HURRICANE IKE - SEPTEMBER, 2008 - EVACUATION
Main dock that leads to my dock
Been a Wild Ride
Hurricane Ike, Sept 11, 2008
A hurricane is headed right for your marina – What do you do? Get out of Dodge, of course; so that is what I did. My friend Barbara Pusser called me a couple of days before and suggested that I come with her to her son’s house – in Magnolia, TX - and it sounded like a really good idea to me. I was debating about where to go – KC was too far away as I would want to get back to the boat ASAP. Riding out the storm aboard the boat did not sound like a very good idea. And besides, the marina doesn't allow that. I got the boat all prepared – almost anyway – threw some odds and ends of clothes together and off we went on Thursday morning. The highways were already crowded with Ike only 36 hours or so away. We went along at a speed varying between 2 to 3 mph to 70 mph – arriving in Magnolia which is 73 miles away, the usual driving time about 1 hour and 35 minutes took us five and a half hours of gritting out teeth, clutching the wheel, tensing our bodies, and swearing (under our breath of course). Barb was in a friends SUV with two Dalmatians which she was baby sitting and I was in my car, following her because I had no idea where we were going. Even if I had, I probably would have gotten lost at least three times.
We got to Mark’s (Barb’s son) house, a great place in the woods, one he built himself; put the dogs on their long leashes as there were no fences and turned the TV on to track the progress of the approaching 200 mile wide storm. The news was full of repeated, repeated and repeated information concerning the storm of course.
The wind blew and the rain came; a big tree fell on the roof and the rain came in, tearing apart the ceiling and insulation, with a huge crash to the floor. Then the lights went out. Power everywhere was gone, so out came the candles and flashlights. Mark got his small 12 volt TV and hooked it to one of the car batteries so we could stay informed; and informed we did stay.
The Dalmatians were out of their regular element so of course they were extremely hard to handle. We would both be so glad to get them back home if the darned storm would just go away; if the county roads were clear; if the water would recede and if the gas stations would open (which they didn't). Lots of “if’s” there.
We left about noon on Monday to return to whatever mess Ike had left for us to contend with. I had been informed (much to my relief) the boat was fine but I needed to see for myself. The boat was fine but the marina was upside down and backwards. Looked like it had been turned upside down and shaken.
Alas, when we got home, hoping to turn the Dalmatians loose in their own back yard to romp and play – wouldn't you know - two sides of the fence was down? We would have cried if crying would put the fence back up.
After the storm was over I realized there were two things I didn't set on the floor that I probably should have. The biggest thing was my ice-maker, which sits on a “dresser top”; where there were no fiddles to hold it in place – they were cut but not installed as we are not through refitting the forward cabin. The ice maker is pretty heavy. It was sitting in the same spot where I left it - through all that storm. The other item that should have made a mess and didn't was a medium sized glass container filled with pennies, nickels and dimes (I don’t save my quarters because I use them for laundry) which was also sitting on a shelf where a fiddle has not been put back. I could just see the ice maker on the floor, with a hole under it and the pennies, nickels, and dimes all over the salon and galley floors. But all was well and everything was fine. The coin jar was sitting upright on the salon seat, not even spilled.
I lost the TV antenna off the top of the mast – which was no problem because I didn't use it and it was going to come down anyway, and there were a couple of small rubbed places on the side of the boat, where a fender had rubbed. No flooding or anything like that. Whew! What a relief.
I stayed around Kemah for about three days, helping clear out a store, Tropical Express, where I had worked for a couple of years. Barb was still working there and Kathy, the owner, asked her to come to work to help sort stuff out. So I volunteered to help also. When we finished I packed my car with things I would need while on 'vacation' and headed east.
I was gone for two and a half months as there was no water or electricity in the marina. I visited John at his home in Montgomery, AL (twice) and the condo in Panama City Beach, FL; (also twice); I visited Bill in Killen, AL; my friend Virginia in Nashville; and my son, Mike in Indianapolis, IN. What a vacation. Everyone was wonderful and I had just a really great time. Many Thanks to all of you.
Before I started home, I called the Marina and they said "yes" we have water and electricity. What they didn't say was that the office was not open and I wouldn't be working yet. If I had known that, I would have gone over to KC to visit the kids and grandkids for a bit. It was another month before they actually opened the office for business as normal.
Hurricane Ike, Sept 11, 2008
A hurricane is headed right for your marina – What do you do? Get out of Dodge, of course; so that is what I did. My friend Barbara Pusser called me a couple of days before and suggested that I come with her to her son’s house – in Magnolia, TX - and it sounded like a really good idea to me. I was debating about where to go – KC was too far away as I would want to get back to the boat ASAP. Riding out the storm aboard the boat did not sound like a very good idea. And besides, the marina doesn't allow that. I got the boat all prepared – almost anyway – threw some odds and ends of clothes together and off we went on Thursday morning. The highways were already crowded with Ike only 36 hours or so away. We went along at a speed varying between 2 to 3 mph to 70 mph – arriving in Magnolia which is 73 miles away, the usual driving time about 1 hour and 35 minutes took us five and a half hours of gritting out teeth, clutching the wheel, tensing our bodies, and swearing (under our breath of course). Barb was in a friends SUV with two Dalmatians which she was baby sitting and I was in my car, following her because I had no idea where we were going. Even if I had, I probably would have gotten lost at least three times.
We got to Mark’s (Barb’s son) house, a great place in the woods, one he built himself; put the dogs on their long leashes as there were no fences and turned the TV on to track the progress of the approaching 200 mile wide storm. The news was full of repeated, repeated and repeated information concerning the storm of course.
The wind blew and the rain came; a big tree fell on the roof and the rain came in, tearing apart the ceiling and insulation, with a huge crash to the floor. Then the lights went out. Power everywhere was gone, so out came the candles and flashlights. Mark got his small 12 volt TV and hooked it to one of the car batteries so we could stay informed; and informed we did stay.
The Dalmatians were out of their regular element so of course they were extremely hard to handle. We would both be so glad to get them back home if the darned storm would just go away; if the county roads were clear; if the water would recede and if the gas stations would open (which they didn't). Lots of “if’s” there.
We left about noon on Monday to return to whatever mess Ike had left for us to contend with. I had been informed (much to my relief) the boat was fine but I needed to see for myself. The boat was fine but the marina was upside down and backwards. Looked like it had been turned upside down and shaken.
Alas, when we got home, hoping to turn the Dalmatians loose in their own back yard to romp and play – wouldn't you know - two sides of the fence was down? We would have cried if crying would put the fence back up.
After the storm was over I realized there were two things I didn't set on the floor that I probably should have. The biggest thing was my ice-maker, which sits on a “dresser top”; where there were no fiddles to hold it in place – they were cut but not installed as we are not through refitting the forward cabin. The ice maker is pretty heavy. It was sitting in the same spot where I left it - through all that storm. The other item that should have made a mess and didn't was a medium sized glass container filled with pennies, nickels and dimes (I don’t save my quarters because I use them for laundry) which was also sitting on a shelf where a fiddle has not been put back. I could just see the ice maker on the floor, with a hole under it and the pennies, nickels, and dimes all over the salon and galley floors. But all was well and everything was fine. The coin jar was sitting upright on the salon seat, not even spilled.
I lost the TV antenna off the top of the mast – which was no problem because I didn't use it and it was going to come down anyway, and there were a couple of small rubbed places on the side of the boat, where a fender had rubbed. No flooding or anything like that. Whew! What a relief.
I stayed around Kemah for about three days, helping clear out a store, Tropical Express, where I had worked for a couple of years. Barb was still working there and Kathy, the owner, asked her to come to work to help sort stuff out. So I volunteered to help also. When we finished I packed my car with things I would need while on 'vacation' and headed east.
I was gone for two and a half months as there was no water or electricity in the marina. I visited John at his home in Montgomery, AL (twice) and the condo in Panama City Beach, FL; (also twice); I visited Bill in Killen, AL; my friend Virginia in Nashville; and my son, Mike in Indianapolis, IN. What a vacation. Everyone was wonderful and I had just a really great time. Many Thanks to all of you.
Before I started home, I called the Marina and they said "yes" we have water and electricity. What they didn't say was that the office was not open and I wouldn't be working yet. If I had known that, I would have gone over to KC to visit the kids and grandkids for a bit. It was another month before they actually opened the office for business as normal.
