Impressions...
Actually it's a little Misleading.
Dominion Power said there were 1.5 million customers without power.. what they really meant were 1.5 million accounts.
VA has a population of 7.2 Million. Of those 4.6 Million were without power. Yeah, 4.6 Million people. Around 1.6 Million are or were without water that was useable. (Either unavailable or not potable).
Once I get my home in Willoughby Spit back up and running, I'll show you pictures of my new beach, as opposed to the beach I had before Isabel. Never seen anything like it, really, like the hand of God just reached down and smoothed the dunes away and left me 30 more ft of sand 'tween me and the water.
On monday night I decided to bug out. Loaded up the UHAUL on Tuesday while neighbors laughed and had a hurricane party.. came back wednesday for some last minute items and KNOCKNOCKNOCK at the door.. so I go open it and it's a nice policeman telling me the area is now under a mandatory evacuation order. So I look over at the partygoers from yesterday who are trying to stuff their couch in the camaro..
And I go make a hurricane drink and try not to smirk too obnoxiously at them as they tie their bed to their roof. I then enjoy my drinkypoo, and head out.
Irony is moving your expensive furniture from your house 100mi inland to your sisters house.. and then finding out that the eye of the hurricane will pass over her.
Feh. She survived, as did her house, as did my beach apt, and my stuff. My coworker Mike lost part of his roof though.
For all of that we got very lucky with very few fatalities, and very little insanity/looting and such. People were actuallly evacuating in fairly good order (since people were driving with a purpose and no one wanted to screw up and end up in an accident. so no applying makup while talking on the cell phone and eating a PB&J sandwhich..)
People lined up nicely to get gas at the few open stations.. presence of a policeman or two made sure it stayed that way, most folks acted very tolerant and civilized and treated intersections without power like 4 way stops.. very few assinine drivers overall, and I was very impressed.
We lost a few trees at my folks house, luckily nothing hit the house or cars. although the next day it looked like someone had shot shotguns full of leaves at the house.. the way and the force with which they were stuck to the siding.. it's really impressive. I watched the river flow the wrong way for a while and that was freaky, also seeing swells and whitecaps on a very placid river was very concerning. Some flooding in the folks backyard but nothing reached the house. Cooked on the gas grill for a couple of nights till the power came back..
I'm supposed to close on my house today (the 22nd) and I talked to my mortgage person today and she said they have to reinspect and reappraise the house I'm buying.. which I figure its a good thing... no hidden damage and the house looks perfect from the outside so if there's no hidden dings and water damage.. then I'm buying a a house I know can survive a Strong Cat 2 hurricane.
If there IS damage then I can walk away with cause and not lose any money. So either way it's a win (even if it does delay the closing a week or ten days).
anyways.. time for bed.
-Bouncer-
