Dorian Went East But Too Late for Abacco, Bahamas

As Dorian drew closer to us without turning, we grew tired of trying to figure out what to do, so we booked a hotel room inland to wait it out.

Our daughter’s townhouse does not have room to store hurricane boards and we debated buying the plywood for the storm and chalking up not being able to store them as a worthwhile loss. The next problem would be how to hang them. When we owned a home in Florida, we used hurricane clips to hold the boards in place. That way the frame of the window was not damaged. Unfortunately, once a storm approaches the clips disappear quickly from the store shelves. The exterior of her home is solid concrete covered with colored stucco and we were hesitant to drill holes in the wall as her neighbors did.

On Monday we packed up food, water and our daughter’s cat, Mia and headed west. To our surprise, traffic was light, unlike previous evacuations which tend to be bumper to bumper for miles.

This was Mia’s first road trip and we were concerned about how she would handle the stress. She is by nature an introvert. We traveled in two cars and our daughter said that after her initial distress, Mia stopped voicing her anxiety.

Mia lying on Rebekah’s manuscript. All work and no play makes a bored kitty.

Once we made it to the hotel, Mia found the tightest spot she could squeeze into and stay there or another hiding place most of the two days. She did come out in the evening to eat, use the litter box and snuggle up to our daughter.

We were relieved when the storm finally began to move after being stalled for so long over the Bahamas and heartbroken for the people on Abbaco. The pictures from phones on Facebook of people praying for help were beyond wrenching.

I don’t have any answers to why the storm stayed so long there beyond meteorological analysis. Our community is thankful we were spared and many groups are preparing to send aid to the Bahamas. According to the news, one man in South Florida spent $49.000.00 on generators and supplies to send to them. The proximity to Florida will make it possible for many small groups to deliver aid and politics aside, we are a generous people. Will join with those praying for the people of the Bahamas to heal from this tragedy?

As Dorian heads up the eastern seaboard as a Cat 2, almost 3 please pray for those in the path. Already tornadoes are being spawned across North and South Carolina.

On a positive note, Florida was prepared for the storm. I have never seen so many power company trucks stationed around our community, ready to restore power once the storm passed. These crews came from across the country, giving up their personal time for us to work in what could have been horrible conditions.

A big Thank You to the linemen who came to Florida to restore power.

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Our big box home improvement stores were fully stocked with plywood and most stores had ample supplies of bottled water. We were truly blessed.

You see odd things during hurricanes. One of the neighbors wraps their cars in clear plastic. I kid you not! Three cars were wrapped and one was left free to drive. They are still wrapped maybe in an abundance of caution as there are a couple more storms brewing.

This year they added cardboard to cover the glass.