Ok, so that was not too much fun...
Saturday began with tons of rain and alot of wind coming out of the north and northeast... We kept the TV set to our local favorite wvec.com (the ABC affiliate here in Hampton Roads). They ran non-stop all day and evening and the coverage was exceptional (though at times very repetitive)...
We had some dinner and settled in to bed around 9:00pm after switching to the Food Network for something other than hurricane coverage. I awoke around midnight hearing some unusual noises. It appears our power crapped out at around 10:30pm and I started to hear more of the effects of the "backside" of Irene, coming from outside the house. I headed out to the front porch (which had been safe all day) only to find that the wind had shifted dramatically and was now coming from the side of the house and nearly blew me off the porch (in only my boxer-briefs)...
Irene's posterior proved to be much more intense than her front side. The rain was not as severe, but the wind was much stronger (at least for us). Large tree limbs and alot more smaller debris arrived during the overnight hours.
After a very sporadic (sleep-wise) night, we woke to yards and streets filled with organic materials layered over all the normal surfaces.
Our neighbors upstairs to the west (all 3 homes) and across the street were either already out of town or had bugged out on Friday. I texted all of them to "Not hurry back" as we had no power. Most showed up before noon-time regardless. We did a group cleanup of the leaves and branches then all hung out on the porch hoping our electricity would come back on before bedtime. Our neighbors' two young girls were a bit antsy so we fired up a sprinkler in our front yard to give them something to do. Of the six adults, I don't think one of us didn't take a run or two through that sprinkler to cool off too...
I will probably recall more of our experiences as the days pass. I would however, like to thank our really cool neighbors for making the day (Sunday) more palatable... Thanks Toni, Meredith, Ryan, Brian, and of course my Michael for helping the day pass with a little less stress.
Over and "Out" for today, from Portsmouth, VA USA
5 comments:
Having gone through Katrina, where we lost a huge part of a tree, the fence and our roof, I can safely say, it isn't the rain, it's the wind that scares me most.
Glad you're okay.
I had so much fun with you guys! I was soooo excited when that porch light went on and we had power!
I think if I hear one more "our power is back on" I'm going to scream! But I am happy for you, and happy I've got a couple of friends that don't mind and olde farte camping out in their spare bedroom and using their sheets and towels and hot water!
Peace <3
Jay
Glad to hear you are well and made it through OK.
We fared a lot better here in Boston. The highlight of the tropical storm for me was attending a hurricane party while Irene was huffing and puffing outside. It was a lot more fun than my usual Sunday afternoon that's for sure.
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