our wedding plans. We are not 100% sure in making any decisions, but we would like to let everyone know that it appears that the airlines are currently allowing refunds and/or credits for flights purchased to New Orleans in October (and earlier, of course). We will send out something more official as soon as possible, but it is looking like we will be forced to postpone the wedding indefinitely until we have a better idea of where we stand. I'm sorry I don't have something more definite to say at this point.
Please keep us in your thoughts, but more importantly, please direct your thoughts and prayers to those who were unable to leave the city, as we are so much more fortunate than they are right now. I hope that this email finds all of you doing well, and I'll do my best to keep you updated as we continue on our journey.
I just wanted to send out a quick email to as many of you as possible to let you know our current situation. Sean, I and our two cats are currently safe in Birmingham, AL with three other friends, their three dogs and one cat (we make quick a traveling menagerie in all) at our friend, Heather's parents home. We arrived here this evening at around 7:30pm after a 12 hour drive from Canton, TX, where we spent two nights in a motel. We are planning on staying here for another day or two (it's so nice to be in an actual home, with home cooked food, I can't even explain), and then we think we are going to take up our friend, Jen's (Otter), offer of a place to stay in Pensacola.
We have no idea what condition our condo is in, and although we have heard that the Uptown area has remained relatively dry until now, there are several levees that have broken and we are increasingly concerned about what we will eventually come home to find. We are struggling to keep our spirits up, but it's becoming pretty difficult to do even that at this point. The best things we have going for us is, of course, the fact that we are safe and healthy and have food, water and shelter. We are so grateful for our friends with whom we evacuated, and the help of every person along the way. We are so grateful for your support - every call and email sustains us and helps to keep us going during this overwhelmingly sad time.
We are not sure how long it will be before we are allowed to even go back to New Orleans to survey the damage to our own property, and of course, this affects our wedding plans. We are not 100% sure in making any decisions, but we would like to let everyone know that it appears that the airlines are currently allowing refunds and/or credits for flights purchased to New Orleans in October (and earlier, of course). We will send out something more official as soon as possible, but it is looking like we will be forced to postpone the wedding indefinitely until we have a better idea of where we stand. I'm sorry I don't have something more definite to say at this point.
Please keep us in your thoughts, but more importantly, please direct your thoughts and prayers to those who were unable to leave the city, as we are so much more fortunate than they are right now. I hope that this email finds all of you doing well, and I'll do my best to keep you updated as we continue on our journey.