So when Hurricane Gustav headed right for Louisiana, we were most worried about New Orleans. We needed to be home and be able to get right back to work when it was over. The firm I work for is headquartered in New Orleans, meaning there would be a lot for me to do.
Little did we know that Gustav would do a major number on Baton Rouge.
After we got home very early Sunday morning, we slept until almost noon. We didn't know that it would be the last night of good sleep we would get for almost a week. My dad wanted us all together for the storm, so we packed up and headed to my parents house. We cooked a yummy dinner and went to bed early.
Monday morning Gustav rolled in early. We lost power by 9:00 am and sat there all day watching the news (thanks to a generator) and watching the major winds tear down the fence and blow trees around. My parents lost their entire fence and even a light pole in the front yard.
By late afternoon, the storm was over. Amazing how quick it comes through, then leaves and we have to pick up the pieces. Since we had a generator, I really wanted to go home. We headed back and spent the night at home. Ben only wanted to run the generator a few hours a day to keep the freezers cold. Since the humidity hadn't got in yet, Monday night wasn't too bad.
Tuesday started the first of 4 very long days. We woke up and ran the generator for a little while, watched the news and huddled around the fan. Then we headed to Ben's parents house to visit. Ben and his dad waited in line for about 2 hours for gas.
Wednesday, we did it all over again.
Thursday, we did it all over again.
Thursday morning was when I had my breakdown. It was so hot. I was tired. We were eating junk food. No end in sight. I just cried and cried. I remember at one point Wednesday night I layed there feeling like I was suffocating cause it was so hot. The entire subdivision was completely dark, not a light in sight. It was so spooky.
Luckily one of the malls in BR was open, so Ben sent me and Allie off to get some air. Brooke and Shaun came over that morning and Brooke started crying when she saw poor Allie and how hot she was. Her hair was matted to her face.
Jennie and James were at the mall with their kids too. We enjoyed some cold air for a few hours, then headed back to their house. They had a window unit in their bedroom and all 6 of us locked ourselves in there for a little while. The girls played and we listened to a press conference from Entergy, saying that we should have power back by Friday night. Woohoo!
I went home to find that Ben did some laundry and hung it out to dry in true white trash style...
As luck would have it, Jennie and James, Ben's parents and my parents all got power that evening!!! So we hooked my parents camper up to their house and slept in there. I didn't sleep good for some reason, but I was cool and that was all that mattered!!!
Friday was a day of waiting to get power back. I helped my dad clean up the yard while Ben cleaned up our yard. Our favorite restaurant in Baton Rouge was open, so we headed out for dinner and gorged ourselves. Allie gobbled up a pulled pork sandwich like she hadn't eaten in days. Meanwhile, Brooke and Shaun were still waiting to get power back like we were. We were calling every 20 minutes to see if our answering machine picked up so we would know it was back on.
On our way home around 8:30, we resigned ourselved to the fact that we were spending another night in the camper. Then Ben called one more time and....POWER WAS BACK ON!!!
We were all so excited!! We packed our bags, did a little dance, and off we went!
It's been almost 2 weeks since the hurricane and we are just now getting back to normal. Stores are now stocked again and no lines at gas stations. My boss was one of the last to get power, just this past Thursday night. I hope we have seen all we will see this hurricane season. One is more than enough for me...
3 comments:
The DANCE pictures CRACK me UP!! Ya'll were DOING a JIG, huh!?!?!?
Happy Dance -- Yeah ---
Happy Dance -- Yeah ---
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