Katrina Update #26

September 17, 2005; 12 Noon

We had a great dinner Thursday night at Café Lou Lou's:

Janis, Barry, Adam, Megan, Jarret, Cary, and Andrea at Café Lou Lou's

Yesterday we headed down to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY. Maker's Mark is paying for a room for us at the Days Inn. We lucked out and they had an extra room so we don't have to have 8 people staying in one room! They also invited us to their party at Kreso's in downtown Bardstown last night. It had a Mardi Gras theme complete with a Zydeco band, and all proceeds are going to be donated to the Red Cross. They raised over $25,000!

The restaurant where the benefit was held, Kreso's, is run by a family who fled Bosnia. I was a bit surprised at how much empathy they feel for New Orleans in general. Not that most people don't, but this is the second time since the Hurricane hit that someone who has fled another country has empathized with the way we "feld" Katrina.

The festival itself encompasses the entire town and all the distillery's in the area. The windows of the stores in town have a Bourbon theme, with each showing something to do with a particular distillery. So one would have a Four Roses display, and another would have a Maker's Mark display, etc. At the main park downtown the distilleries and local craftsmen set up their shops. This part is not unlike Jazz Fest, although if you want to drink you can only do so in the Spirit Gardens. Barry, Cary, Adam, Megan, and I went in and each bought a different type of bourbon and a bottle of water. We then each took a sip, had some water, and passed it on to the next person. We all agreed that the best bourbons were Pappy Van Winkle with the Four Roses Single Barrel rather distant second. We are going to visit a couple of distilleries in the area today and tomorrow before heading back to Louisville tomorrow night.

I received another great email from a Coop's Place patron yesterday. As you might expect, many people who have "Coop" as part of their name are drawn to Coop's Place. This email came from Derek Cooper in Philadelphia:

I live in Philadelphia and have loyally visited New Orleans numerous times over the years. Coop's Place is one of my favorite places in the world. Although I do not know any of the folks you posted on your website, I do recognize many of them. I was just in NO in February of this year and visited Coop's daily.

My heart goes out to all that were affected by Katrina. I think what you are doing on your website is a clear indication that there are good people in the world. As I indicated, I do not know the people personally but check the updates section frequently. I have donated what I can to Katrina relief and wanted the regulars/friends of Coop's Place to know that you have not been forgotten and there are many of us across the world thinking of you.

I am looking forward to enjoying a Bloody Mary and some lunch at Coop's Place.

Kind Regards,

Derrek "Coop" Cooper

We are starting to formulate or plan to return to the city. Right now, our plan is to head to Nashville on Monday, then take the Natchez Trace to Jackson, MS, then I-55 to our friend Keith's house on Tuesday. Since Barry will be returning with us, we will have no room in our vehicles for supplies, so we are going to load Keith's truck up with supplies on Wednesday and he will follow us in either Wednesday or Thursday.

I added the Katrina Reentry Map to the site. The only entry points are from the west on either US 61 or US 90.

PEOPLE

I updated several entries on the People page.

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