Katrina Aftermath and Wi-Fi

As I mentioned in a previous post, we slept thru Katrina with just a rocking of our motorhome by the winds. We found a few branches down around us in the morning and the electricity was out, but that was all. We were fine. Many friends around Fort Lauderdale were without power for up to 7 days, we were only out for a few hours. People on the Gulf coast were not so lucky. I wanted to post a couple links here to useful sites I have found regarding Katrina. The first one is www.katrina.com. This one is interesting because it existed long before the hurricane. It is a web designer named Katrina Blankenship. She started getting so many hits on her website after the storm that she converted it into gathering place for all sorts of information and help for people affected by the storm. The other is www.im-ok.org. This was developed by a friend of ours here in Fort Lauderdale and I think it's a wonderful idea. Giving people a place to simply say 'I'm OK'. The database is quick and simple, organized by the person's phone number.

It's interesting to see the business aftermath of a hurricane. The RV Park where we are staying, Paradise Island, is busier than ever during this, their slow season, because of Insurance adjusters. They have to travel extensively for their job and what better way to do it than in an RV? There are approximately 40 of them in the park. Why here? Because of the Wi-Fi of course. What better way to get your work done than with a high-speed Internet connection in your coach. The adjusters called ahead to all the available RV parks to inquire about Internet access before making their choice. The manager here is VERY pleased that Coach Connect's Internet antennas survived the hurricane. Unlike the television antenna!

The Wireless Internet antenna (in the middle of the roof) withstood hurricane Katrina's winds unscathed. The TV antenna (at left) didn't fare so well. We are getting ready to pack up and hit the road again soon. Our next destination is Austin, Texas where we will be working at Coach Connect's headquarters for a while. Looking at a map, the logical route is via I-10. We're going to have to study that a bit because it goes right thru New Orleans. I believe portions of the highway simply don't exist anymore. We will probably detour north.