Another Hurricane Experience in Texas

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On the southeast Gulf coast, that is.

First day of my personal evacuation from the oncoming Hurricane Gustav, Saturday, August 30, 2008 and forward.

I left my area of southeast Texas at 12:30 p.m. I made 'landfall' at my evacuation point at 6:30 p.m. Travel time not bad this time compared to 2005. I was tired of driving, hungry, but happy when I arrived at my destination.

Nancy and her parents were a couple of hours behind me. They had left the area later than I had.

Her son, daughter-in-law and new baby had left at 8:30 p.m. and arrived here about 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. Traffic had increased quite a bit already.

Sunday, August 31, 2008: Gabriel was not released from work until the mandatory evacuation was called in Beaumont at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. He went a different route up here than we did and got here close to noon. All accounted for that were expected.

Wireless communication is not secure here and I'm reluctant to go live without security. Therefore, this is not being released immediately like I had thought it would be once I was here.

Have been steady watching all news related to happenings with the storm.

Today is Monday, Labor Day, September 1, 2008: I visited with my son last evening. It was a long night in the Dallas area! Still up bright and early this morning with the Weather Channel on.

I took all my things from my home freezer to his apartment yesterday. I'll go cook up some of it this afternoon. Some things did stay quite as frozen as I had wished. He and his friends will eat well this week and those to come. So will all of us evacuees!

In the meanwhile, think I'll go sunbath a little while since I have the opportunity. It will be a welcome relief to my nerves from watching dear ol' Gustav. Don't even want to think about Hanna that could cause some problems later on this week in the United States or the other two 'high potential' dots out in the Atlantic.

If I were to move from the Texas Gulf Coast anywhere inside the United States, where would I move that is not so nerve racking? I know where I'd move outside of the US but they have hurricanes too; they also have strong walls and are sitting on a limestone base.

It's Tuesday morning in the Dallas area. The wind has picked up considerably as some of the outer bands of Gustav reach this area.

I have no wireless connection this morning, regardless how secure, so no posting this yet. I'll have to find a future remedy for that problem when I get home. I would like to know that I can have wireless anywhere.

My employer called last evening to ask me to come back to our area if at all possible. The rest of my 'party' also received calls from their respective employers and began the trek back last evening.

My neighbor, likewise, was to return last evening. She is to call me today to say how our immediate area has fared and my employer will return to the job site today and let me now if we can, indeed, return there.

I did go to my son's yesterday and cook the food stuff that had begun to thaw on the trip to this area.

Strong probability that Hurricane Hanna will force herself along the eastern coast. Looks like dear ol' Tropical Storm Ike is getting a little more muscle and moving west from the mid Atlantic / near the islands area and may follow in Gustav's footsteps. Joy. Then there's another 'possibility' out there that the weather folks have said may become Josephine.

As much as I do not like cooler / cold weather, I may be ready for it this year. At least the storms would calm down.

I'll pack all my belongings today and head home. And I didn't even get any pool time.

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