Preparing for Hurricane Irene

In 2003, Rodney and I faced our first 'major' hurricane together. I was so excited to learn that Hurriane Isabel was coming and I expected something extaordinary when it got here. We lived in a little apartment at the time with just one window and one sliding glass door. I was ready for the thrill of a lifetime and I was scared at the same time. It started to rain and the wind picked up and I remember asking Rodney, "Where is the hurricane?" "This IS the hurricane.", was not the answer I wanted to get. I was expecting so much more. We watched for a while as one little tree out of our window kept bending backwards but never broke. I was not satisfied. Was this what I was waiting for? So, we did what any young and dumb kids would do, we got in our Durango in the middle of the hurricane and drove to the beach. I did not get out of the car because of course I did not want to get drenched but, Rodney and his friend Tony walked up the sand dunes to see the massive waves. On the way back to the apartment, I was able to see all the flooded roads and the broken trees.. this was worse than what I could see from inside our tiny apartment. The next day we drove around to see entire trees fallen on peoples houses, roads closed because of trees and debris laying all over the place, and we went without power for 4 days.
This year will be our second hurricane. Hurricane Irene is quickly approaching. It's barreling through the Bahamas at the moment as a Category 3. From there it will make a turn and hit the shores of North Carolina (just below us), as possibly at Category 3 or 4. Saturday, we will get hit with a Category 2 or 3. It's a little different this time around. We have 3 kids now, and Rodney got sent out on his ship this morning. 27 ships were evacuated so that they are not damaged by the storms. That leaves the military families behind to fend for ourselves. Quite a few people are choosing to leave and some are getting a little over prepared but, I just remember the thoughts of the first hurricane and can't blame them for being a little freaked out. The locals, of course, are brushing it off and aren't expecting anything as bad as the weatherman is promising. As for me, I plan on staying put. We live in a three story townhouse with a direct view of the ocean across the marsh. I stocked up on hot dogs and flash lights and have my flashlights ready to go. I'm excited to have the best seat in the house without having to get wet! (Lets just pray that there's no flooding!) So, today I took the kids to the beach to watch all the ships leaving the area. They pulled out one after another with Rodney's ship being the last to go. You can feel that the breeze is starting to pick up but it is still HOT out there with the temp being 90 degrees. The kids decided it would be a good idea to jump in the ocean fully clothed. So, when I meet an opportunity to take some great pictures.. I never pass it up!!

Rodney's ship is the furthest to the right.