Hurricane Irma

I had hardly settled in from my trip to the UK before we were ousted by Hurricane Irma.  It was such a large storm and, having evacuated twice before, I knew it was better to leave earlier rather than later.  Early on I touched bases with Rhonda, whom I evacuated with last year, but she already had the week off and was heading to Franklin, NC to check on her dad.  She suggested Tippy, a mutual friend, and I touch bases.  As it turned out, Tippy had planned to evacuate to her cabin in the NC mountains, in none other than Franklin!!  So, I was fortunate enough to be invited along.  Her cabin turned out to be the perfect retreat.  It is a one bedroom cabin with two sleeper sofas.  It has everything one could possibly want or need, with no clutter to distract.  It was delightful.

A major part of the evacuation is the drive out and back, both of which take much longer than usual.  People from Florida were already evacuating so the interstates were clogged.  It took 10-11 hours each way.  Before leaving, I stopped by the vet's office to pick up something to calm Rosie so she wouldn't pant all the way there.  It worked like a charm going out, but not as well coming back, so I stopped and gave her 1/4 of the medication and that settled her for the remainder of the drive.  Once I got Mama Mia's situation right, she slept most of the way up and back!  When we were almost half-way up, Tippy got a call saying the storm had veered west, so we stopped to figure out what to do.  Being indecisive, we went to a car dealership that we were parked near and asked if we could come in and watch the weather channel!!  They were very gracious and let us sit for a minute and figure out what to do.....and we probably gave them something to talk about for the rest of the day!

I need to thank Martin W for the app (Waze) that got me home quickly (relatively speaking).  As I neared Columbia, which is always congested, it took me on and off I-26 several times, then directing me through Orangeburg.  I never got on I-95 at all and kept moving the whole time.  I kept wondering whether or not I would make better time on 95, but once I talked to Rhonda, I was glad I trusted the app.  She left an hour before us and got home at 1AM.  I got home at 9PM!!  

The day after we arrived in Franklin, we had brunch with Robyn and Mary Elizabeth, friends and neighbors of Tippy.  Robyn is a superb cook and we had creamy scrambled eggs with green onion, garlic, etc. and cheesy grits made with brie - out of this world!  We then invited Mary, Robyn, Rhonda and Mike (her dad) to join us for dinner at the local Thai restaurant.  More delicious food and great conversation. We also shared banana pancakes and cinnamon pancakes with Robyn and Mary during our stay.  What a way to start each day!


They also invited us all over for dinner one night, along with two other neighbors.  It is a very tight-knit community and I felt honored to be so welcomed.  They had ham for the carnivores, but Robyn made the best pinto beans and farro (which I'd never eaten before, but will henceforth!).  She shared her recipe and I'm going to be experimenting. You can see the spread, complete with homemade biscuits!  

As the weather was getting a bit worse, Tippy and I went back over to Robyn and Mary's the following morning to help them move furniture off their deck, before coming back and doing the same at Tippy's place.  It has to be said that they have one of the best mountain views I've seen.  It's a panoramic view and each day, or even time of day, is different from the last.....just beautiful, as you can see.

The storm itself was minimal, or as Tippy described it, "a leaf event", blowing down lots of leaves and small branches.  Through the night there were gusts of wind and rain, and I did hear branches knock against the house, but all in all, very minimal.  Poor little Rosie, didn't poop for two days because of the rain and wet leaves.  To even get her away from the door, we would carry her to the end of the drive, hoping she would decide to pee pee, poo poo on her sprint home!  It didn't happen and you can imagine her relief when she again saw dry grass!!  She was a good girl, though, not pooping in the house.

The day after the storm, we went over to Robyn and Mary's again, to put out their furniture.  We had to walk the last part of the way as they had about 4 small trees fall across the road, blocking their driveway.  We took photos and alerted them of the situation and, before we left, their neighbors came to the rescue.  It was at that point that we decided to head home, quickly packing up and securing the house.  The plan was to go to Tippy's sister in Spartanburg, at which point I would decide whether or not to stay over or carry on home.  Once I got the pets situated, I really didn't want to put them or me through it the next day, so I just dragged on home.  You really do put yourself in that "this has to get done" mode and carry on.  I was exhausted and my eyes were bleary because it's been a long time since I've driven hours at night.  But, the next morning, it was nice to be home.  There was no damage to the house and when I plugged in everything, all worked except my internet.  I called Hargray ASAP and they were out to replace the box at 1PM the same day......no delay whatsoever!  

I'm saving the best photo for last!
Here is Tippy with her refurbished sign - "If you ain't invited, you ain't invited"!  After meeting friends and neighbors, I felt honored to be invited and so warmly welcomed.  Considering the circumstances, it was a restful, relaxing and fun way to spend an evacuation. Tippy was so laid-back and very gracious to me and to the fur-babies, which I very much appreciated.  They all turned a threatening event into wonderful time spent with new friends.  My deepest thanks to everyone!

More photos!