Veronica and I made it back home safe and sound.
Upon arriving on the Outer Banks, we really did not see much on the main drag that would indicate a hurricane came through.
Sure there was some pools of rain water here and there, a couple of branches down but nothing that really stood out and said "Earl Was Here".
Most businesses were still closed except for maybe some gas stations.
As soon as we arrived home, Veronica had to jump in her vehicle and go to the store so that she could get it ready for business.
I emptied the car and put everything away at home.
I also had to clean up some water that had made its way into our bedroom, through the sliding glass doors.
I ended up getting around a gallon of water up. The carpets is still pretty damp but I have a fan blowing on it so that it will dry out.
The only other damage was some rain getting into our storage shed, that is attached to the backside of our garage.
It got a few boxes wet but nothing major.
All in all, we fared pretty well.
No flooding, no broken windows and best of all....the electricity stayed on so we don't have to replace all of our refrigerated and frozen food items.
Now maybe we can start focusing on more pleasant things, like our upcoming vacation.
We leave her in a little over 3 days....finally!
Showing posts with label Hurricane Earl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurricane Earl. Show all posts
On Our Way Out Of Town
Veronica and I woke this morning to a mandatory evacuation of all residents and visitors in Nags Head.
Nags Head is just up the road from us and it is also where the T J Maxx store is located.
Veronica went in early to get the store prepared for closing.
I stayed behind and finished packing the car up and doing a few other odd jobs in preparation for Hurricane Earl's arrival.
As soon as Veronica finishes closing up the store, we will be heading out of town.
We will be staying at a hotel that is approximately 2 hours and 100 miles away from here.
I am hoping the the low pressure system that they keep taking about, arrives in time to push Hurricane Earl just a bit to the East.
I am hoping also that upon arrival back at our place, that all windows are intact and that there is no flooding in our home.
Time to get out of here.
I will try to give an update as time allows.
Nags Head is just up the road from us and it is also where the T J Maxx store is located.
Veronica went in early to get the store prepared for closing.
I stayed behind and finished packing the car up and doing a few other odd jobs in preparation for Hurricane Earl's arrival.
As soon as Veronica finishes closing up the store, we will be heading out of town.
We will be staying at a hotel that is approximately 2 hours and 100 miles away from here.
I am hoping the the low pressure system that they keep taking about, arrives in time to push Hurricane Earl just a bit to the East.
I am hoping also that upon arrival back at our place, that all windows are intact and that there is no flooding in our home.
Time to get out of here.
I will try to give an update as time allows.
Hurricane Preparation
I went to pick up Veronica from work. I arrived to find these workers busy boarding up the front of the T J Maxx building in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Earl.
They are talking about the hurricane arriving here tomorrow night although we will get bands of rain and wind before then.
The store will be open tomorrow. The time that it will close will depend on when storm arrives here. Veronica and I will be there when the store closes. I will be helping them put up a frame where the only unboarded open door is. Once we get the door frame screwed in we will then put up the plywood pieces...kind like putting a puzzle together. The plywood sections will then be screwed to the frame. Hopefully it won't take too long to do this task because I am sure it will be raining and the wind will have picked up some by that time.
Another Update
All hurricane watches for the OBX and North Carolina coastal borders have now been changed over to hurricane warnings.
Veronica just called me from her work and told me that all of the local emergency vehicles are now hitting the gas stations and getting filled up.
It appears that some of the local gas stations have already started to raise their prices higher than what they were set at this morning, when I took Veronica to work.
I find that behavior to be totally outrageous...they should be flogged in the public square.
Veronica just called me from her work and told me that all of the local emergency vehicles are now hitting the gas stations and getting filled up.
It appears that some of the local gas stations have already started to raise their prices higher than what they were set at this morning, when I took Veronica to work.
I find that behavior to be totally outrageous...they should be flogged in the public square.
Update And A Few Changes
Unfortunately Veronica and I received information that was not the most accurate.
There is not a mandatory evacuation for our immediate area yet.
What they seem to be doing is a systematic evacuation.
Residence of Ocracoke Island were told to evacuate earlier. You can only get on and off the island by ferry.
Just heard that visitors on Hatteras must evacuate.
They are still waiting to see how this hurricane will track.
Eventually they will probably have all visitors leave the area and sometime after that, locals will be told to leave.
Of course if you want to leave earlier you can.
I called the Hampton Inn, in Williamston, NC and cancelled our room for tonight only. We will probably stay here for tonight and then go elsewhere tomorrow.
Depends on the evacuation process and the storms progress and track.
Veronica is at work.
They are supposed to be boarding up the stores windows this afternoon.
I spent the morning so far dragging down bags and items to go in the car with us, should we be told to evacuate.
I also put shipping tape on the windows.
I mainly taped up the big sliding glass door set that we have on both the 2nd and 3rd floor.
I also taped up the ground floor windows.
You would never know that a storm is coming. The sun is shining and there are no clouds in the sky. Just a clear nice day here on the Outer Banks.
Give it 24-36 hours and we will see what it looks like at that time.
So now it is time to just sit around and wait.
Update to my update.
Just saw the Mayor of Kill Devil Hills on the Weather Channel being interviewed.
He just announced that there is now a mandatory evacuation of all tourist in the immediate area.
The Emergency Management people will be monitoring the hurricane system and make determinations of any further evacuations as time goes by.
There is not a mandatory evacuation for our immediate area yet.
What they seem to be doing is a systematic evacuation.
Residence of Ocracoke Island were told to evacuate earlier. You can only get on and off the island by ferry.
Just heard that visitors on Hatteras must evacuate.
They are still waiting to see how this hurricane will track.
Eventually they will probably have all visitors leave the area and sometime after that, locals will be told to leave.
Of course if you want to leave earlier you can.
I called the Hampton Inn, in Williamston, NC and cancelled our room for tonight only. We will probably stay here for tonight and then go elsewhere tomorrow.
Depends on the evacuation process and the storms progress and track.
Veronica is at work.
They are supposed to be boarding up the stores windows this afternoon.
I spent the morning so far dragging down bags and items to go in the car with us, should we be told to evacuate.
I also put shipping tape on the windows.
I mainly taped up the big sliding glass door set that we have on both the 2nd and 3rd floor.
I also taped up the ground floor windows.
You would never know that a storm is coming. The sun is shining and there are no clouds in the sky. Just a clear nice day here on the Outer Banks.
Give it 24-36 hours and we will see what it looks like at that time.
So now it is time to just sit around and wait.
Update to my update.
Just saw the Mayor of Kill Devil Hills on the Weather Channel being interviewed.
He just announced that there is now a mandatory evacuation of all tourist in the immediate area.
The Emergency Management people will be monitoring the hurricane system and make determinations of any further evacuations as time goes by.
Latest Update About Hurricane Earl
Veronica and I just found out that there will be a mandatory evacuation due to the upcoming visit from Hurricane Earl.
The mandatory evacuation begins tomorrow at 1PM.
I just got off of the telephone with the Hampton Inn, in Williamston NC to let them know that we would be arriving there a night earlier.
This might be my last update until we get to our hotel tomorrow night. It all depends on how quick I get everything done.
Time to get things done.
See you on the "flip side".
The mandatory evacuation begins tomorrow at 1PM.
I just got off of the telephone with the Hampton Inn, in Williamston NC to let them know that we would be arriving there a night earlier.
This might be my last update until we get to our hotel tomorrow night. It all depends on how quick I get everything done.
Time to get things done.
See you on the "flip side".
Hurricane Earl Update- I Must Have A BullsEye Painted On My Back
Veronica and I spent a majority of the afternoon packing some essentials up and putting them in our car.
File boxes, emergency stash of clothes, soda pop, water, toilet paper, towels, soap, flashlights, non perishable food, medications etc.
All of these items are now in our very recently gassed up car.
Based on the most recent weather channel reports, Hurricane Earl, a strong category 4 hurricane is heading in our direction.
Based on what I am hearing now, the Outer Banks could get hit hard.
Once again it all depends on how far West it moves. The further West, the worse it will be for us.
It is kind of strange seeing a Weather Channel reporter making his live report from Kill Devil Hills, right up the road from where we live. What is even stranger is the fact that the sun is shining and the ocean is fairly calm with minimal waves in the background while this reported was making his live report.
And to think that all of that nastiness is just around the corner.
We are preparing for a very possible mandatory evacuation.
We even booked a hotel room in a town called Williamston, NC.
We got a room at a Hampton Inn. We had tried to get a room at a Comfort Inn through a web site called hotels.com.
Once the guy on the phone found out that we were in the path of a hurricane, he told Veronica that she would have to pre-pay for the room, which we wanted to book for 3 nights...just in case we can't get back because of the storms aftermath.
Veronica questioned this guy because she has never had to pre-pay for a room. This guy tried to use scare tactics on her as far as the hurricane was concerned.
Veronica did not go for it and she ended hanging up on the chump.
I really hate it when people try to take advantage of others when there disasters or major events lurking. Anything to make the almighty buck.
She ended getting us a room at Hampton Inn, in the same town, for a reasonable price and we did not have to pre-pay either.
Williamston is East of us....about 100 miles...almost a 2 hour drive.
That should take us far enough away that we will be safe and sound.
Just to be on the safe side, we will also be packing the car up with all of our luggage for our upcoming cruise.
We don't head to Norfolk until Monday afternoon but with a hurricane, you just never can tell what can happen or how much damage there could be around here. Once we have to evacuate, it might be a while until we can return. There is just no telling so we figured that we would error on the side of caution.
Well that is about the latest information that we have.
I am sure there will be more info to follow.
Needless to say, the last 2 days have been doozies!!!
File boxes, emergency stash of clothes, soda pop, water, toilet paper, towels, soap, flashlights, non perishable food, medications etc.
All of these items are now in our very recently gassed up car.
Based on the most recent weather channel reports, Hurricane Earl, a strong category 4 hurricane is heading in our direction.
Based on what I am hearing now, the Outer Banks could get hit hard.
Once again it all depends on how far West it moves. The further West, the worse it will be for us.
It is kind of strange seeing a Weather Channel reporter making his live report from Kill Devil Hills, right up the road from where we live. What is even stranger is the fact that the sun is shining and the ocean is fairly calm with minimal waves in the background while this reported was making his live report.
And to think that all of that nastiness is just around the corner.
We are preparing for a very possible mandatory evacuation.
We even booked a hotel room in a town called Williamston, NC.
We got a room at a Hampton Inn. We had tried to get a room at a Comfort Inn through a web site called hotels.com.
Once the guy on the phone found out that we were in the path of a hurricane, he told Veronica that she would have to pre-pay for the room, which we wanted to book for 3 nights...just in case we can't get back because of the storms aftermath.
Veronica questioned this guy because she has never had to pre-pay for a room. This guy tried to use scare tactics on her as far as the hurricane was concerned.
Veronica did not go for it and she ended hanging up on the chump.
I really hate it when people try to take advantage of others when there disasters or major events lurking. Anything to make the almighty buck.
She ended getting us a room at Hampton Inn, in the same town, for a reasonable price and we did not have to pre-pay either.
Williamston is East of us....about 100 miles...almost a 2 hour drive.
That should take us far enough away that we will be safe and sound.
Just to be on the safe side, we will also be packing the car up with all of our luggage for our upcoming cruise.
We don't head to Norfolk until Monday afternoon but with a hurricane, you just never can tell what can happen or how much damage there could be around here. Once we have to evacuate, it might be a while until we can return. There is just no telling so we figured that we would error on the side of caution.
Well that is about the latest information that we have.
I am sure there will be more info to follow.
Needless to say, the last 2 days have been doozies!!!
Lots Of Sticks In The Fire
Today we have been super busy.
I had a doctors appointment first this morning. It was official weigh in day.
The magic number for today's weigh in is....wait for it.............175 pounds.
This is the lowest I have been for at least 12 years, probably more. I would like to drop 3 more pounds but not sure if it will happen.
Hurricane Earl is still approaching and it is still too early to know if it will fully hit us, give us a glancing blow or mainly stay off the coast.
No matter what it does, I am sure we will feel some of its fury since it is not a category 4 hurricane.
Veronica and I had to pack up some items in case of a mandatory evacuation. If we have an evacuation, it will be a grab and go situation so we wanted to have some stuff prepared.
We will have both cars fully gassed up too.
This storm has been the talk of the town around here.
We should have a better idea on what to expect within the next 24 hours. We might not truly know until the last minute.
Veronica and I also had to repack our suitcases and whittle down a few things. We originally had 4 suitcases but they want an arm and leg for baggage fees nowadays.
So what we decided to do was to get everything into 3 suitcases.
In one of the suitcases we put a smaller suitcase and packed stuff it that one and around it.
That will save us some money on the fees at least on the 2 flights heading to London.
On the return trip, we will have 4 suitcases, using the one that was packed in the other.
We can use that suitcase for souvenirs and whatever else we decide to purchase.
I set up a couple of additional doctors appointments for after we return home. The big one will be on 9/30 with my Oncologist.
I had a great Oncologist when we lived in Virginia Beach but because the drive to see him would be problematic, I changed to one that is close by us here on the Outer Banks.
This Oncologist is part of the same Oncology group as my other one.
The only bad thing about him is that he is only in his Kitty Hawk office on Thursdays.
He will be my main man to guide me through whatever journey that might lay in front of me.
I am sure that with the upcoming storm, I will have some exciting things to write about but if for some reason you don't read any new entries in the next couple of days, it will be because we either lost electricity or internet access or both.
I had a doctors appointment first this morning. It was official weigh in day.
The magic number for today's weigh in is....wait for it.............175 pounds.
This is the lowest I have been for at least 12 years, probably more. I would like to drop 3 more pounds but not sure if it will happen.
Hurricane Earl is still approaching and it is still too early to know if it will fully hit us, give us a glancing blow or mainly stay off the coast.
No matter what it does, I am sure we will feel some of its fury since it is not a category 4 hurricane.
Veronica and I had to pack up some items in case of a mandatory evacuation. If we have an evacuation, it will be a grab and go situation so we wanted to have some stuff prepared.
We will have both cars fully gassed up too.
This storm has been the talk of the town around here.
We should have a better idea on what to expect within the next 24 hours. We might not truly know until the last minute.
Veronica and I also had to repack our suitcases and whittle down a few things. We originally had 4 suitcases but they want an arm and leg for baggage fees nowadays.
So what we decided to do was to get everything into 3 suitcases.
In one of the suitcases we put a smaller suitcase and packed stuff it that one and around it.
That will save us some money on the fees at least on the 2 flights heading to London.
On the return trip, we will have 4 suitcases, using the one that was packed in the other.
We can use that suitcase for souvenirs and whatever else we decide to purchase.
I set up a couple of additional doctors appointments for after we return home. The big one will be on 9/30 with my Oncologist.
I had a great Oncologist when we lived in Virginia Beach but because the drive to see him would be problematic, I changed to one that is close by us here on the Outer Banks.
This Oncologist is part of the same Oncology group as my other one.
The only bad thing about him is that he is only in his Kitty Hawk office on Thursdays.
He will be my main man to guide me through whatever journey that might lay in front of me.
I am sure that with the upcoming storm, I will have some exciting things to write about but if for some reason you don't read any new entries in the next couple of days, it will be because we either lost electricity or internet access or both.
Hoping To Dodge A Bullet Or Should I Say A Hurricane
Veronica and I leave home on Monday afternoon, at which time we will head into Norfolk, VA and stay at a hotel.
We fly out of Norfolk early on Tuesday morning heading to Newark, NJ.
We will hang around at the airport in Newark until about 9PM Tuesday night. We will be boarding our Virgin Atlantic jet for our over night flight to London England.
Now this is how everything was and currently is planned out to occur.
There might be a slight problem with these plans.
It seems that mother nature might have some plans of her own.
It appears that what once was tropical storm Earl, is now Hurricane Earl...a category 1 hurricane.
Based on early projections, Earl should be in our general area around Thursday or Friday of this upcoming week.
The best case scenario is that this hurricane veers North and then Northeast thus taking it away from the Eastern coast.
No matter where it lands, hopefully it will be a minimal hurricane and that it will be a fast moving storm.
That way we can keep our plans intact. We should have a better idea about what is going to happen with this hurricane over the next couple of days.
Veronica and I will be keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that our vacation goes as planned.
We fly out of Norfolk early on Tuesday morning heading to Newark, NJ.
We will hang around at the airport in Newark until about 9PM Tuesday night. We will be boarding our Virgin Atlantic jet for our over night flight to London England.
Now this is how everything was and currently is planned out to occur.
There might be a slight problem with these plans.
It seems that mother nature might have some plans of her own.
It appears that what once was tropical storm Earl, is now Hurricane Earl...a category 1 hurricane.
Based on early projections, Earl should be in our general area around Thursday or Friday of this upcoming week.
The best case scenario is that this hurricane veers North and then Northeast thus taking it away from the Eastern coast.
No matter where it lands, hopefully it will be a minimal hurricane and that it will be a fast moving storm.
That way we can keep our plans intact. We should have a better idea about what is going to happen with this hurricane over the next couple of days.
Veronica and I will be keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that our vacation goes as planned.
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