It is Wednesday Sept 17 4:20 PM. Elizabeth and Candi are sleeping. They need the rest as it has been a roller coaster ride for the past 5 days. As I sit here typing this I can hear our new generator running. It is the only reason I am able to post this blog. We still do not have power. Here is a brief review of our encounter with Hurricane Ike. As the storm approached we check monitoring it closely. It was a category 2 storm with winds in the 105 miles per hour range. We were prepared to ride out the storm at home. This house has been through several major storms so we felt comfortable it would protect us. When we got up Friday morning it still looked like we would stay here. But as we listened to the forecasts we got more and more concerned. The issue was not the wind as it was still only 105 miles per hour but rather the water. Hurricanes blow so hard they actually push water in front of them. Since this storm was so big, the same size as the state of Texas, the storm surge was going to be huge. About 9:30 AM we decided to head inland and find higher ground. So we drove to west Houston and found a hotel room. Around 9 PM the full fury of the storm started to hit. The thing pictures do not convey it what a hurricane sounds like. The wind howls. While it did not sound like a freight train as reported during tornados, it certainly sounded like a big truck driving by. And it lasted for about 14 hours. Somewhere around 11 PM the power went out in the hotel. It got hot and muggy in the room as water was pouring in around the window. Of course neither of us slept. Around 4 AM I looked out the window and I could see the wind was blowing from the opposite direction it had been the night before. This meant we must be past the eye of the storm. I also notice we no longer had running water in the bathroom. By 11 AM on Saturday we had enough. We could go home and suffer with no power or water. So off we went. We got home with relatively no problems. We did see a lot of damage. Mostly fences and roofs. Some more serious. Our house was about the same. We had fence damage and some slight damage to the house. We also has gotten water inside the house and it ruin the floor in our breakfast area. Of course there were lots of tree limbs down and of course no power. We spent the day cleaning up the house. That night we both took cold showers but with no AC it did little to help. It was a pretty miserable night sleeping as it was so hot and humid.
On Sunday I had to find some ice. I got on the road early and started driving west away from the worst of the damage. I stopped and every little store that was open. The story was always the same, no ice. Finally I got to the town of Columbus, which is about 100 miles from home and found a store where I got 5 bags of ice. On the way out of town I passed a gas station that was open so I filled my car. It was raining and while I was searching for ice, Elizabeth was cleaning branches and debris from the storm drain in front of our house so the water could drain. By afternoon the rain stopped and I fixed the fence enough that Candi could not get out when she went out to pottie. The local grocery store opened and we got some supplies. They did not have any perishable stuff like meat, dairy or produce. With all this Elizabeth was able to make a nice supper. We went to bed early since there is little to do when the sun sets and you have no power. We did have a cold front move through so the weather was much improved. It was cooler and much less humidity. It actually was a very pleasant night.
The next morning I again had to find ice. I had heard there was some at a Target store nearby. As I drove to it I passed a grocery store, HEB. They had a tractor trailer full of ice in the parking lot. The line was fairly short so I got in line. I was able to get 10 bags of ice. At home I started to remove the old floor from the breakfast area. When I installed the floor the directions said to put I sheet of plastic under the floor as a vapor barrier. This plastic also traps water that will cause mold to grow. So I wanted to get rid of the old floor before that happen. Again Elizabeth made a great supper and it was an early night.
Tuesday was just another work day. We finished removing the floor and worked in the yard. As I write just a couple of days later it is difficult to remember exactly on what day we did what. Each day we get up not knowing what new challenges we will have. The days also run together and you are not really sure what day it is. Elizabeth continues to do a great job on meals. We do have gas so our stove works. It has to be lit manually with some sort of lighter but at least it works. Some people have an all electric house. That means electric stove and electric water heater. At least we can cook and have hot water. On Tuesday night we noticed some street lights on down the street. While we still do not have power, it looks like it is getting closer. Tuesday was also a good day as we got mail. This is the first mail we have gotten since last Wednesday. We also had the floor guy stop by to measure for our new floor. We are going to put down tile instead. While we have called our insurance company, we have not heard a ting from them. We are taking lots of pictures to document our damage and will square things with them later.
On Wednesday we had another blessing, a generator. My company is providing aid and I told them I did not have power so they provided a generator and 10 gallons of gas. I already had 10 gallons at home so we should be in good shape. I drove to the distribution center in my little Toyota Corolla. As other trucks drove away it was obvious I was not going to get that generator in my car. I asked people behind we in line if they lived in my area. The guy in the second truck behind we said he would drive past mu house on his way home and he would be glad to drop off my generator. It is amazing how a crisis can bring out the best in some people. So I got the generator home and fired it up. It will not provide all the power we need but it will run our refrigerator, this computer and several other things. We tried to turn on the television but cable is out and we do not have any kind of rabbit ears for even local reception. AT least we will be able to stay up tonight. Today we did not do as much. I think both Elizabeth and I needed a rest day.
In general things are look good for us. We are safe. We have food and our house is undamaged. Now we have power at least enough for the refrigerator. Even the weather has been good. That is going to change soon and we will be back to hot and humid.
We took a bunch of pictures and I will post some of them later. Below is a picture that I think pretty much tells the story. It is a before and after picture. If you look closely you will notice the houses the survived and are not beach front were actually three rows back in the before picture. The first couple of rows of houses are just gone.
On Sunday I had to find some ice. I got on the road early and started driving west away from the worst of the damage. I stopped and every little store that was open. The story was always the same, no ice. Finally I got to the town of Columbus, which is about 100 miles from home and found a store where I got 5 bags of ice. On the way out of town I passed a gas station that was open so I filled my car. It was raining and while I was searching for ice, Elizabeth was cleaning branches and debris from the storm drain in front of our house so the water could drain. By afternoon the rain stopped and I fixed the fence enough that Candi could not get out when she went out to pottie. The local grocery store opened and we got some supplies. They did not have any perishable stuff like meat, dairy or produce. With all this Elizabeth was able to make a nice supper. We went to bed early since there is little to do when the sun sets and you have no power. We did have a cold front move through so the weather was much improved. It was cooler and much less humidity. It actually was a very pleasant night.
The next morning I again had to find ice. I had heard there was some at a Target store nearby. As I drove to it I passed a grocery store, HEB. They had a tractor trailer full of ice in the parking lot. The line was fairly short so I got in line. I was able to get 10 bags of ice. At home I started to remove the old floor from the breakfast area. When I installed the floor the directions said to put I sheet of plastic under the floor as a vapor barrier. This plastic also traps water that will cause mold to grow. So I wanted to get rid of the old floor before that happen. Again Elizabeth made a great supper and it was an early night.
Tuesday was just another work day. We finished removing the floor and worked in the yard. As I write just a couple of days later it is difficult to remember exactly on what day we did what. Each day we get up not knowing what new challenges we will have. The days also run together and you are not really sure what day it is. Elizabeth continues to do a great job on meals. We do have gas so our stove works. It has to be lit manually with some sort of lighter but at least it works. Some people have an all electric house. That means electric stove and electric water heater. At least we can cook and have hot water. On Tuesday night we noticed some street lights on down the street. While we still do not have power, it looks like it is getting closer. Tuesday was also a good day as we got mail. This is the first mail we have gotten since last Wednesday. We also had the floor guy stop by to measure for our new floor. We are going to put down tile instead. While we have called our insurance company, we have not heard a ting from them. We are taking lots of pictures to document our damage and will square things with them later.
On Wednesday we had another blessing, a generator. My company is providing aid and I told them I did not have power so they provided a generator and 10 gallons of gas. I already had 10 gallons at home so we should be in good shape. I drove to the distribution center in my little Toyota Corolla. As other trucks drove away it was obvious I was not going to get that generator in my car. I asked people behind we in line if they lived in my area. The guy in the second truck behind we said he would drive past mu house on his way home and he would be glad to drop off my generator. It is amazing how a crisis can bring out the best in some people. So I got the generator home and fired it up. It will not provide all the power we need but it will run our refrigerator, this computer and several other things. We tried to turn on the television but cable is out and we do not have any kind of rabbit ears for even local reception. AT least we will be able to stay up tonight. Today we did not do as much. I think both Elizabeth and I needed a rest day.
In general things are look good for us. We are safe. We have food and our house is undamaged. Now we have power at least enough for the refrigerator. Even the weather has been good. That is going to change soon and we will be back to hot and humid.
We took a bunch of pictures and I will post some of them later. Below is a picture that I think pretty much tells the story. It is a before and after picture. If you look closely you will notice the houses the survived and are not beach front were actually three rows back in the before picture. The first couple of rows of houses are just gone.
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