Hurricane Irene

It's been a long time since I've actually been in a hurricane. We've had a lot of tropical storms and Nor'easters hit these parts in the last twenty years, but a hurricane?

I live about thirty miles west of Ocean City, Maryland (which had a mandatory evacuation yesterday). I grew up three miles from the Cape Henlopen State Park, in Delaware (which was part of a coastal evacuation this morning). It's just a scary thought. And not because of the winds, but because of all the rain that this storm has already dumped on North Carolina. We get serious flooding from tropical storms. I can't imagine what the Rehoboth Boardwalk will look like tomorrow.

I'm also planning on losing power sometime this evening. My bathtub is full of water for refilling the toilet tank. I have pots of water on the stove to use in my Brita dispenser. And I have a case of bottled water on standby. I have food, batteries, flashlights and lots of candles. My cell phone is staying plugged in today, so I know it's fully charged. My laptop will last about two to three hours on battery.

But I do have one failsafe option for entertaining myself this evening: books. Lots and lots of books to pick up and read. I'll probably pick some fun romances. There will be enough action and drama going on outside in the storm. ;)

To everyone else in Irene's path, stay safe!

I think this week is going down in history for me. I mean, it's the first time the mid-Atlantic has had both a 5.9 earthquake AND a hurricane.