I last posted on Friday, just as the storm was reaching full force and just before we lost our electricity. We were so grateful for the power of our recently purchased generator which, although not the loveliest household accessory, kept our phones charged and our broccoli frozen.
Summer had dental surgery and so we had to take her off her regular food for two weeks. That made life a bit more complicated, especially since the dog food I bought caused equal parts diarrhea and vomiting.
A spitting hurricane and a vomiting dog? Oh the joy.
and the area-wide curfew was lifted, we went out for a look around.
This is the causeway going into Nags Head, about ten minutes from our house.
After seeing the state of those power poles, we began to reconcile ourselves to the fact that it would be many days before we would have power again.
However, as we walked back into the house, just four hours after losing power, I glanced in the living room and saw a lamp–with a burning bulb!
I wasn’t even aware of it but Steve told me later that I did a happy dance in the middle of the hallway. When I break out into dance, you know something truly momentous has occurred.
The strange thing is that throughout all of Roanoke Island, only our street and a couple of others got power that night. Since then, most people have had it restored, despite what was called “catastrophic damage” to the electrical grid.
Every single one of us was grateful for the linemen that drove in from miles away to help. At one point, someone counted over two hundred power trucks coming onto the Outer Banks.
but especially that it enabled me to put together a quick meal for an out of town Coast Guard team that was using our church’s youth house for a staging area.
When I asked Steve what they were going to eat for dinner (all the restaurants were closed) he said they would just eat their military rations
Well, I come from a long line of women that thrives on feeding people so as soon as I walked in the door and saw the lights on, I got out my biggest pot and threw together a soup to feed fourteen. There were only eight guys but they were big enough to eat several servings each. I added some garlic cheese bread and Steve ferried it all over to the church and sat down and ate with them.
You can see by these pictures that I was definitely cookin’ in a hurry. I got it all done in less than 30 minutes!
Many of the guys had come in from different states to help our little community and my hope is that as they left town, they took with them the warmth and the caring of a home-cooked meal.
he gave me a call to say that a couple needed to spend the night with us because it was difficult for them to care for a newborn without electricity. I swooped around and cleaned off my counters, did some emergency cleaning of the guest bathroom and then welcomed our sweet guests. When you are one of the few people in the area to have power, it’s a privilege to share it with others.
Steve stood in the garage and pondered the 12.5 tons of yard trash, limbs and leaves that greeted him.
The next day he generously invited me to be a part of his Leaf-Raking, Branch-Retrieving, Debris Removal Team. I didn’t last real long but it was nice to be able to say I did a little something.
This was right next to our church.
Ocracoke, a quaint Outer Banks island about 70 miles from Manteo, got hit hard.
It’s interesting to note the flood levels of past hurricanes and see how Dorian compared.
This is Hwy. 12 at the north end of Ocracoke.
This site has some excellent photography coverage of the storm in NC.
You may remember that I mentioned something in my last post about the wild horses. You can read this article to see that they (and their mule friend, Raymond) fared well.
I love this photo from Facebook showing the free coffee stand that a family set up for anyone experiencing caffeine withdrawal. It’s always inspiring to see neighbors helping neighbors.
On this Monday morning, I am grateful to be tucked into our undamaged home, seeing the light of a new week beyond our windows.
I know there are so many who don’t even have a window to look through anymore, or if they do, all they can see is storm-borne debris and destruction. I will never take for granted the blessing of sitting here in safety--on the other side of Dorian.
What about you?
What is the worst storm you have ever weathered?
Where were you and what year was it?
We were so blessed to not have any damage from Dorian. Some limbs down but God spared us. Thankful you are getting back to normal. I know the Coast Guard enjoyed the soup. God bless.
Ann,
Nothing more fun than feeding a bunch of appreciative people, as I know that YOU well know. Blessings.
I’m so happy you are are safe without too much damage. Very scary. It is inspiring to see people coming together to help each other in times of need.
Michele,
I know. I love to see the worst of times bring out the best in people.
So thankful you and your home were not damaged, except for branches and leaves. How wonderful you were able to feed these men who came from different parts of the country to help.
Sharyn,
I figured if they could travel all the way to Manteo, I could at LEAST provide a little dinner!
I’m so glad you fared fairly well, other than all of the yard debris. I hope the cleanup is quick and life restored to normal in all of the areas hit by this storm. These powerful shows of Mother Nature can just be so devastating!
Gayle,
Apart from the huge piles of limbs, trees and limbs stacked everywhere, this little island has recovered quickly. So thankful.
I’m so happy to hear you experienced little damage and such a short time without power.(And that you have a generator to save the day) I’m sure your gift of a home-cooked meal was a blessing and pleasant surprise to that Coast Guard team. And what a fun and caring “adventure” to host the newborn and family. I loved seeing the coffee urn out to share with all who might need it – that truly is small town at it’s best. I had read Ocracoke was heavily hit, but had thought it was closer to you. I’m relieved I was wrong about that! A sick dog is no fun in the best of circumstances – I don’t even want to think about dealing with it the middle of a hurricane. I’m sure your contribution to that 12.5 tons of yard clean-up was much appreciated! What astonishing pictures – thank you for sharing them. I was really intrigued by the one showing the high water mark from past storms. Sending love and hugs as your lovely island continues to clean up process.
Sue Ellen,
Thanks for taking the time to so thoughtfully comment on each part of the post; very sweet of you!
Steve is in the front yard even as I’m writing this continuing the clean up process. I didn’t offer to help since I have already invested my fifteen minutes. 🙂 Actually, I felt a little tight in my lungs after being out there so figured it was best to stay clear.
Thankful for no pending hurricanes and life getting back to normal!
Oh, I am so glad to hear that both you and your broccoli are safe!
You are so generous to help with food and lodging. You were raised right!
Have a blessed week!
Krista,
Me and the broccoli. That made me smile!
Whew! SO glad that your house didn’t get damaged or flooded!
We have had quite the spring and summer with rain, rain, RAIN and high winds/thunderstorms. We have lost so many very large tree branches and there are lakes where there never used to be lakes before. Lots of large trees have also been uprooted like that one in your picture. The ground is just too wet. Pretty tough on our farmers right now as well. TOO. MUCH. RAIN.
Back in 2005, 3 days before my son’s high school graduation, we had a severe storm roll through. Heavy rain, tornadoes (but they were north of us a couple of miles!) and baseball sized hail. My goodness….how our windows didn’t break is beyond me! It stripped all of our trees, ruined siding, roofs, cars etc. Our house is white but that day it was GREEN from all of the leaves. I had the yard looking pristine too because we were going to have the graduation party at our house. We still did. We got everything cleaned up and my sweet neighbor lady loaned me all of her potted plants (that she had gotten under her covered patio before the storm hit). The party was a huge success and we got everything repaired that summer. That’s excitement enough for me!
LeeAnne,
Wow. You did a super human job getting all that cleaned up in time for a party! And bless your neighbor lady for loaning you her potted plants to make things look more festive and less storm-torn. It was definitely a graduation party to remember–and one you never want to repeat.
I was in Tampa for Hurricane Frances and Jeanne in 2004. I think Jeanne might have come across Florida and was a Category 1 when it got to Tampa. That was Labor Day weekend as I recall. Frances was just a tropical storm. I did lose power for a few hours with Jeanne. Then there was Tropical Storm Debby in June 2012. Just lots of rain near me although there were lots of limbs/trees/branches down in the area.
Tampa dodged a bullet in August 2004 when Charley decided to take a right turn before hitting Tampa head on. We didn’t get anything out of it but my friend across the state in Daytona area got hit. Ironic that she was worried about me and she got hit.
I bet those Coast Guard men were happy to have a hot meal! I’m sure the new parents were glad to be in a house with power.
Phyllis,
Sounds like you are a tropical storm/hurricane veteran. It’s amazing how some storms can turn at the last minute and others keep straight on ahead. That’s what’s so nerve-wracking about waiting on storms–those last minute changes in course.
So glad you’ve been safe through them all!
We have had some some horrific rain, wind, and thunderstorms here with some large tree limbs down, but no damage just clean up. Though not a storm I have been though some pretty violent earthquakes. When I was about nine, the first one I remember I pulled my covers over my head as things fell from the walls and shelves. No major damage to our house, but downtown and had lots. The one I remember best happened when I lived in a stair stepped dorm on a hill. I was sleeping in a friends room in a slippery sleeping bag since my roommate had a friend visiting her. Getting out of said sleeping bag did not go smoothly and I ended up needing crutches for two weeks. Not a happy time with all the stairs down to eat, and up to get to the campus. I might have felt sorry for myself but the guys who lived next door found their unit was damaged to the point it was condemned.
Cindy,
I have never been in an earthquake and can’t even imagine how traumatic that must be. And being in a slippering sleeping bag in the middle of one? Wow. That would be an experience you would NEVER forget! Pretty bad earthquake to be in if the guys’ dorm was condemned!
Glad you are safe and sound through all the storms of life.
Hurricane Gloria (1985) Hurricane Sandy (2012) were brutal here in CT. I saw sailboats tossed up on the rock trestles and they looked like little matchbox toys and mighty oak trees uprooted. Out of power for both of those at least a week. On the flip side, (1) it was great to drive through the wealthier parts of the area where people had tossed out perfectly good outdoor furniture, and (2) I love the true silence that exists only in a power outage. We’re so accustomed to all the background noise.
Guerrina,
To actually see a sailboat tossed around and not just see the destruction after the fact must have been quite the experience!
And yes, picking up up perfectly good furniture from wealthy people would definitely be a positive side of it all. I hadn’t thought of the true silence being a side effect of a power outage. I agree entirely–complete silence is a rare and golden treat.
Wow, it’s amazing what you all have just come through. So thankful you’re safe and that you have power back so quickly.
Kudos to you for whipping up a meal for the crew and for hosting the family. You and Steve have always been ones to jump in and help when you see a need.
BTW, i liked the decorations in your kitchen window–very pretty! Don’t know if it’s new or not, but don’t remember seeing it before.
The photo of the young man checking his phone while sitting in the flood waters in his dining room was pretty funny. It takes a lot to separate we Americans from our phones! ?
Sending much love.
Deb
Deb,
We put up those decorations a few months ago. Our “popout” window had gotten dirt and water between the panes and looked awful no matter what we did to it so we thought we would hide the ugliness with some prettiness. Just discovered last night that the top portion of the window got shattered in the storm;it’s still sitting up there but has cracks everywhere!
I loved the picture of that kid with the phone, too. 🙂
Coming from CA and now MI, I have never encountered a hurricane. Two storms come to mind, both back in the 80’s. One was while I was diving in Texas, in unfamiliar territory. There was a severe thunderstorm watch. I had never heard of that so kept driving. The radio kept announcing tornado warnings in towns I didn’t know, only to drive thru those towns moments later. I felt as if God had a magnet on my car and was guiding me thru a maze of storms-similar to the child’s toy with the magnetic bug in a maze. The second storm was where I lived in southern CA. It was a rare thunder/wind/lightning storm coming after a week of rare deluge of rain. I was up late reading “Watership Down” and the chapter titles “The Thunder, The Thunder Builds Up, and The Thunder Breaks” were fitting right in with the storm outside. I think that is why it is memorable. Over 1200 trees blew down in the nearby city of Long Beach that night.
Patti,
I can only imagine your drive through Texas that day, dodging storms and tornadoes all along the way. I know you must have been SO glad to get to where you were going!
And I loved the story about the chapters of the book you were reading reflecting what was going on outside. Definitely memorable.