After much online research, reading endless reviews on Trip Advisor, consulting friends on Facebook and reading travel magazines in Barnes & Noble, Ed and I finally decided to go to the Turks and Caicos for our first island vacation. We had visited Roatan, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico on our cruise a few years ago, but those were only day trips from the boat, one of which we went snorkeling on.
This vacation is two full weeks in a tropical setting. Ed wanted to go for a month but I killed that idea right off the bat (a month on an island???) and whittled it down to two weeks. We knew before we came that it was hurricane season, and several times we reconsidered going somewhere else, but we kept coming back to the islands. And really, when do hurricanes hit? They're so random, aren't they? We hear about them what, every other year or so?
Yeah, right. 2011 is the year of Irene. And we're here to witness it.
I am sitting in my hotel room, watching the rain come down and the trees sway right and left as the wind picks up. There are whitecaps on the usually calm waters and the local "resort channel" is running a hurricane preparedness video over and over.
A little while ago we tried to return our rental car because we didn't want to be responsible for any extreme damage over and above what we signed for (we got the full coverage collision and damage) but both drop locations were closed. The airport is closed, boarded up and vacant like a ghost town. Not one person to answer a question. Guess we'll be taking the car back to the hotel and riding out the storm with it in our possession.
The news is making the hurricane sound pretty ferocious and according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, it looks like we're in for some pretty serious shit. I've always been a big fan of storms, but something like this is a little over the top. I felt better after talking to the locals - I actually approached people in the grocery store and asked them if the lived here and if they did, what they thought of the storm. ALL of them were very casual and did not seem very concerned at all. That's how I'll be approaching the storm - with a mix of caution and excitement.
And as long as the internet is up and running, I'll be here writing. Take that, Irene!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO: Licking Our Chops
2 YEARS AGO: I’ll Start Working On That Sarcasm Font Right Away
3 YEARS AGO: False Security
4 YEARS AGO: Protecting The Posies
5 YEARS AGO: Asking Too Much
6 YEARS AGO: Slotsa Money
12 comments:
yeah, f*ck that bitch, Salena!
please keep sending blog and FB updates for as long as you can... so long as you are safe.
And if you'd been in Charm City, awaiting a load, you could have felt the earth shake. 5.9 EQ, epicenter Mineral, Virginia (kind of between Richmond and Charlottesville, but not really ... not much out there, but it's pretty.)
We live in interesting times.
Belledog
Keep thinking, it's not an adventure while it's happening.
MacGyver says I'm being a little alarmist, but it's a trying experience, we've been through it.
Remember, the bathroom is typically the most protected room, in the center, no windows, you can climb into the bathtub and pull a mattress over you. Stay away from windows.
Things could be worse, you could be in Baltimore for the earthquake.
Be safe. Keep notes. You'll be telling the story for years.
Thinking of you.
Testing with my google ID. I want the cool blue lettering too.
Look forward to your on the scene reporting. Take some pictures; let us know how the island looks. If the islanders were not that worried, that's comforting. They're likely very resilient.
Small blessing: knowing your fabulous truck is miles away, and safe.
Unless Irene follows it, miles inland. (A rare occurrence.)
Belledog
banten down the hatches....
Send pictures to CNN.Be safe.
I hope that you will be able to enjoy the rest of your vacation! Be careful...
Totally amazing that you pick an island and that's the one to be hit by the first hurricane of the season. A story to tell for years.
Thank God all is well and it is over and you can get back to your snorkel fun.
This hotel is amazing! Once the sliding door is closed, you don't even know a category 2 hurricane is outside (not a sound from outside)and with no real debris around this flat island, there is very little danger of flying crap hitting your window 3 stories up. The generator kicked in last night and we enjoyed the A/C, Satellite TV, cold beer, hot tea and cheese and crackers. The rain is already letting up and the wind will be dying down later this evening. We can only see a couple of downed trees from our room. I don't think that the Hilton in Baltimore was as quiet on a normal day as this place was last night in a hurricane. Modern engineering is amazing.
-Ed
Yikes! Be safe, and continue posting as you can. I love storms, too, but a hurricane ruining my beach vacation? I don't know...
Cannot wait to see some of your post-Irene island pics.
And your hurricane dinner last night sounds delish.
3 cheers for modern engineering.
Belledog
And after a quick walk to the overcast beach, the water looks like it did yesterday morning. Calm and flat just like nothing ever happened. I guess we dodged a bullet. Thanks to everyone for well wishes. What kind of idiots would go to the Caribbean during hurricane season? Oops! After 36 years I guess I can't say that anymore.
-Ed
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