Once again we prove that you can't put 20 lbs of something into a one lb sack. When we got up at 4 am this morning and watched the local tv traffic reports (it was taking people 11 hours to travel 50 miles), we concluded that we couldn't take a chance on getting trapped and running out of gas on the highway. There are literally a couple of million people trying to get away from Rita and it's causing big problems on the road.
We decided this was no time to try to make a 12 to 18 hour trip to San Antonio with my elderly father-in-law, a new-born baby and a post-C section mom. The prospect made the Hurricane look like a preferable alternative.
My other neice and her family of 3 small children and husband turned around and came back after deciding they shouldn't get into that mess either. Now they are staying with El Jefe and me because their house is surrounded by tall pines and they are concerned about one falling in the wind and coming through the roof.
We still might leave if things clear up on the road later in the afternoon and we think we can make it in 6 hours (it usually would take 4) or so. But the last weather report was somewhat encouraging--the projected path is shifting east of us and so we now only anticipate tropical storm conditions here.
Lesson learned: if you think you want to avoid a hurricane in a highly populated area, you have to be willing to leave BEFORE it's clear that it has your name on it. That's what I will do next time. It's so hard to just sit and wait for the storm to come at you.
We decided this was no time to try to make a 12 to 18 hour trip to San Antonio with my elderly father-in-law, a new-born baby and a post-C section mom. The prospect made the Hurricane look like a preferable alternative.
My other neice and her family of 3 small children and husband turned around and came back after deciding they shouldn't get into that mess either. Now they are staying with El Jefe and me because their house is surrounded by tall pines and they are concerned about one falling in the wind and coming through the roof.
We still might leave if things clear up on the road later in the afternoon and we think we can make it in 6 hours (it usually would take 4) or so. But the last weather report was somewhat encouraging--the projected path is shifting east of us and so we now only anticipate tropical storm conditions here.
Lesson learned: if you think you want to avoid a hurricane in a highly populated area, you have to be willing to leave BEFORE it's clear that it has your name on it. That's what I will do next time. It's so hard to just sit and wait for the storm to come at you.
6 comments:
Please be careful! You're in our prayers.
I'm also glad it's only a cat-4 now. ChicagoRev's family tried to leave then had to turn back--and because they'd planned to leave, they have no supplies.
Praying for everyone down there.
Oh my...The news just showed those traffic queues, and I'd wondered if you'd got out OK. Much love and ongoing prayers for all of you.
Just went back and read this--"only" a category 4, everything's relative I suppose. What I meant is that with any luck and grace, it's on a weakening trend.
Still praying. Thank you for letting us know something.
praying for your safety.
This is all too much God. Too much. Amen
PS I remember being in Houston and the awful traffic jams at the best of time. ... sometimes, just sometimes, I'm glad to live in Finland.
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