The Morning After

I talked a little bit about how Ernesto decided to pay us a unexpected visit and that we were not sure what was going to happen overnight. Luckily we woke to find that the bay had decided to stay in its canals.

The rain gradually tapered off and we decided to venture out and see how everything was. I had talked to my Dad in the morning (and my In-laws (who had weathered the storm fine in Va Beach) and my Mom the day before). He said that they had seen news footage of the ocean waves hitting the boardwalk. I figured that he must have been exaggerating a bit as I really could not picture that. We headed out and walked down to Anthony's for breakfast. Did not see too much other then a gutter that had been torn off the church on the corner and a couple of palm trees toppled over at the miniature golf place.

Then we decided to head on down to the beach to check it out (the boys rode their scooters). When we were about a block away, we noticed that there was tons of sand all over. When we finally reached the boardwalk, it became incredibly obvious that my Dad had been right. The ocean had come up over the wall and onto the boardwalk. The ocean was still much closer to the boardwalk then usual…it looked like there was less then half of the beach left!

There was sand piled on both sides of the walls…normally when the boys stand next to the walls on the beach, it is over their heads. Now the sand was piled up so there was barely a foot drop.

I can only imagine what it must have been like out here yesterday…to have this much sand moved.’

Even today, the ocean was incredible…the waves were huge and you could just feel the power.

On the way back home, the boys had such a blast…the wind was still so strong that it was pushing them on their scooters…they did not even have to push themselves.

Jeff finally made it down today. Luckily it seems as if there is not too much damage…our mail box and a rose tree were knocked down. A few branches from some trees are down. The water is still high, but no where near as high as last night. We went to dinner and the pier at Fager's Island was still partially underwater.

All in all, I have to say that this is how I like to experience my "natural events". Strong enough to appreciate nature's power but not so strong as to being afraid of being hurt or having things damaged. I will say that being on the water made this whole experience even more amazing…the strength of the wind, watching the water rise, seeing the power (from the safety of my family room!) was incredible.

Now we just need to figure out when we are coming home for the fall…I had hoped to get a few more beach days in but it has been really chilly here and I am not sure what shape the beach will be in. Not to mention that the ocean is going to be really rough for a little while I am sure.

I guess that we will play it by ear (one of the benefits of homeschooling!) and see what the week holds. Part of me is more then ready to get home and get things going for the fall. But the other part of me wants to hold onto summer and eek out a few more memories. We have had a great time down here this summer…I definitely did not think it would end this way!

I guess either way will work. And it is not like we won't be down here for weekends over the rest of the year. I'll let you know what we decide!

I love the beach!