The Lookout Inn...

Couple of shots from the place we stayed in New Orleans. It was called the Lookout Inn and it got it's name from the fact that as the tallest building in the neighborhood the Navy used it as a lookout during WWI. They say you can see the mouth of the Mississippi from the roof.

Here is the front of the house. Located in the Bywater area it is much like many New Orleans neighborhoods, even before Katrina where you have a real nice place finely done up in grand southern style and then next door is a dump. The Bywater and the Marginey are the hip places right now. Rock stars, movie stars, blog writers and the like hang here.

It's maybe 20 blocks from the French Quarter. Walkable in two hours if you only stop to eat once. We took taxis after dark.

Here is the back yard. Very relaxing to come home to a swim. We never saw our hosts and talked to them once on the intercom. Very private, we saw only one other guest. It was like having your own house and the best part is only a few bucks more than a Holiday Inn.

My overall impression of New Orleans after Katrina is that if you had money, you were alright, if you did not have money you were screwed, which is pretty much like it is everywhere. I think the aid avaiable to residents may have made it easier for folks that may have been dreaming of their own business to get started than if the storm never happened.

The inside of our room, called the Jungle Room. Each room has a theme. Looks kind of like this had been two rooms in the old days, divided by a shared fireplace which is not in the picture but sort of divides the room into a living room and a bedroom.