Dashing Here and There

Hi, friends. Sorry to be absent so long! It's been hectic around here. We drove to Chattanooga last Wednesday (12 hours in the car) with two dogs in order to help our daughter become a driver again.

Now her car is inspected, tagged, insured, registered, titled, and she has her license. It was also fun to see Philip and Kara.

four doggies fixated on Philip :)

Then we drove back home on Friday (12 hours in the car) and immediately learned that Hurricane Florence is forming in the Atlantic Ocean.

We first visited Pamlico County exactly seven years ago. Then, Hurricane Irene had just passed through, a Category 1 hurricane when it came here that dallied its way up the seaboard and caused massive flooding. It sucked up ocean water, and its counter-clockwise rotation poured that water into the Pamlico Sound like tea from a bottomless pitcher. This shoved water levels up-up-up into the rivers and creeks. Homes in our county still have roof tarps and damage from that hurricane -- seven years later.

Florence will likely be a Category 4 when it hits land on the southern North Carolina coast, probably just south of us. That's rare: a storm that strong making landfall at this latitude. If it meets high pressure and stalls out, the flooding will be massive again.

I am jumping in our van with Beau and Trixie on Tuesday morning and driving to the safety of the West Virginia mountains for the duration of the storm. (Some models indicate heavy rains -- 25" -- into Virginia and West Virginia with this storm!) If you plan, it's not difficult to leave before a hurricane, but it can be difficult to return afterward. Widespread, lengthy power outages are almost certain, and high winds, heavy summer rainfall, and storm flooding will lead to whole neighborhoods underwater with downed trees. Our house has survived nearly 100 years of storms. Adam plans to stay (with the 2 farm dogs), but I'll admit I'm concerned for his safety. He will want to help others, but I think it's likely (given our location) that he will be stranded at the house, unable to leave. I hope we don't get water in our house, but it's impossible to know.

We appreciate prayers. For seven years we've avoided a significant hurricane event in our county, but we knew it would come inevitably. I'll try to keep you posted from West Virginia, but I may not be able to contact Adam for a while, if the county loses power.

Stay safe and dry out there!