Survived the hurricane!

[zannella1108]

Hi ladies,

I just wanted to make sure that any of you who live on the East coast are safe and sound.

My DH and I were in Chicago over the weekend at a self assessment seminar for four days and yes our flight was cancelled on Sunday and couldn't get out until late Tues/Wed so we rented a car and drove the 20 hours to Boston!

I miss you guys and I miss scrapping - kids will be school soon and then there will be time

Kristen

[maureenreynolds]

Glad you're ok!

I just saw these photos and what destruction some people had. 25 Frightening Photos Of Hurricane Irene's Destruction: Pics, Videos, Links, News

[esther_a]

It is horrific over such a large distance!

[katie pertiet]

I still don't think we have survived it yet because it is day 4 with now power, tv or internet aside from our generator. Today is the first day back to school but there is no bus service to our neighborhood because roads are still closed...

[b2halter]

I remember only too well what Ike did to Ohio a few years ago, and Irene was even larger. I suspect there will be a lot more damage from all the water and rain that hasn't shown up yet. Glad that everyone seems to be safe anyway.

[DonnaNJ]

Glad you were able to finally make it home.. the area of Northern NJ where I live is just devastated.. our home is fine but the flooding was so bad that even in the non-flood area streets had 1-2ft of water on them until monday.. in the area closer to the rivers the houses were up to their roofs. The rivers are starting to recede but the damage they are revealing is heartbreaking.. It's so sad. this is the third time this year they've been flooded. I can't even imagine how they keep going...

[AmyJ]

So sorry to hear Katie and others of your woes. Been there and done that- more times that I care to count (And thought, silly me, that when I moved 3 hours inland, I wouldn't have hurricanes anymore. . . . then came Rita and Ike- both literally as still hurricanes when they got here. But following Alicia, I've a warped sense of humor and the whole time with Rita and Ike, I remember just being thankful for not hearing tornadoes like we did in Houston with Alicia. . .)

Katie- I know you'll appreciate power more. We've lost power for over a week with each hurricane- and one other time up here for no apparent reason. But, there is a strange part of me that likes realizing I could survive- the return to the basics gives me a little extra confidence.

(LOL and I thought getting Ike'd would have made packing easier- we were due for a very important trip to West Texas the weekend after, didn't bother with generators to keep the freezer cold because we knew we were leaving. I kept thinking I wouldn't have to pack- just bring all the dirty clothes with me and wash them when we got to the other side of the state. . . . then the power came on the night before we left- there went the excuse for packing too much.)

[katie pertiet]

Kristen, I'm glad you were able to get home safely! What has me so infuriated is that we did not have a hurricane here--it was a tropical storm with rain and wind. We are in a hurricane area and government/utilities should be more prepared than this. If we get a real hurricane we might as well give up. Seriously. In Chicago there would be storms just as bad and tornados and they worked around the clock and things were fixed right away. There are no power trucks anywhere and when I saw them yesterday they were all just hanging out--not doing anything. If I actually saw them trying to restore us I'd feel better about this but instead I am just getting very cranky

[readstoomuch]

Kristin . . . so glad that you made it back to Boston . . . even a 20 drive must have been better than being stuck in an airport.

And, Katie . . . the no electricity and standing around workers would definitely made a saint cranky. One would think that storm prone areas would cause the "powers that be" to have a definite plan to make things easier to repair/manage.

[zannella1108]

Katie - so sorry that you have lost power still! And you are so right - they should be more prepared for a "real" hurricane.. my mother n law still doesn't have power and it's been 4 days; it seems a bit of stretch for a tropical storm. Hope you get your power back soon!

[katie pertiet]

I should have updated yesterday! We finally got power back around 2pm yesterday afternoon. nearly 96 hours out and keeping my fingers crossed that we don't see a serious hurricane this fall! Kristen, I hope your mother-in-law sees power soon!

[snard]

We were enjoying Cape Cod all last week then news of the hurricane arrived. Stored all the outside furniture and Kayak in preparation. The heading to Logon Airport in Boston for our flights out on Saturday. I just knew I'd be spending the night there. with prediction to hit DC same time as my flight arrival, so, I packed sandwiches and snacks. Much to my surprises my flight left only 30 minutes late, they were waiting for the crew from Florida to arrive, who were delayed. We boarded and took off arriving at Dulles safe and sound. Found most flight into Dulles had been cancelled but not mine. Thanks..Jet Blue.

[anke]

boy, weren't you lucky
It sure was a horrible thing to go through. I hope everybody is getting their lives back and everything they need restored! I am so glad you are back online Katie

[AmyJ]

96 hours is great! I think we just take it all for granted way too much and that's something you learn when the storms hit.

I know I saw electric crews headed your way on Friday- they were coming up from Houston. Literally, it was truck after truck after truck after truck- and I only drove 50 miles round trip. They actually do work really hard to get the power on- it's just a huge amount of work- and sometimes there's work being done way down the line that prevents work being done closer to home.

I remember driving to Gulfport less than a week after Katrina- the power crews were one of the biggest impressions that trip made on me- that and knowing we weren't as safe as we thought up here given all the damage we saw. The crews were seen everywhere- and they came from every where. They put in some really long hours. (I also remember the presence of the National Guard, something I don't remember from the hurricanes in Houston. . . . my aunt/uncle's apartments were destroyed and they had some items they still wanted to get)

We've got friends who live in an area that always have to wait longer because of a main line type issue- in fact, they've been looking at changing the power infrastructure for them since Rita (which was maybe a month or so after Katrina). Those plans are getting more concrete as they're starting to work on land purchase etc.

It's certainly not to say that being without power isn't miserable. . . Rita we were in the 100's outside and hotter inside. (Of course, Wal-mart, being across from the hospital had power- we spent a lot of time wandering Wally World). It's the little things you become thankful for- like even though the damage was worse with Ike- we were just glad the temps were cooler (especially since Wal-mart was without power for quite a bit)

Power is also unpredictable- we had friends evacuate the coast for Ike about where the storm came in. . . . they had power just after the storm there on their part of the coast and only lost it for a few hours- we went for a week without it.

[katie pertiet]

I got back to reality last night watching the news for the first time since Saturday etc and seeing what's happened in Woodstock Vermont [where I have friends] brought me to tears. I certainly feel that 96 hours without power/tv/internet is nothing compared to what they are having to endure up there. Counting my blessings!