"Captain's Challenge" Pictures
The official "Captain's Challenge" vehicle.
The boys kept themselves entertained during the 20+ hours in the van.
Randy O'Mahoney, Zac Von Czoernig and Don Falese do their best to pass the travel time.
The Nielsen brothers, Matt and Mark, try to sleep away the ride.
Welcome to Biloxi, Mississippi.
A local Biloxi business that has not been touched since Hurricane Katrina.
The floor of the van was a little bit dirty after driving to Biloxi.
The Habitat for Humanity Volunteers' Village was filled with activities for the volunteers.
Games of Jenga, billiards, Scrabble, and Sorry all got very competiive.
191 Bellman Street on the first morning.
193 Bellman Street, a nearly complete Habitat for Humanity home next to our work site.
As you can see in this picture from Day 1, the group wasn't exactly comfortable with a hammer.
John Falese and members of Habitat make sure the foundation of the house is square.
A lot of debris was found in the soil at the site, including this tattered sandal.
Phil DeFranco uses a sledgehammer to force the foundation into a perfect square.
192 Bellman Street: The house across the street where Katrina survivor Patience Harris just recently moved in. Patience was displaced from her home for a a year and nine months.
Dan Burnston uses a power tool on Day 1.
189 Bellman Street, the house to the left of our site, is still uninhabitable because of Katrina.
The house at the end of Day 1!
The view of the Gulf of Mexico from Andy "Sarge" and Joanne Richards' front porch in Gulfport, Mississippi.
On Day 2, some of our crew (Bob "The Builder" Padgett, Gregg, Mark, Don, Dan and Jill Von Czoernig) split up to build a shed at another site.
Bryan Cross, Zac and Randy put in a cross beam on the floor.
The house at the end of Day 2.
On Tuesday evening, the "Captain's Challenge" crew and several Habitat Volunteers went to a Mobile Baybears "AA" baseball game at beautiful Hank Aaron Stadium.
The entire "Captain's Challenge" crew before the game.
Matt, Jan and Mark Nielsen on the main concourse before the game.
All of the volunteers were honored on the field before the first pitch.
We also led the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th Inning Stretch.
The Baybears won on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Matt, John and Dan take a rare break from work to pose for a picture.
Tony Raffo, Phil, Sarge and John talk hockey on a water break.
Phil delivers popsicles, a much needed treat, to Bryan and Matt.
The last of the floorboards is installed in the morning on Day 3!
Jill, Sarge and Jan get started on the front porch.
Dan and Mark work together on a window sill.
The residential section of New Orleans is still widely damaged.
A former Holiday Inn just outside of downtown New Orleans.
The fully repaired Superdome is much more than a football stadium to New Orleans natives. It is symbolic of the resiliency of the town and that the city will be rebuilt to its original form.
Randy, Beth Burnston and Zac pose in front of the Superdome.
Many stores in New Orleans have reopened but are still surrounded by construction.
St. Louis Cathedral in the famous French Quarter.
Many signs like this one still hang in store windows throughout the city.
Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" in the French Quarter.
The group out to eat at "Margaritaville."
Don and John Falese goof around after dinner.
New Orleans' skyline adjacent to the Mississippi River.
The whole groupin the French Quarter.
The world famous Cafe Du Monde!
Sipping coffee and eating Beignets at Cafe Du Monde.
St. Louis Cathedral at night.
Randy trying to take a quick nap before Day 3 of building.
Mark, Matt, Bryan and Randy help unload an order of plywood.
Only the professionals get to use the cool power tools.
Stacy Simon, Community Relations Director, Steffon Walby, GM and Head Coach, and Leif Skodnick, Director of Broadcasting and Communications, from the ECHL's Mississippi Sea Wolves came by to visit the work site.
Special thanks to the Mississippi Sea Wolves for taking the time out to embark their hockey wisdom upon the CHA players.
Matt supports the framework for the first wall of the house!
Zac, Jan, Randy and Matt with the first wall.
Wall number two!
The house at the end of Day 4!
Habitat for Humanity's Volunteers' Village at Yankie Stadium.
"The Shed" Barbeque.
Katrina's water line inside the restaurant.
John showing the boys how it's done.
Zac demolishes an entire rack of ribs.
The crew after the most amazing BBQ dinner ever.
Impromptu group photo at The Shed.
The women of the "Captain's Challenge!"
The Hurricane Camille Memorial which was ironically destroyed by Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina Memorial
The plaque at the base of the Hurricane Katrina Memorial.
Fallen water tower in Biloxi's ruined shipping district.
Just another destroyed house in Biloxi.
A former ship hangar.
Two shrimp boats that carried almost a mile inland from the back bay during the storm.
Another shrimp boat that washed ashore from the back bay.
A FEMA trailer park where many displaced families still live today.
A plaque with the names of the "Captain's Challenge" volunteers.
John ceremoniously attaching the plaque to the front porch.
The framework is almost complete by the afternoon on Day 5!
Even the camera girl pitched in with the house.
Louis, Habitat Site Supervisor, Zac, Matt, Mark and Randy.
The shower was delivered!
Randy, Matt, Don, Zac and Madison, a Habitat architecture intern, in the tub.
Philadelphia Junior Patriots
Everyone that worked on the house right before we left the work site for the last time.
The product of five days of hard work.
Matt, Jill, Randy, Don, Zac, Dan, Mark and Bryan in front of their shed.
Packed tightly in the van after one exhausting, rewarding and memorable trip!
