My friends in New Orleans scattered to evacuation destinations in every direction: with family, with friends and in hotels. Those who stayed in hotels seemed to preserve the most sanity since it also preserved the most privacy. Those who stayed with family and friends had to manage more stress because of the close quarters shared for such an extended period of time. In both cases, many of them pulled up camp and stayed at more than one place after the one they were at wore thin on the nerves. Adaptation skills during such a difficult limbo are really put to the test. Challenges to mental health during evacuation can be steep. Choosing a good destination will help soften the already-heavy impact of not being able to go home... and not knowing if you'll even have a home to go back to.

These are the abbreviated evacuation stories of some of the people who infuse New Orleans with the joy and imagination we all associate with it.

Paul Poché
Evacuated to a plantation outside of St. Francisville, Louisiana, with 25 friends & 15 cats & dogs.
He and one other friend volunteered to be the cooks – a lucky arrangement if you are familiar with Mr. Poché's culinary skill – and Paul said that it gave him a service to focus on, which helped him adapt to the situation. Another bit of luck: a few of his fellow evacuees received federal emergency funds almost right away, so this money became the shared resource which paid for everyone's food. Meanwhile, back in New Orleans, Paul's brother had decided not to evacuate so he stayed at Paul’s house. For awhile, the neighborhood was being ransacked by thieves, and Paul’s brother had a lot of guts and a few guns, so he initiated a vigilante group of neighborhood protectors, and their stories were too gruesome to tell here. However, Paul’s house wasn’t robbed while he away! Staying at a plantation or other large house far away from the disaster area with many friends while your house is being defended by the neighborhood equivalent of a Spanish Armada: Highly Recommended.

Bonnie Noonan
Said the most valuable thing she remembered to take was her friend Manina, who intended to stay in New Orleans through the hurricane. If she hadn't, she would’ve died because her house was destroyed. Bonnie’s house was so severely damaged that she couldn’t move back in, so she spent eight months of her evacuation in a convent. Staying in a convent during an evacuation: Highly Recommended.

• READ HERE •
Bonnie Noonan's moving essay about her reluctant and untimely departure from New Orleans during the Katrina evacuation.

George Berke
George is the art director for the major metro newspaper of New Orleans, The Times-Picayune. Since the news must go on, the staff was asked for volunteers to keep covering and producing the news. George and several of his colleagues volunteered for this arduous job, and they were given a “barracks” in Baton Rouge where they set up computers and housing, and generated the paper online from there. Intrepid reporters among these volunteer staffers covered the news in and around New Orleans during the disaster. Some of them later won Pulitzer Prizes for these efforts. Their online newspaper arose during that time as one of the very best in the nation, and because of forums they set up for individual neighborhoods, many people were able to be reconnected with family and friends whose location –and fate– had been unknown after the storm. Being a journalist and staying in quarters near the disaster site with many other people during evacuation: Recommended only for those who are adventurous, hardy and persevering.

Melanie Miranda
Being friends with your neighbors might end up being a big help during an evacuation. Melanie’s neighbor decided to stay and ride out the hurricane, so he kept an eye on Melanie’s house while she was away on an evacuation trek that included several stops with relatives and friends. Her neighbor even kept her generator going so that the refrigerator would stay on. Melanie’s brother Dennis worked at New Orleans Charity Hospital and decided to stay; their mother made the decision to stay at the hospital with him. This turned out to be a disastrous decision, because some of the worst human suffering took place in the hospitals since there was no power, water or food. However, Melanie’s mother made a worthy installment on her sainthood, because she selflessly and kindly tended to many dying people during this time. Hospitals as a refuge during evacuation: Not Recommended.

Alida Glass
You may THINK you’re planning to evacuate with your family members or your best friends, but who you actually end up evacuating with might be surprising – like a next door neighbor or someone down the street who you don't know very well. Alida’s evacuation path was circuitous, including several stops at a variety of different friends' and relatives' houses. Reception to her plight as an evacuee was mixed – some welcoming and sympathetic, others less so. The worst part of it, though, was the thought of her cat who was left behind. While she was away during evacuation, her house was occupied by vandals who trapped her cat in the basement. Fortunately, the cat survived. A meandering road trip during evacuation with a cast of surprise characters: Not Necessarily Recommended. Leaving your pet during evacuation: Regrettable.

Will Crocker
We booked a room at a motel right on the beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama.  Martha’s brother and family left later in the day and met us there.  The next morning I answered a phone call from Martha’s brother, Robin at a few minutes before 5:00.  He was frantic to leave and drive inland.  Martha and I insisted on staying until we had a reservation somewhere.  We made a reservation in Columbiana, Alabama.  When we got on the road it was not crowded from Mobile north along 65.  We stopped in Montgomery at The Capitol Inn.  It was around noon on Sunday, the parking lot was filled and there seemed to be commotion in the lobby.  We got to the front desk and were amazed that there were vacancies.  All of the activity was people attending the buffet of fried chicken, collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, corn bread, macaroni, and sweet tea.  The buffet was incredible and the people of Montgomery were very kind. I called Columbiana and cancelled the earlier reservation. The Capitol Inn was a relic from better days, but they did have WiFi. The two brothers that owned the place also had ran a bar they named the Goat Hill Tavern.  Every afternoon they ordered pizza which was freely shared with guests.  We hung out there often Staying at a motel with a popular restaurant: Highly Recommended. 

Diane Dees
During the Katrina evacuation, we stayed at the historic Bailey Hotel in Bunkie, Louisiana. We chose it because there were vacancies. At first, we were told we could not bring our pets. We called back--presenting a very persuasive argument--and we were told we could bring our cats. For the Gustav evacuation, we stayed at a Residence Inn just outside Birmingham; it is one of the few hotels that permits pets to stay without charging excessive fees or limiting the number of pets (by that time, our cat population had changed from two to four). Tip: If you do an Internet search and see lists for hotels that allow pets to stay, do not assume that hotel will take all of your pets, or that that hotel will not charge a lot of extra fees. We were very lucky. The hotel staff in both places were extremely kind and helpful, and we will never forget them. Staying at a pet-friendly hotel: Highly Recommended.

A Note About Evacuating with a Computer
The Bailey didn’t have wireless or high-speed (and there was no wireless in Bunkie), so we had to use dial-up (a lot of places have only dial-up). I tried every imaginable configuration and couldn’t get it to work. We asked a hotel staff member for help, but she was so clueless, she sent us a DSL cable. However, my husband had the insight to make an educated guess about changing a prefix digit, based on the hotel phone. He was right. During Katrina, I was so busy blogging and checking news, I developed a repetitive motion injury from over-using the touchpad. Traveling with a notebook computer: Back then (during Katrina)--before wireless cards were built into notebooks--I always took my wireless adapter, just in case I got lucky or the hotel connection didn’t work and I had other access. During the evacuation for Hurricane Gustav in 2008, we had high-speed Internet access in our suite.