Hurricane Irene: the true account of a family that finally got to use their 72-hour kit

Calm before the storm:

The week before the storm I put up a swing I bought at a Scout Auction 20 bucks isn't bad for endless relaxation; this bliss couldn't have lasted...

On Wednesday, we knew a storm was coming and that we would most likely feel the effects. We took comfort in the fact that we had 72 hour kits, lots of bottled water, and a camp stove. The only thing we'd forgotten was propane gas for the stove, but that was quickly acquired and the cars were filled with gas. On Saturday the rain came... (although you can't see it in the picture: its raining and I'm probably in 1/4 inch of standing water).

Friday we were graciously invited to stay with our friend Gregory during the storm. He lives on the Rappahannock River and has accommodations for a small army. We didn't want to impose but he (and we) were concerned that we have large trees on three sides of our home and the prospect of a tree falling on the house was an unnecessary risk. As Emily put it best, "better safe than sorry". We took our air mattresses and ONE MEAL, opting to leave our 72-hour kits and water at the house. Our thought was that we would return for Sunday morning and go to Church. (We were also supposed to speak) These were our accommodations:

In the picture above, the power had been out for about 10 hours at this point (Saturday afternoon) but Gregory had a home generator and we weathered the storm playing cards in a chandelier-lit dining room. All together there were four families and we were fortunate to get a room with a bathroom.
Sunday morning was bright and sunny. Everyone wanted to "check the damage". I needed to get clothes to go help cut some trees down and hadn't seen the house, so I took off in my PJ's to the house (about 15 miles away) The picture below was not the exception.

One of the most helpless feeling I've had was to not be able to go home. Both ways to our house were locked in trees and flooding. As I drove around I felt like I was in a movie. Even on the main roads trees and power lines were down. I was humbled and grateful to see men in their 40's, 50's, and 60's cutting trees up so people could pass by their house. Eventually (after about an hour) I made it home.

Just kidding... this is actually the grandfather's house of Gregory. Church was cancelled and we spent the day cutting trees off of houses. The next two pictures are of our house:




Four trees fell on the house. The good news was that the trees on the house only caused minor damage. The insurance adjuster saw one shingle that was bent. That's it. The shed wasn't so lucky:

The bad news about the shed was that a) it had a $500 dollar deductible and is worth...$500 and b) the lawn mower needing replaced was just fine. The shed did its job. Well done shed.
Power was another issue, the picture below is just down our street and again, is NOT the exception:
I don't know if you can tell, but the bright orange next to the power pole is the lower half of the same pole. It snapped cleanly and sat down next to its bottom. Monday morning we left the Generator-powered comforts of Gregory's and initiated the 72-hour kit mode. (tip on 72-hour kits: buy food you WANT to eat and have a menu)

Monday-Wednesday were roughly the same: clean up debris. Its funny that the community goes through phases: 1) Prepare 2) Weather Storm 3) Cut roads open 4) Get Power 5) Clean up. We went outside Monday with the thought of cleaning up and quickly determined we needed more tools. We went to town and bought a wheel barrow, chainsaw, rake, and gloves. THEN, clean-up began:

After 3 days we had either dumped the trees or put them in neat piles for clean up. In the picture above you can see where we dump trees. In the picture below, I placed the trees in piles. It should be noted: Emily is 8 months pregnant and I did not force her to do lifting. She raked at a pace that didn't cause contractions. I repeat: I DID NOT MAKE HER DO THE MANUAL LABOR. I'm not a bad husband. That being noted, she is very tough and did a lot of work. She is also dilated to a "two".

It was like manna from heaven on Wednesday when I saw 12 power trucks from South Carolina Electricity and Gas drive down our road. Within 3 hours we had power. We'd been with out power for 4 days and all of the sudden, we could enjoy the luxury of running water, flushing toilets, light, and air conditioning (avg temp mid 80's not bad, but not as good as air conditioned 70's) We are very grateful to the power crews that came and worked so diligently. This is a photo from their website.

Tip on having no power for 4 days: empty your ice tray in the freezer, it will melt and drip all over the food below and on the floor. You're probably wondering, "Well what about Andy?" Well he was tired after working so hard on clean up.

We came away from this grateful. Grateful to have a prophet to tell us to be prepared for the worst, grateful for friends who offer a home to stay in, grateful for neighbors who have chickens so you can eat eggs (stores are still out, interesting no?), grateful to be a family... and we're also tired. And did we mention we had our first earthquake on Tuesday the 23rd? These are unusual times...