For some strange reason, I have been unnaturally calm as I prepare for the storm. I'm not good with most storms. I don't share the same love of storm chasing as my husband and brother, who insist on standing in the middle of storms just to "watch." But Irene isn't really scaring me--yet.
Just to give you an idea of our exact location, here is a map (thank you Wikipedia!):
You can see that the long, eastern stretch of the base (Camp Lejeune) borders the coast. We've spent several of the past weekends at North Topsail Beach, which is currently under a voluntarily evacuation. We also go to the beaches of Emerald Isle, which is just on the eastern side of Swansboro. We have some friends who live in beach houses on Emerald Isle, and Derick said he was told that Emerald Isle will be evacuated tomorrow night.
We live pretty much right on the border of the Piney Green area and Jacksonville. The nearest ocean access to us is straight down Piney Green Road to Onslow Beach, which is on base. It's about a 15-20 minute drive from our house. The news broadcasts are a little confusing right now, as they can't really tell me, personally, how powerful the weather will be at our house.
We've decided not to evacuate until we've been told to do so. We plan to just hunker down in the house all day Saturday. Krista is on her way to Jacksonville from Arkansas. She's riding a Greyhound, and she called about an hour ago to tell me that routes are being canceled and redirected, but hers hasn't. At worst, they could take her to Raleigh, which is two hours away from us. So if it comes to it, we can easily go get her and just stay in a hotel for the night to resist the storms.
My friend and I went to Sam's Club yesterday to stock up on water and snacks. Apparently the cool thing to do when a hurricane comes through is throw a "Hurricane Party." Seriously, the radio stations have people call in to tell what they are planning to do and what foods they are serving at their Hurricane Party. Some Hurricane Parties are evidently pretty big and wild. We are just going to have some friends over for supper. I am planning to cook Italian, i.e. baked ziti, alfredo, garlic bread. But I told my friend, who's from up north and had never heard of this dish until she met me, that, if the power goes out, I may be able to scrounge up some kraut and weenies. When I first casually mentioned to her that my fridge strangely smelled of kraut and weenies, although we haven't had any kraut and weenies in there, she assumed I meant hot dogs with sour kraut on top. No. Here's a pic of kraut and weenies:
Thank you, justapinch.com
Anyway, we are just taking things as they come, which is all we really can do until they make us evacuate. I'm hoping that we are far enough inland that we will miss the wild and crazy winds, but I'm also praying for my friends who live right on the beach. I'm mostly hearing that we should expect a lot of wind and rain for 11-12 hours on Saturday.
Just because we aren't evacuating doesn't mean that we aren't preparing. Our friends were over this evening, and they helped us tie down the trampoline and swing set. Because if I can't jump on a trampoline anymore, I might throw a fit! Actually, Derick doesn't want it or the swing set to start flying through the air and break a window or smash into our car. But I think, really, he's just trying to ensure that I have a trampoline after the storm passes. We've gassed up our tanks just in case we have to leave really quickly and get stuck in a lot of traffic. We're pretty stocked up on food, and I think I know where to locate all our important documents if I need to grab them really fast. Hopefully the water and winds won't cause any damage, because I am not as much of a saint as my mother, who is patiently putting her house back together after the Mississippi flooded earlier this year.
So we are as ready as we'll ever be. Some businesses down the road have boarded up their windows. We rent this place, so I'm not about to start hammering away on someone else's house. Plus, I'm not that attached to our stuff. I mean, I sure as heck don't want to replace all of our stuff, but it is stuff. What's most important to me here in NC will be eating kraut and weenies at the Hurricane Party!
Everyone be safe!!
