Post-Gustav Update: Sweating It Out in The Rouge

Hello! I am here to report on all things Gustav. So, things got A LOT worse after that 11 a.m. blog update. We lost power pretty much right after that post, and then the strong winds arrived around 1:00 pm. They lasted for about 45 minutes I guess. Lucy and I rode out the storm on the floor in the hallway. Lucy was unphased by it all and happily played and napped on the hallway floor. Seth chose to watch it all unfold from the living room, which has six windows. Not smart! But it was okay.

During the whole storm and after, we listened to the radio for updates. They said that there were wind gusts of 91 MPH, and that the entire parrish (aka county) did not have power! No power = no A/C, not traffic lights, no open stores of ANY kind, no GAS, no hot water, no refridgerators, etc. You do not want to experience South Louisiana without A/C in Sept. Let me just say this: I don't know how ANYONE survived in Louisiana before A/C. We also had trouble using our phones since some of the phone towers were out.

Anyway, we got in the car on Monday night to head to Seth's Dad's house. We figured the more the merrier, and we knew he had a generator, which meant we wouldn't be sweating it out in the dark by ourselves. That car ride gave us a chance to survey some of the damage. And there were trees down EVERYWHERE. Big trees. On some houses, across people's yards, in the streets, etc., etc. Our little place was okay, except for some pretty big tree limbs. There were also power lines down everywhere, hence the massive, widespread power outages.

Me, Seth, Lucy, and Seth's dad slept through the heat on Monday night. Lucy was totally confused and woke up at 3 am, ready to play. She stayed up for an hour or two, cooing and babbling and trying to get me and Seth to play with her.

Then yesterday we drove back to our place, hoping for a miracle. No miracle, no power. Oh I should mention that in all this chaos, Marc and Meagan are facing the first few sleepless nights with their newborn, Sophie. As IF bringing your baby home wasn't busy enough, they have a HURRICANE to deal with! Argh!

After careful thought, consideration, and perspiration, I decided to head to Fairhope, AL to stay with my sister. Poor Seth stayed behind to sweat it out, since his first day of work is tomorrow! It was supposed to be Tuesday, but Gustav obviously interfered with that. My mom's advice to gas up the car pre-hurricane proved to be VERY WISE. There were maybe four or so gas stations open in the whole city and the lines for them were miles and miles long. I'm pretty sure that they would've run out of gas before I could get to the pump! So I was psyched to have a full tank of gas to hit the road with.

Apparently I was the only person who decided to flee the hurricane AFTER the hurricane. Because there was no one--no one--on the interstate. Or maybe I was just crazy to be hitting the road the day after the storm. But the weather was fine and it was a quick, enjoyable and cool (!) three and a half hours in the car. I was so happy to have escaped hurricane land and return to normalcy, where there are not mile-long waits for gas and were there is A/C! Lucy and I have been having a wonderful time hanging out with my sister Liz and her three little ones. And I'm happy to report that Seth is faring well too. His brother Jeffrey now has power, so Seth will be staying with him for now.

So there you have it. Next time I am leaving before the hurricane hits. I think that Gustav moved just a little and it just ended up being worse than anticipated in B.R. I am so happy to hear, though, that N.O. was spared!! Woo hoo! As for B.R., they said on the radio yesterday that about 50% of people will have power in 1-8 days, and the other 50% will have power in FOUR TO SIX WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!! Seth met some neighbors today while raking up some debris and they said last time there was a storm it took two weeks to get power back! So we shall see. Seth is going to work tomorrow and Friday, and then we'll either meet up here in Fairhope or in B.R. and figure out what to do next.

So friends, I'm happy to report that we're all doing well. I hope that all of you who dealt with Gustav are doing well, too. We are thinking about you. Til the next update, I wish you all cool, A/C filled days. Oh and CONGRATS to Allison and Christian, who just found out that baby Aucoin is going to be a BOY! We're thrilled for you! Good night!