(Thanks to Jesse and Vanilla Ice for that title.)We survived the storm. Now we have to survive the aftermath.
Hurricane Ike caused lots of damage in town. We live about an hour away from Galveston, so we were not in the evacuation zone. But we should've left. Had I known we would be without power for 2-4 weeks (WEEKS, for pete's sake!) as predicted by our energy company, we would've been long gone to Austin.
We decided to stay in town; our previous attempt at escaping hurricane Rita 3 years ago was too frustrating. It took us about 10 hours to get to Austin, normally a 2 1/2 hour trip. So we decided to hunker down in Houston. We spent all of Friday preparing for the storm, boarding up windows and packing to head to my Mom's house in the Heights, not too far away.
Now we are stuck with no power, no water, no Internet access. Right now the kids, Mom and I are at my brother's apartment in West Houston. One of the only places in town with power. I think the whole of Houston is here too. No parking. They have air conditioning, power, some food, but more importantly, cartoons. But there is still no water. I can't remember ever feeling this grimy before. We will likely not stay here for too long, though.
Garden UH-Oaks
Our neighborhood is known for its beautiful oak trees, one of which we got to witness up close. A tree fell on our house. We have a hole in our ceiling, the roof is trashed and there is water in the dining room. Fantastic! Our luck is just dandy, huh?
But the kids are good. Emma is doing fine and Hannah is grumpy as usual. My parents live in a new townhome complex nearby with no trees, thankfully. Hurricane Ike started kicking up winds at about 6pm Friday evening. We were glued to the television watching this enormous storm make a bee-line for our city. Man, was it huge! We lost power about 8:30pm or so. We used flashlights and lit candles for the outage, but Hannah and Emma made a game and kept blowing them out while singing the "happy birthday" song--it was kind of funny.
They didn't sleep well during the storm. Winds were whipping the back of the house which was where the kid's room was. It sounded like a freight train running over howling wolves. Emma kept tossing and turning in the heat and waking up in the middle of the night, as did Hannah. She was asking for some warm milk to soothe her back to sleep. Problem was, there was no power, hence no microwave, and only a stove that was electric. Unfortunately, cold milk did not do the trick.
The next day, it was still storming. Hurricane Ike came in overnight and made landfall on Galveston Island at about 1am or so. My Dad had this awesome emergency radio/flashlight with a mini TV that works on batteries and crank power. We were able to tune into the TV stations all night long, in black and white of course. It didn't stop raining until about 9am the next morning. The wind did not subside until that afternoon. Reports have it that 2.1 million customers are without power. That would be the entire population of Houston, really. The city is sold out of generators or otherwise price gouging in parking lots.
After a day of being unable to cook, get cool, or use water, my Mom took the kids over to my Aunt's house who also lives nearby. Her neighbor's tree fell onto their yard, knocking out their power lines as well. Fortunately, they do have a gas stove and water, so they were able to cook some food up for the kids. Mike and I were at our house assessing the damage and went back to pick up Emma and Hannah a few hours later.
When we got back to my Aunt's house, I was amazed by how huge their tree was. It just missed my Aunt's house by about 2 feet and took down a wooden telephone pole as well. I asked Emma what she thought about the storm to which she replied "it is such a mess." Yes. It really is.
Our Tree, In the Middle of Our House
(Thank you Madness)
Getting to our house doesn't take that long from my Mom's. We exited the freeway and decided to take a peek at the neighborhood to see what Ike did. Ashland street has about five different streets running perpendicular to it. We usually take a right anywhere and buzz through to our side of the neighborhood. Only this time it didn't happen. Every single street had a giant pine tree blocking the road and making it impassible. There were fallen branches, trees, leaves and debris everywhere. It was so sad. I felt this terrible anxiety attack coming on, just knowing that my house would be destroyed when we got there.
And it was, sort of. At first we were so relieved to see that the big tree in front didn't crush the house. Whew! As Mike predicted, it did break and fall over, just nearly missing the girls' room. We sat in the driveway relieved, wind and rain still falling on the car. Then I looked above our roofline and noticed that a new tree was there when it wasn't before. We walked to the back of the house using the neighbor's driveway as ours was blocked. Sure enough...tree on the house. Ugh. I don't feel like talking about it right now, sorry.
Toilets Don't Work Without Water
This is something you totally take for granted until you have NO water. The bathroom thing sucks. We filled our tub up at our house with water before we left, but when we got there it had drained out. Great. So we are at mom's with her bathtub full and taking buckets of water to flush the toilets. You really haven't lived it up until you can say you've flushed your toilet with bucket water. Ha ha!
Mike and I came back from our house Saturday morning and brought back some rations: mac and cheese, bacon, hot dogs and a camping stove fueled by a propane tank--yay! This is how we are cooking our meals and heating water for instant coffee. Poor Mike is totally going through Starbucks withdrawls. Mike makes fun of me and says its the closest I will ever come to camping. I have dubbed it "urban camping." Emma and Hannah spent the afternoon fighting, coloring and making a general mess.
The kids were so miserable being in the heat and humidity. We opened all of the windows up at my Mom's but open doors worked better to let more breeze in. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes started coming in. Then night started to fall. They were crying hysterically. Hannah is afraid of the dark, Emma wanted to play video games or watch TV. And they were cranky since they couldn't nap very well in the heat.
After a candlelit dinner of rice and any meat that was defrosted in the ever-melting freezer, we finally made the decision to bail to my brother's house for the kids' sake. Driving on the freeway was FREAKY. No lights on the major highways and the streets were pitch black. There is a city curfew on the Houston streets for the entire week. No one is allowed to be outdoors after 7pm until 6am. I swear, it was a scene out of a movie. Just eerie.
I Don't Want to Wait in Vain
(Thanks Bob Marley.)
We are pretty much stir crazy around here. Not much for any of us to do but wait until the power and water come back on. Maybe we can get to some kind of normalcy then. Well, then again, maybe not.
For those of you not in Houston, some photos for you:
We decided to stay in town; our previous attempt at escaping hurricane Rita 3 years ago was too frustrating. It took us about 10 hours to get to Austin, normally a 2 1/2 hour trip. So we decided to hunker down in Houston. We spent all of Friday preparing for the storm, boarding up windows and packing to head to my Mom's house in the Heights, not too far away.
Now we are stuck with no power, no water, no Internet access. Right now the kids, Mom and I are at my brother's apartment in West Houston. One of the only places in town with power. I think the whole of Houston is here too. No parking. They have air conditioning, power, some food, but more importantly, cartoons. But there is still no water. I can't remember ever feeling this grimy before. We will likely not stay here for too long, though.
Garden UH-Oaks
Our neighborhood is known for its beautiful oak trees, one of which we got to witness up close. A tree fell on our house. We have a hole in our ceiling, the roof is trashed and there is water in the dining room. Fantastic! Our luck is just dandy, huh?
But the kids are good. Emma is doing fine and Hannah is grumpy as usual. My parents live in a new townhome complex nearby with no trees, thankfully. Hurricane Ike started kicking up winds at about 6pm Friday evening. We were glued to the television watching this enormous storm make a bee-line for our city. Man, was it huge! We lost power about 8:30pm or so. We used flashlights and lit candles for the outage, but Hannah and Emma made a game and kept blowing them out while singing the "happy birthday" song--it was kind of funny.
They didn't sleep well during the storm. Winds were whipping the back of the house which was where the kid's room was. It sounded like a freight train running over howling wolves. Emma kept tossing and turning in the heat and waking up in the middle of the night, as did Hannah. She was asking for some warm milk to soothe her back to sleep. Problem was, there was no power, hence no microwave, and only a stove that was electric. Unfortunately, cold milk did not do the trick.
The next day, it was still storming. Hurricane Ike came in overnight and made landfall on Galveston Island at about 1am or so. My Dad had this awesome emergency radio/flashlight with a mini TV that works on batteries and crank power. We were able to tune into the TV stations all night long, in black and white of course. It didn't stop raining until about 9am the next morning. The wind did not subside until that afternoon. Reports have it that 2.1 million customers are without power. That would be the entire population of Houston, really. The city is sold out of generators or otherwise price gouging in parking lots.
After a day of being unable to cook, get cool, or use water, my Mom took the kids over to my Aunt's house who also lives nearby. Her neighbor's tree fell onto their yard, knocking out their power lines as well. Fortunately, they do have a gas stove and water, so they were able to cook some food up for the kids. Mike and I were at our house assessing the damage and went back to pick up Emma and Hannah a few hours later.
When we got back to my Aunt's house, I was amazed by how huge their tree was. It just missed my Aunt's house by about 2 feet and took down a wooden telephone pole as well. I asked Emma what she thought about the storm to which she replied "it is such a mess." Yes. It really is.
Our Tree, In the Middle of Our House
(Thank you Madness)
Getting to our house doesn't take that long from my Mom's. We exited the freeway and decided to take a peek at the neighborhood to see what Ike did. Ashland street has about five different streets running perpendicular to it. We usually take a right anywhere and buzz through to our side of the neighborhood. Only this time it didn't happen. Every single street had a giant pine tree blocking the road and making it impassible. There were fallen branches, trees, leaves and debris everywhere. It was so sad. I felt this terrible anxiety attack coming on, just knowing that my house would be destroyed when we got there.
And it was, sort of. At first we were so relieved to see that the big tree in front didn't crush the house. Whew! As Mike predicted, it did break and fall over, just nearly missing the girls' room. We sat in the driveway relieved, wind and rain still falling on the car. Then I looked above our roofline and noticed that a new tree was there when it wasn't before. We walked to the back of the house using the neighbor's driveway as ours was blocked. Sure enough...tree on the house. Ugh. I don't feel like talking about it right now, sorry.
Toilets Don't Work Without Water
This is something you totally take for granted until you have NO water. The bathroom thing sucks. We filled our tub up at our house with water before we left, but when we got there it had drained out. Great. So we are at mom's with her bathtub full and taking buckets of water to flush the toilets. You really haven't lived it up until you can say you've flushed your toilet with bucket water. Ha ha!
Mike and I came back from our house Saturday morning and brought back some rations: mac and cheese, bacon, hot dogs and a camping stove fueled by a propane tank--yay! This is how we are cooking our meals and heating water for instant coffee. Poor Mike is totally going through Starbucks withdrawls. Mike makes fun of me and says its the closest I will ever come to camping. I have dubbed it "urban camping." Emma and Hannah spent the afternoon fighting, coloring and making a general mess.
The kids were so miserable being in the heat and humidity. We opened all of the windows up at my Mom's but open doors worked better to let more breeze in. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes started coming in. Then night started to fall. They were crying hysterically. Hannah is afraid of the dark, Emma wanted to play video games or watch TV. And they were cranky since they couldn't nap very well in the heat.
After a candlelit dinner of rice and any meat that was defrosted in the ever-melting freezer, we finally made the decision to bail to my brother's house for the kids' sake. Driving on the freeway was FREAKY. No lights on the major highways and the streets were pitch black. There is a city curfew on the Houston streets for the entire week. No one is allowed to be outdoors after 7pm until 6am. I swear, it was a scene out of a movie. Just eerie.
I Don't Want to Wait in Vain
(Thanks Bob Marley.)
We are pretty much stir crazy around here. Not much for any of us to do but wait until the power and water come back on. Maybe we can get to some kind of normalcy then. Well, then again, maybe not.
For those of you not in Houston, some photos for you:
No gas.
Before the storm.
Mike with the sexy headgear flashlight
Coalminer's Daughter
Neighbor's house
Well said.
On 34th and Shepherd.
Water on Alba and 34th.
Neighbor #2
Neighbor #3
Roof of a pawn shop on Ella. Literally. Ha ha.
Aztec Rentals on 34th.
The bayou near TC Jester and 18th.
"Urban Camping" or how to cook bacon with no microwave.
No Starbucks equals desperate measures.
Hannah's hair curls when steamy outside.
Its cooler without clothes.
Feed me!
God telling me its going to be okay through smiling hot dogs. Ha ha.
How do you like the tree on my house?
Water damaged sign.
2 comments:
Glad to know you and the kids are doing o.k. Call or text me when you can. I've been tryint to call you but no luck. Give kisses to Em & Hannah. Luv, Lizard
Hey Jayne and Mike--
Yucko! My folks have power down in Sugar Land, so let them know if you need ANYTHING, a place to stay or just a hot shower. You and yours are in my thoughts and prayers!
--Rabby
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