5 Day Road Trip!

Hello All. :)

I have survived our FIVE day road trip! We left Sacramento, CA exactly one week ago. We traveled from Sacramento down to the Palm Springs area, then headed through Arizona and into Deming, New Mexico. The third night we stayed in Junction, Texas and the final night we stayed in a little city in Louisiana. The trip was long; however, it was mildly enjoyable. It was really nice to see the landscape change from trees to desert and from hills to flat land. I discovered that the state of Texas really is GIANT! On our road trip, we didn't have any time to stop and see any particular attractions are do anything too interesting, but we were able to stop in Austin and have lunch. It was really nice to walk around the city of Austin. I liked it a lot :)

We arrived to our housing site in Biloxi, MS on Friday evening. We are staying at Yankie Stadium. The stadium is a volunteer housing center. Our team will be the last team of volunteers to stay at this housing site, because they are moving all volunteers to a new location called Camp Victor. The current Yankie Stadium will be turned into a community center. The stadium was purchased four days before hurricane Katrina with the intent to build a community center. Then Katrina hit and three years later, the stadium will finally be turned into the community center.

We are staying in cabins, one for the guys and one for the girls, and we have a nice big common center for all of us to hang out. There are lots of snacks and plenty of tea and hot chocolate :) We have some puzzles and games and even a few computers. We also have the big field and track in order to do our PT in the mornings. Its a really nice facility and we are enjoying it. There isn't much in walking distance, but with the help of the 15p (our van) we have been able to bum around the city a bit. We went to a really awesome bbq joint called "the Shed" one night and it was great.

The beach is within walking distance and that is AWESOME! Although, due to remains and debris, swimming is not advised; however, the white sand shore line is really nice. Yesterday we went out and laid on the beach for awhile and read. The weather is really great. A bit chilly (60's) today, but yesterday was in the low 70's and was really nice. I'm enjoying missing the freezing cold!

Our work here is with Habitat for Humanity. The Gulf Coast affiliate aims to complete 28 houses by Feb., 18 of which must be completed before December 17th! We have a lot of work ahead of us, but the work is really rewarding and although hard, enjoyable. We have only had one full day on the job so far, and alllll day long we hammered and pounded nails out of walls! (There are some walls that were built, and then in order to make the houses greener, the plans were changed and the walls no longer fit, so we are taking them apart.) I was incredibly sore after our day of work, and will have one giant arm and one weak arm if all this hammering business keeps up!

I found a really nice church to go to here and I am enjoying that very much. The congregation has many great welcoming families that offered to give me a ride to church on Sundays (major help- considering our team has one van for 15 people with 15 agendas!).

So far, I am really liking Biloxi. I miss home (WI and TX!) a lot. I miss all of you :)

While I am away on Spike, please continue to send mail to the address provided in my previous post.. I'll post an updated address if we ever get one.

Have a fabulous week!
xoxoxooxox

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/home?tab=mq

Biloxi Bound!

Hello All! :)

Tomorrow I am heading out on a five day road trip to Biloxi, MS. My team (Green Seven- or "Sweven" as we call it) is going to Biloxi to work with Habitat for Humanity. We will be staying at Yankie Statium (volunteer housing) and we will be serving there until January 24.

I am VERY excited about the project. I think it will be a really great experience. I am really looking forward to working with Habitat for Humanity. I am also looking forward to seeing the Gulf. I have never been to Mississippi and am excited to get to spend some time there.

While in Biloxi we are also hoping to be able to take a side trip to New Orleans.

My team and I will be taking our lovely 15 passenger van for the ride. I think the ride will be LONG but potentially even fun. We will be making a few stops along the way and who knows what we will see. We are definately stopping in Austin, TX one day, and I'm pretty pumped about that because I've never been to Austin.

Speaking of side trips, just yesterday, a few friends and I rented a car and drove to San Francisco. It was soooo much fun. Even though it rained ALL day, we were able to go to a farmers market (and buy fresh strawberries), check out Chinatown (I was able to find a few of my Hong Kong favorites!), see the lovely Golden Gate Bridge, go shopping (and buy new, DRY shoes), and finally walk around and eat down by Fisherman's Wharf. It was an awesome little day trip.

Today I have spent the day cleaning, packing, and preparing for our trek.

I will probably be able to jump online and post again shortly after I get there... until then- Have a fabulous week!!


XO
Cassie


P.S. While I am in Biloxi, mail can still be sent to:

Cassie Holtz, Class 15, Green 7
3427 Laurel St.
McClellan, CA 95652

They will forward the mail too me :)