Grand Isle, LA – RV – Jan. 7-13, 2024

The 2024 winter season started strong! The first week of January saw seven eager volunteers and a deserving project, capped by 40 mph winds and heavy rain. The yellow house, 18 feet up in the air, needs drywall, wiring and plumbing. Sounds simple enough. But then we found mold, broken pipes, and some remaining rotten flooring to remove. And soon our eyes told us that many of the ceiling joists were out of kilter, and the application of a level soon confirmed that suspicion. When the homeowner stopped by on Tuesday, he walked our project director through the layout of rooms and closets, which wasn’t necessarily clear at first glance. 

Work involved scrubbing down and spraying for mold, knocking down some walls and framing in doors and one short section of wall, installing hurricane clips, locating and removing damaged or broken pipe fittings, tearing out and replacing rotten flooring, and leveling ceiling joists as best we could. 

Grand Isle is a small barrier island, about 80 miles straight south of New Orleans. The RV park is right on the Gulf, and when the wind howls, as it often seems to do here, we can clearly hear the surf pounding on the sea wall and our trailers shake, rattle and roll. We have enjoyed our walks around the west end of the island, watching the birds and the fishermen on the wharf. It is an opportunity for us to learn about a new area, to interact with new friends and to meet a great need for Eddy, as we rehab his house so that he can soon move “home” again after so many months of displacement. 

Peace, 

Bonnie, Fred, Larry, Mark, Sue, Tim and Todd