Another night at the 'Hill Hotel'

Posted: Thursday, September 22 at 02:51 pm CT by Miguel Llanos

SORRENTO, La. -- We had to pull back from New Orleans yesterday, and once again we had Rita to thank. Two MSNBC.com colleagues are en route to Houston and we need to send them our two satellite phones.

Overnight shipping out of New Orleans didn’t seem like an option so we headed back to Baton Rouge.

Jim and June Hill were our gracious hosts--and saviors--for several nights during our travels. (David Friedman / MSNBC.com)

That also meant not returning to the military base south of New Orleans for another night’s sleep, a blessing, we figured, as long as we could find lodging elsewhere. An Internet search didn’t turn up any rooms at any inns, so we had to again inquire at the “Hill Hotel” in this suburb.

We’d been there before, and it felt like a home away from home because it was just that. June and Jim Hill had welcomed us, and two colleagues before us, for several nights at their home even though they’d never met us before. Another editor at MSNBC.com had earlier contacted them on our behalf through his parents, who know a cousin of Jim’s.

We felt we’d worn out our stay earlier but we also had nowhere else to go except sleeping in our rented minivan. So we asked and they opened their arms and home once again.

This area felt the storm, but except for a blown-down fence the Hills made it through fine. But the Hills were well aware that Katrina had complicated peoples' lives, including ours, and they wanted to be there to lend a hand.

“People have been reaching out to help,” June tells us. “It’s the least we can do.”

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