Ike is on the move, heading right for Galveston and the Houston area. Evacuees from farther south have started arriving into town as we all buckle down to wait out the fury of the storm. Dave sent me a text message mid-afternoon yesterday to let me know the University was closing on Friday. Soon after, our local news began reporting massive closures all over town and I could hear the bang of hammers as neighbors started securing their fences. In an effort to stay prepared, I walked over to the grocery to pick up a few things. Dave requested Dr. Pepper. I also picked up some tuna and canned veggies, although we should be adequately stocked with all the canning I did over the summer months. We needed far less than we did last time we were under similar circumstances.
The last time was Hurricane Rita, which hit east of the Galveston area. Pre-Rita we had thousands of evacuees arrive (many of them evacuees from Louisiana that had fled Katrina to Houston and were now escaping yet another storm), many gas stations were empty of fuel leaving drivers stranded on the highway, bank ATMs ran out of cash, and I actually had to barter with other grocery store customers when I realized that most of the store shelves were bare. This time around we're far more prepared (I think the stores, banks, and gas stations are too). Here's what we've done:
- plenty of canned foods in the pantry
- cash on hand in case we need to leave town
- all important documents in one place and easily accessible (also in case we need to leave town)
- full tank of gas in the car
- any empty containers from the pantry shelves have been filled with fresh water
I think we're in good shape. It's not like we're expecting mass destruction here in Bryan-College Station, which is about 1-1/2 hours northwest of Houston, but it never hurts to be prepared. The plan is to hang out at home, read, watch movies, and stay out of the wind and rain. I'll take a few photos and blog again on Monday. Well, as long as we haven't blown or floated away...
Have a great weekend, everyone!
PS. Anyone else out there in the way of the storm?
14 comments:
Hunker down, Heather. Hope it all blows over quickly - so to speak.
Be safe.
Isn't it nice to feel like you're already well stocked and don't have to fight the mobs at the grocery store?
Hope you guys don't have too much damage or power outages.
Stay safe!
Stay safe!
Oh no! I hope you guys stay safe and am glad to hear you are prepared. Keep us up to date on your status as much as you can, you guys will be in my thoughts.
My grandparents live in Houston, I should probably check in with them to see how they are doing...
My parents used to live in Houston (so did I) and experienced some of the horrible storms.
Stay safe!
burbanmom - it does seem to be moving quickly and we're as ready as we can be. Our fingers are crossed :)
ib mommy - it is nice to have been more prepared than last time. I even heard there was a stabbing at Walmart last time over some bread. Geez! Nothing like that this time. Everyone was more prepared, thankfully.
tammi - thanks!
jennifer - hope your grandparents are ok. Will be sending good vibes to all those down in the Houston/Galveston area.
cindyw - we're definitely glad we don't live further south. It far easier to weather up here. Cross your fingers for no tornadoes!
Thanks for everyone's wishes!
Stabbing over bread at WalMart? I hadn't heard that...but then I've been putting bread out all day, and cookies and crackers(at WalMart and everywhere else). I got up at 2:30am and I am just finished now, 7:18 pm. The shortages were much worse during Rita (water, milk, bread, almost everything)and all we got from that was some wind and a bit of rain.
The bread companies are (some of them) afraid to send semis because they might be caught in the path of the storm(causing worse shortages). So, in summary of a storm, we could lose power or have some minor flooding, signs and things may blow around, we might get a bit of damage tonight/tomorrow morning, but by afternoon, it should start clearing and we should be fine. Deliveries will normalize and the stores will re-stock. I will decide tomorrow if I will work in the storm and what I can or am willing to do. This has been a wild ride so far, I can assure you that customers were very happy to see bread this evening.
On a related note, Heather, did you know that evacuees with farm animals and pets are a specialty of this area, as we accommodate cases like this? Kindda cool.
I saw a wreck involving a motorcycle and since the National Guard was there, they directed traffic. How often do you see that?
Thank you so much for the peach preserves. You are so sweet. I'll try to make some cheese for you soon, but I need to catch up on other stuff before I do. Life is so crazy at hurricane times.
Now, I need a shower and a good night's rest, no matter what Ike brings.
ttammylynn- hi! Glad you're home for the night, after what sounds like an excruciatingly long day. The wind seems to be picking up but nothing else...yet...
Hope you don't try to push it tomorrow with your deliveries. The stores seemed to be better prepared this time around. The stabbing was something I had heard about during Rita. Seemed a little over the top, but admittedly, the grocery store shelves were empty. I've never seen anything like it!
I do love that we have a great place for pets here and am super glad that they changed the rules about recusing pets from evacuated areas. I have to admit, I wouldn't leave without my "kids." I know I could never leave them behind.
You are very welcome for the jam. I hope you like peach. Stay safe and dry this weekend. See you on the other side!
Thoughts for you right now. Any sort of water purification tablets and/or cooking supplies? I don't know where you are or if you might lose services. Good ideas- - -Shannon
Rough morning...wet, the rain stabs your face a bit. Delivered bread this morning...most stores are getting a decent stock now, so that shouldn't be a problem. Wind is thirty miles per hour sustained, pretty much, from the forecasts, plus gusts higher. Power has been sporatically out in B-CS, out in Navasota, Caldwell, Somerville, etc. Tree limbs are falling, roof shingles, some street signs and stuff is down.
I'm not going to deliver crackers today, my truck isn't wind friendly. I have to see if my daughter is working today at Sonic. HEB opens at 2pm. Krogers are open, as are Targets. WalMart is supposed to open tomorrow.
Still going on... we'll see.
This post makes me think of when I was a child and my family prepared for Hurricane Gloria. I must have been 5ish because my youngest brother wasn't born yet.
We had just planted dwarf apple trees all over our farm. Acres and acres. And then the hurricane forcast came in. We spent days staking and wiring each tree, cutting up all of our hoses to cushion the little trees from the wire. Then we hung out in the basement and ate candy bars (I was 5, so that's what I remember!) In the end, most of the trees made it, and now they're so big that we actually have to remove about half of them to be able to fit the tractor down the rows.
So I guess the point of the story was to say that being prepared is the best hope that everying will turn out well. Good luck!
going crunchy - no, we don't have anything like that on hand. We just filled as many containers with filtered water as we could. Wouldn't be a bad idea to have something like that on hand, though. Good thinking!
ttammylynn - hope you made it through the day alright without having to make any more deliveries. Did the rest of your family end up having to work? Hopefully it turned into a quiet day of togetherness for you. I made pancakes for Dave's breakfast, and the rest of the day I've just been sitting around reading. Neighbor's fence didn't hold up. Otherwise, not any damage that we can see on our street. Will take a bike ride in the morning to check out the rest of the neighborhood.
abbie - I LOVE that you remember the candy bars! Ahh to be a kid again :)
Hope you've made it through ok!
Simply Authentic - Thanks! We did. No damage to the house. Just a small break on the fence due to all the wind, but we came out well.
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