The citizens of New Orleans have worked very hard to recover from such a disaster that almost ended the city that we all know and love. A big impact on the recovery was the football team the New Orleans Saints. In 2009, this past season, they won the first Superbowl for the city since their beginning. You can say that if you live in New Orleans you are a Saints fan. This team and its fans took advantage of the championship season to not only lift the spirits of New Orleans but to prove to the country that New Orleans is back in business.

New Orleans has taken another major blow with the recent oil spill. The financial  impact on the city has been very similar to that of hurricane Katrina. If you would like to help New Orleans survive another major hit please visit the city and enjoy all of the new and exciting gifts the “Big Easy” has to offer. Book a room at the oldest family run hotel in the French Quarter, the Hotel Monteleone and tour the deep history of New Orleans. You could also book a room at the Hotel Monteleone and watch a Saints game and then celebrate the victory at the Carousel Bar. We promise, once you visit, you will not want to leave. Give a gift to New Orleans, visit us soon!

Visit the Hotel Monteleone for what is going on for the 5 Year Hurricane Katrina Anniversary.

Five years later when I pass the convention center I think of all those people scared and dying on the curb side of the convention center. I can not wipe those images from my mind. It is really amazing how New Orleans has rebuilt and cleaned itself up. It is a real reflection of the pride of this city. Now with the Gulf spill it is like we just picked ourselves up, brushed ourselves off and then got kicked in the teeth again. If we survive this Oil Spill after Katrine then I may start to believe that we are invincible.

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center History

The Convention Center was planned starting in 1978. It is the 5th-largest facility of its kind in the United States, and as of early 2005 was the second-busiest. The first portion of the building was constructed as part of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition; a series of additions in subsequent decades expanded the center further upriver. The complex was named in honor of Ernest N. Morial, the city’s first African American mayor, in 1992. In 2008, the Center was renamed the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in order to emphasize its New Orleans location.

From August 26 through 27, 2005, Wheel of Fortune came to tape three weeks of shows at the convention center. But as Hurricane Katrina threatened the area, they canceled the last week in order to evacuate. In the aftermath of Katrina, the Convention Center was the second most important shelter for survivors, after the Louisiana Superdome. After serving as a temporary medical clinic for some time, the structure again began welcoming conventions in early 2006, including that of the American Library Association.

The Convention Center recently finished a complete renovation of the facility in November 2006. A previously scheduled expansion project, which would add 524,000 square feet (48,700 m2) of exhibition space in a new building, has been temporarily delayed.

For more information on the Ernest Morial Convention Center read the Hotel Monteleone’s review.

The brown Pelican is our state bird and it has left New Orleans a few times before in the past because of a polluted environment. They say the brown pelican is particularly at risk because it dives beneath the water’s surface to forage. Not only could pelicans eat tainted fish and feed it to their young, but their feathers could become oil-soaked, causing hypothermia or drowning. I hope and pray that this oil spill doesn’t push our State bird away from us again.

In Louisiana we have a plethora of animals and critters in this state because of the fertility of the region. The fertility has a lot to do with the Mississippi River Delta. New Orleans is kind of like the drainage system of the largest river in the country and like most drainage it is full of everything. The good, bad and ugly. Kind of like a big pot of gumbo. If it is possible to keep a positive attitude about this oil spill tragedy I would have to say if you are going to spill thousands of barrels of oil into a region Louisiana may be one of the only regions who can handle it. Hopefully all of our massive amounts of plant life will soak up the oil and will not transfer the oils toxic chemicals to the local wildlife.

If you are not satisfied with just praying on this one then I recommend that you volunteer with the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. For more information of the Aquarium of the Americas visit the Hotel Monteleone’s listing.