Hurricane Ike

We survived Hurricane Ike! I have not been good at updating everyone, so sorry about that! We rode out the storm in Sugar Land, and it was like nothing I have ever experienced. We didn't sleep much Friday night because of the wind and the trees banging against the house. We sat on the patio until it got too windy to be outside and watched transformers going out in a flash of lime green light. Not a good sign. Power flickered on and off about 10 times before finally going out for good sometime after midnight. We were able to listen to news coverage on the radio so that was good. Once the sun came up we were able to go outside and look around. Tree branches and leaves littered the yards and streets but nothing too terrible. Saturday afternoon Kenneth tried to get back into Seabrook to see if our house had flooded but was turned away by the police. He got a firsthand look at the disaster on Highway 146 - boats strewn all across the road. So we decided to head up to Ft. Worth since the power was not expected to come back on for a while (Kenneth's grandparents in Sugar Land got their power back on today - Thursday).

We had to detour through Austin because I-45 up to Ft. Worth was closed due to debris. We spent the night at a friend's house in Austin before heading up to Ft. Worth on Sunday. It was nice to arrive in Ft. Worth - Kenneth went to the yacht club for a Sunday afternoon race and Sarah and I relaxed with my mom. We stayed until Tuesday when Seabrook was finally opened to residents. We stocked up on fuel and groceries before hitting the road.

Driving through Houston was unbelievable - roofs torn up and billboards knocked over. Once we got down to Clear Lake we were completely speechless. Bulldozers had cleared most of the debris from the roads but it was all stacked on the sides of the roads. Boats were everywhere. I will try to upload our pictures later when I find the cable to hook up the camera. We stopped by Lakewood Yacht Club to check on some friends' boats. Let me just say that it is going to take a very long time to clean that mess up. There were 50-foot boats in the parking lot resting on their keels. The sail lockers where people store their sailing stuff was completely gone. The gazebo on the point - vanished. The cabanas have holes blown through the sides of them. It was a very sad sight to see. We have always seen hurricane damage on tv but this time we know all of the places the pictures are being taken.

So we very nervously drove through Seabrook past a police checkpoint to our house. All we could see was ruined furniture and people's belongings stacked by the curb waiting for pickup. Most of Seabrook east of 146 flooded - I think they are estimating that 1/4 of the city has been displaced. There are houses missing from the road our subdivision is off of. But as we turned into our subdivision we were extremely relieved. The debris line from the flooding stopped just inside the entrance to our subdivision. We were spared - one of 2 neighborhoods east of 146 that did not flood. We feel extremely blessed and unbelievably relieved. We lost some shingles off our roof and a few sections of fence are down. The two trees in front of our house were blown over but we were able to re-stake them, and they should be fine. Power is out still and the sewage/water system is in emergency operation. The geniuses who designed the main water treatment facility planted it right off the bay. There are rumors that it will have to be completely rebuilt. So we have no power and essentially no sewer system and the city is under a boil water order. The fire station and city hall flooded, which is a logistical nightmare for the city leaders.

We decided to retreat to Kenneth's parents' house, which has had power since right after the storm (they have underground power lines - lucky dogs!) The League City boil water order has been lifted so we plan on hanging here for a while. A few grocery stores are starting to open - but mostly on generator power. So no refrigerated/frozen goods are available yet. I can't believe how we ever survived without eggs, butter and meat before now! We were able to pick up some boxed milk in Ft. Worth so at least we have that!

Sarah's preschool is closed until further notice - our church suffered severe roof and water damage. But her gymnastics school opened today, so on Monday we can resume class. It will be nice to have an activity for her to look forward to. So after sleeping in 4 different beds in a week, we are leading a semi-normal life again even though everything/everyone around us is in disaster mode. We are safe, we did not lose any of our belongings and that is a wonderful situation to be in. I will try to upload some photos and now that we are somewhat settled I can try to catch up on my blog postings - Sarah's birthday, etc.