Holiday in Texas

fiendishly

I'm off on holiday on the 2nd of November, flying to Houston, then driving to San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas.
Does anyone know if I'll have any problems as a result of the hurricanes?
I'm a bit concerned that I won't be able to get hotel rooms, or petrol. If anyone has any friends over there, or who has been themselves I'd be grateful for advice, I can't find anything on the tourist websites.

skr80

i am off to atlanta / memphis / Natchez and north floridain 2 weeks. Hotels all seem ok. Road reports via the state police websites all seem to be fairly passable (with the exception of New Orleans vicinity - the interstates all seem clear (ish). I dont expect problems with fuel - cars and transportation / access will be a priority to ensure movement of repair etc. I also called my b&b in Natchez (100 odd mile from New Orleans) - they seemed to think all was ok at the moment - in another few weeks suspect even better in those affected areas. Will confirm when I get back late October!

Sandollar_2

Fiendishly - Good timing on the post. I was just talking to a friend in Houston before I came on to the board. According to her everything is almost back to normal in Texas. There are still a lot of evacuees from Katrina but authorities are trying to make plans to move them to empty military bases. Gas /petrol is almost back to normal so by the time you go everything should be fine. Any other questions just ask and I'll pass them on.

Skr80 - I have just come back from Atlanta. I went a few days after Katrina hit and had to cancel or change a lot of my plans. It was very hard to get hotels as they were taking in the evacuees from Katrina. Atlanta wasn't too bad but in Memphis and Birmingham there were only rooms in the lower end hotels in the unsafe areas of the towns. I ended up going Chattanooga to stay with friends rather than the touring holiday I had planned. It was still slightly difficult to get a hotel room in Atlanta the night before I flew back. On my flight back there were people who had slept in the airport because they couldn't get a hotel room. Atlanta is still trying to arrange accommodation for evacuees. If I were going now I would definately arrange hotels in Atlanta and Memphis before I went and confirm with the hotel the day before I arrived that they still had availability.

I hope you both have a great time on your respective trips. Inspite of having to change plans because of Hurricanes Katrina and Ophelia I had a great time. Next time though I definately will not be visiting in hurricane season!

skr80

sandollar - thank you for this information - very useful. Fortunately, I have prebooked Memphis, Natchez, Panama City, and Atlanta hotels! I had booked New Orleans also, but obviously cancelled and added a couple of days here and there to the other places. The only hotel I was planning on finding en spec was one between Atlanta and Memphis for the first night. Was aiming for a roadside stopover type...do you think it best that I try to pre-book this now?

Jimble

Try and book the Menger Hotel in SAn Antonio....its right opposite the Alamo.
You can be in the pool minutes after pretending to be Davy Crockett.

Sandollar_2

Skr80 - Normally I would say never worry, there is always plenty of accommodation available but in the current situation I personally would arrange accommodation before I went. You could try doing 'dummy runs' on the travel sites. Put in your dates and see if they are showing availability for the date/s you need, if they are coming back with lots of availability then I would guess it would be fine to wait and just stop where you want.
Another tip and an important one- use mosquito repellant. West Nile Virus is a big problem in the lower southern states and with the stagnant water and decaying animals after Katrina it is a real threat. It can present as flu and in serious cases can cause death.

fiendishly

I actually had a bit of a brainwave and got the phone number of a hotel in Houston and gave them a quick call. They were ever so pleased to help and they confirmed what others have said above, everything seems to be back to normal with no problems at all.
Thanks for the hotel suggestion in San Antonio, I'm looking forward to it already!

skr80

Sandollar wrote:

Skr80 - Normally I would say never worry, there is always plenty of accommodation available but in the current situation I personally would arrange accommodation before I went. You could try doing 'dummy runs' on the travel sites. Put in your dates and see if they are showing availability for the date/s you need, if they are coming back with lots of availability then I would guess it would be fine to wait and just stop where you want.
Another tip and an important one- use mosquito repellant. West Nile Virus is a big problem in the lower southern states and with the stagnant water and decaying animals after Katrina it is a real threat. It can present as flu and in serious cases can cause death.

http://westnilemaps.usgs.gov/us_human.html

gives good idea as to spread throughout USA...