Dateline: New Orleans
The trip home took two hours; from Mobile on I-10 west we left at 9:15am and was back in the East before 11:30am. No problems with 'checkpoints' or 'roadblocks' because there weren't any. Saw lots of uprooted trees, twisted road signs, and (mostly new) blown-down fences, but the worst we saw at home was a street cluttered with downed branches from our cypress trees and a missing mailbox that was located across the street. That's it. No broken windows, no missing shingles, no loose siding. The trailer is upright with all contents unmoved. We even have power; the proprietor of Henry's House on Haynes drove by and said that the power wasn't out in our part of the East for more than eight hours. We still had outside lights plugged in; they were out of place but still up and on. Frozen juice bars in the freezer weren't half-melted. I think the water's fine, too. And our DirecTV is up and (mostly) working. Plus there are more cops on the streets than I've ever seen in the East.
My brother and I cleared the branches, helped with the dogs before going home in the Bywater (place fine, but no power), then Mom and I moved some stuff around before checking on the cat, who we simply could not take. It wasn't the choice we wanted to make, but we set her up in the safest room in the house (second floor, no windows) with food and multiple water containers, as well as her litter box and a bed. We checked on her after getting the dogs adjusted and couldn't locate her until I found her in an even safer nook under the staircase. She meowed twice and took off upstairs, so I guess she's fine but understandably skittish. I think we're leaving her there for a bit, until she's ready to be social.
For now, we're unwinding. The dogs are sacked out on the porch. A/C's on. Food's low but we're not starving; neither of us have had much of an appetite the past few days, anyway. I'm so glad that it wasn't worse, and I do hope that everyone else gets to return home safely and swiftly, with their power back on in a reasonable amount of time. Normalcy (or what passes for it around here) is what we all could use right now.
My brother and I cleared the branches, helped with the dogs before going home in the Bywater (place fine, but no power), then Mom and I moved some stuff around before checking on the cat, who we simply could not take. It wasn't the choice we wanted to make, but we set her up in the safest room in the house (second floor, no windows) with food and multiple water containers, as well as her litter box and a bed. We checked on her after getting the dogs adjusted and couldn't locate her until I found her in an even safer nook under the staircase. She meowed twice and took off upstairs, so I guess she's fine but understandably skittish. I think we're leaving her there for a bit, until she's ready to be social.
For now, we're unwinding. The dogs are sacked out on the porch. A/C's on. Food's low but we're not starving; neither of us have had much of an appetite the past few days, anyway. I'm so glad that it wasn't worse, and I do hope that everyone else gets to return home safely and swiftly, with their power back on in a reasonable amount of time. Normalcy (or what passes for it around here) is what we all could use right now.