We Interrupt This Program . . .

The "November Nor'easter" of 2009 will be remembered here as having the 4th highest storm surge in the last 100 years. It missed 3rd place by only a few inches.

In the #1 spot is the 1933 hurricane (naming of hurricanes had not yet started) which had tides of 9.8 feet above normal and caused massive damage as the eye of the storm came on land directly overhead here.

#2 honors goes to the "Ash Wednesday Storm", dubbed by the US Weather Bureau as "The Great Atlantic Storm" in March of 1962 wasn't even a hurricane. It was just a plain ol' nor-easter.

#3 bronze medal belongs to Hurricane Isabel when she spanked us in 2003. "The worst of the effects of Isabel occurred in Virginia, especially in the Hampton Roads area."

So, now we have the November Nor'easter, which is really the remnants of Hurricane Ida (click that link to see some awesome pictures from around here, also part 2, part 3, & part 4). She topped out at 7.3 feet. Doesn't sound like much, but those of you in coastal areas KNOW.

Now, for the rest of this, remember to click on any picture to enlarge it.

My backyard backs up to protected wetlands, so I basically have a marsh in my back yard. Or a swamp, really. But among the tall marsh grasses, there is a little creek that goes out to the Elizabeth River. See here:


Here's my back yard during the storm's LOW TIDE:



At the tide's highest, it was lapping against the backs of those peoples' house behind mine.

At my house, each of my neighbors was surrounded by water . . .





. . . and the back half of my shed was under water overnight when the tide was at it's highest
(here it's at low tide),


. . . but my house is on a bit of a rise, so it was fine. The streets, though, not so much.



These next 3 pictures are in sequence. Did he just do this for fun?




Soon I will go back home and start to clean up. I think every pine needle in my pine trees is now in my yard. Limbs & branches. Crap everywhere, but the leaves are pretty, eh?


Now, keep in mind that the flooding in my neighborhood is minor compared to some of the other areas in my corner of the state (especially after looking at the pictures on the links above), and we lost power for over 24 hours. Not so bad, but I have well water. It uses a pump to suck the water out of the well.
The pump is electric. No electricity = no water. Bummer.

So, here's the plan for such things - I have a cistern that I collect rainwater in. Buckets get filled and brought to the bathroom for toilet flushing. Hey, even in a howling storm, one must maintain certain standards.

Anyway, the first night without power, BS has enough juice left in his laptop battery to let us watch some "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (don't ask). Then his battery needed charging, so he ditched his poor helpless mother in the dark to go to his Granny's house to bask in the glow of electrical bliss. I sat in the living room with whatever reflected glow was in the sky outside and 3 flashlights at my side.

Sat.
Twiddled my thumbs.
Sat some more
Aw, hell. I'm going to sleep. Nuthin else to do.

Next day - got up early (that's what happens when you go to bed at 8:00) and drove through lots of water to get to work. Left early to get home and see if any damage control needed doing while it was still light enough to see. Still no power. Damn.

So I did what any good contestant on "Survivor" would do. I came to my mother's condo on the Chesapeake Bay to take a shower, wash some clothes, and sleep in a warm bed. I'm such a wuss.


The Lynnhaven Fishing Pier succumbed to the forces of nature again (as it did during Isabel), and yes, they will rebuild. Again. (movie reference. anyone?)




Lastly, I would like to say to the hundreds of tireless workers of Dominion Virginia Power who have been working round the clock to restore power to the over 370,000 people left in the dark because of this storm,
"Thank you and God Bless."

In a day or so, the last of my musings about the Bahamas. First, I want to go home.

Bahamas - Days 1-4

You might think that I should split up the days and do a separate post for each one.
After all, I did it for the Gesundheit trip. Well, I'm not gonna, for a couple reasons:

1) It was a laid back & relaxing vacation, so each post would be about 3 1/2 sentences long.
2) I don't want to work that hard.

First, the burning question on my mind all weekend - what makes the water this color?
Really, I want to know.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?



We went downtown to see Nassau and the Straw Market - the big covered market where local vendors sell handwoven straw baskets & handbags & hats, woodcarvings, beadwork, and, of course, t-shirts. Once you've seen the first aisle of stalls, you've seen it all since they all have the same stuff.


The downtown area was clean, quaint, and colorful.












This wee horsie was tired.



The slavery museum was heartbreaking.
I'll never understand how human beings could ever think it was okay to do this to other human beings.



What is this?! Quizno's, Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, and more! And look here - the Hard Rock Cafe is across the street from Subway. Sigh.


Nassau is also a mecca of high-end, very pricey, designer shopping.


Uh, I didn't even go in those stores.

At one point, we walked along the beach toward the big, beautiful Wyndham Hotel. The odd thing was, most everything between our hotel & the Wyndham was either torn down or abandoned. The one that was torn down used to be The Rock 'n Roll Cafe. We later asked about all this blight and were told that the properties were being bought up and will be remodeled or rebuilt. Good to know.






The Wyndham had a big shiny casino for one of my friends. I'd have a picture of that, but the casino security guard was most unhappy that I took a picture, so I had to delete it in front of her. That way, I didn't have to go to a Bahamian jail and sit in a dank cell for the rest of the trip. Whew!

I managed to ditch my companions one afternoon (who were content to stay around the hotel most of the time) and go exploring on my own. I climbed the hill to Fort Charlotte, 1 of 3 forts on the island (it was closed, so I could only get a few exterior shots). It was built in 1789 and operated for almost 100 years. It was disarmed in 1891, but activated again during WWI. It is in sad disrepair now. The story is that during the Civil War, the soldiers stationed there were so bored (the fort has never ever even fired a shot) that they carved graffiti everywhere, and most can still be seen.






. . . watched a cricket match,


. . . and walked along the "Fish Fry" - a group of restaurants (although in some cases, the term is used rather loosley) where you can feast on local cooking. It's a popular place for locals as well as tourists who are tired of the American food they have been fed at the hotels.








Next up, random stuff and my brush with death on the trip home.