Ike Update

We made it to my parents house in The Woodlands, and are hunkering down. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get here the first time (yes, we made two trips... one to bring my car and the boat, the other to bring us, the both trucks, and everything else). The second trip took the normal time. No evacuation traffic at all.

If any of you were watching the Weather Channel this morning, then you saw one of their reporters, Mike Betts, reporting live from the northwest side of our island we call "A Little Slice of Paradise," and that would be Clear Lake Shores. It's probably never a good thing when the Weather Channel is broadcasting live from where you live.

With that said, Ike is now predicted to hit Galveston directly, which is an all-around shitty situation for us. When we left yesterday, the park across the street from us had already begun to flood from the higher tides. They are predicting 17-22 feet tidal surge, and that will put our house in shambles. Add to that 100 mph winds and who knows what else, we're not expecting good things when we return. I know that's not a very good attitude to have, but you know what they say... prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

I shed a few tears when we left and last night, and I didn't sleep much last night. We're definitely prepared for the worst, so anything other than the worst will be welcome.

Thank you all for your help and your prayers. Jay and I are very fortunate to have such great friends all around this great country. Those of you that are hundreds and thousands of miles away... thank you for your texts, phone calls and prayers. Those of you in the Houston area that have offered your help and a place to stay, that means the world to us. We appreciate that so much. And for those who came over to help us load the trucks and who took some stuffr of ours to their house, you have no idea what that means to us. Thank you all. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends. We love you!

Good news and bad news

I'll start with the bad. We just got our mandatory evacuation orders, so we have to be out of here by noon today. What way to wake up this morning.

Now, the good. Our flood, wind and hail coverage is all in effect (we thought we'd have to wait the typical 30 days after closing), so we're taking valuables and leaving the rest. I didn't pay thousands of dollars for nothing!

Looks like we'll be heading to The Woodlands to mom and dad's. Not quite sure what to do with vehicles, as we have three and only two of us. But again, I guess that's what we have insurance for. We contemplated putting two of them at mom and dad's townhouse, but they are saying we're going to now get 15 to 22 feet tidal surge, which would put their lower level under water (they're at 16 feet).

So, that's the update for now. I'll try to keep you updated as much as I can. Please keep saying a little prayer. I am now officially scared!

Evacuating

We're not under a mandatory evacuation yet, but we expect to be by tomorrow. So, we're packing up and moving to higher ground. I hate this shit. I never know what to take and what to leave. I know we have insurance, but some things aren't replaceable. On the other hand, I have to keep telling myself that they are just things. And things can be replaced. Lives can't. So, I've pretty much got every photo and photo album in this house, plus a few other special things, and the rest I'll leave to insurance. Assuming they'll cover it.

The prediction is for the eye to make landfall in Freeport (for those of you not familiar with this area and Texas, Freeport is about 40 -50 miles southwest of Clear Lake Shores), which really is the worst scenario for us because that puts us on the dirty side of the storm, where all the worst weather is. They're saying we'll have 8 - 12 feet tidal surges in our area, which will flood our house. We only sit about 8 feet above sea level, so any tidal surge about 8 feet would not be good. I'll try to keep you posted on here as to our whereabouts and happenings. Please say a prayer!

Ike

It appears that we're going to take some brunt of hurricane Ike. What that is yet, exactly, we still don't know. And probably won't know until later this evening or even tomorrow. It all depends on what happens as it crosses the Gulf. It's amazing how much meteorology you learn when you live on the coast. Stuff like steering currents, water temps, upper and lower level troughs... who needs to go to school for that? Just come live on the Gulf Coast!! But seriously, we're watching what Ike does, and we'll plan accordingly... plywood on the windows, gas in the tanks, extra batteries, non-perishable foods. We've got it all and we'll use it if necessary. I'll try to keep you posted here as to our whereabouts, etc. In the meantime, if I lose power, will someone please text me updates of the USC / Ohio State game?!?!? (yes, I do have my priorities set straight, but this is a pretty big game, and I don't want to miss out!)

I'M A HOMEOWNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was THE big day. And what a day it was. I can't tell you what a relief it is to have this whole home-buying purchase out of the way. For those of you who know how long this has taken and all of the crap we've had to go through, then you know what a HUGE relief this is for us. Now I see why people go postal over this sort of stuff. But, we couldn't be happier to finally have this saga behind us. We've always said that we have big plans for this house, and Jay already has the permit application for tree removal (we have a few that need to come down). So, I imagine that will be handled in the next couple of weeks. And now maybe I can get started on that wish list that has been on the refrigerator for over a year...