As I wrote yesterday, I found myself in an unusual situation this week. Virginia Beach has a major hurricane taking aim at it. In the past, I was always tied to newspaper work and couldn’t really evacuate. Now, however — as an independent and highly mobile consultant — I could take my family to safety.
And so I did. I didn’t like leaving my home of the past eight years under the close watch of our neighbors. But that’s what we did.
We brought in all my wife’s house plants, much to the amusement of our three cats…
…buttoned up the place as tightly as we could and packed up Sharon‘s van with a few days’ worth of clothes, our most important papers and all our animals.
That’s Sharon’s dog, Lucy, in her little box seat. Barely visible in the back are two large pet carriers containing our cats, Bones, Oreo and Pickles. In addition, there are two smaller carriers containing guinea pigs Darien and Cinnamon.
We left Sharon’s two water turtles and her fish behind. Our logic: What’s the worst that can happen to them? They’ll drown?
As we drove off last night around 7:15 p.m., this was what the place looked like.
I left the trusty Deerslayer parked sideways in the driveway, nestled as close to the house as I could get it. The hope is to protect the car and the garage door from wind and debris.
I cannot tell you, my friends, how difficult it was to drive off and leave this behind last night. We’re far enough away from the beachfront to not have to worry about the enormous storm surges expected Saturday. But between the rainfall and the heavy winds, there’s plenty to worry about.
Several neighbors proclaimed their intent to stick around. So they’ll be keeping a close eye on our place in our absence. We fetched Elizabeth from work, squeezed her between the animals and then drove all night to Lilburn, Ga., on the northeast side of Atlanta. We got here shortly after 6 a.m. and watched the sun rise as we unpacked the van.
Then, we slept all morning. Of course.
I have a ton of work to do and no real way to get it done — there is no internet at Sharon’s parents’ house. We used to be able to sponge off the neighbors’ wifi, but they’ve wisened up and locked their accounts. Hungry for access, Elizabeth and I drove over to McDonald’s, where we’re once again enjoying free wifi.
Meanwhile, Irene continues to track up the Eastern seaboard, closing in ominously on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The most recent forecast is that eye will cross directly over our little section of Virginia Beach at around 8 p.m. Saturday.
Naturally, I’m hoping the storm veers to the east. And that it continues to weaken. The forecast this time yesterday was that it would be a category three storm when it struck the Outer Banks. That doesn’t seem so certain now. So change is possible.
If the storm weakens and veers eastward, Hampton Roads will, most likely, be spared significant damage. And we’ll look pretty silly for having gone to such lengths to leave town.
But if it doesn’t… well, you know. Gulp.
Despite the weakening this morning, the storm is still massive. And scary.
We’re not at home to “enjoy” today’s wonderful page-one treatment by my former colleagues at the Virginian-Pilot.
There’s a nice use of the NASA satellite imagery. And a story about local evacuations with which I suddenly identify.
The Daily Press — over on the north side of Hampton Roads in Newport News — took the vignette approach. Which worked very well for them.
The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C. led with folks boarding up their storefronts in the Outer Banks.
And the Fayetteville Observer gets extra brownie points today for staying focused on storm preparations. Yet doing it while including a shot of a bikini-clad lifeguard.
Atlantic Beach, by the way, is near “ground zero” — where forecasters expect the storm to come ashore Saturday morning.
The page images above are from the Newseum. Of course.
Without internet access, blog posting may be sparse for the next few days. Sorry for all the additional drama. Part of the price you pay for living in the beautiful, sunny southeast, I suppose.
I do have 3G access via my phone so those of you following me on Facebook might see me check in from time to time.
In the meantime, please hang in there, Outer Banks. Stay safe, Hampton Roads. Hope to see you again soon.
