Hurricane Ike

Yesterday, Rachel and I were relaxing. The weather started okay, but quickly became quite windy. Apparently, remnants of hurricane Ike was passing through. A number of small branches and twigs came down.

We had the dogs out for a quick potty break when the wind really started to pick up. I said it was time to go in and we started to corral the dogs. I was not quick enough. A branch fell right on my arm. It did not leave any marks, but it is still sore today.

The power also went out for a bit. Even when it came back on, it flickered a few times. After feeling a dull thud, we went back outside to investigate. A rather large branch came down and hit our fence. This is the second time our fence has suffered damage from a falling branch. Like last time our fence is still intact and there is less damage than the last time. Of course, a huge section of our backyard is sitting under that branch. With winds peaking at 71 mph, I am surprised we did not have more branches down.

For dinner, we made pizza. We used store-bought dough instead of making our own this time. But, it was still pretty good. Next time, we will try with homemade dough and play around with the ingredient proportions. Rachel also made some granola. We put some on top of yogurt for a nice dessert.

This morning, I expected many branches down. Aside from small twigs crunching under my tires in the driveway, the roads were nearly completely clear. I only had to swerve around on branch.

I knew gas prices would rise. But, I was a bit shocked when the corner station had gas at $4.19! The other stations in the area were only at $3.99. I stopped going to the corner station when they started to limit gas transactions to $50.

The only blockage I really encountered was other drivers. The roads were clear, the lights were working, and it was not raining. Yet some drivers refused to exceed 40 mph on the highway. When the rest of the cars are averaging sixty-five to seventy mph, going 40 mph is probably hazardous. Either stay off the road or drive with your emergency lights on.