When we moved to Florida, we knew that Hurricanes were going to become a part of our lives for about 6 months of the year. Luckily, at the tail end of that season and didn't encounter any activity last year. But this year has seen warm temperatures, low pressure, and very wet conditions all-around which is a trifecta of perfect storm conditions. And of course, with a long weekend looming and plans to be out of town, Dorian reared his head.
Yep, we had made plans to head to Nana and Grampa's house for Labor Day weekend to spend some time and celebrate Nana's birthday a week late. Which meant that I had to prepare the best I could in case Dorian decided to make landfall while we were gone. On Friday morning, with Dorian heading straight for us, albeit, at a plodding pace, I cleaned off the outdoor furniture and brought it all inside. Then went back out for the pool toys, the decorative elements, and the pool cleaner. Basically, anything that wasn't nailed down and could turn into a projectile was brought in to the garage or the living room. It got a bit crowded...
It was a bonus that all of the covers for the patio furniture got a proper washing.
When we left, this was the view from my bedroom window. It didn't look like a storm was coming, and now that I had spent a few hours cleaning everything out of my yard, I could almost guarantee that Dorian would not be visiting us.
In the car on our way to Nana and Grampas. Dulce is back there in her bed all snuggled in for the ride. Pepper has assumed her usual place on MadHatter's lap. That cat loves to look out the window as we ride.
Less than 2 hours later, we settled into the house and turned on the TV to see what was happening with the Hurricane. And quickly found out. Nothing. Nothing was happening. Dorian had to be the slowest, and most powerful storm, in history. It slowed its forward motion to about 5 miles an hour, then sped up to 9 and then entirely stalled over the poor Bahamas for 24 hours straight. At a category 5! And then started its slow crawl toward Florida. The projection of where it would hit changed almost hourly it seemed. And when, and if, it would make landfall was a toss of the dice. It was maddening. And funny. Oh, I don't mean that Hurricanes are funny. I just say that my facebook feed with all of it's Dorian posts and memes were keeping me in stitches. See for yourself; I copied a few of my favorites...
We were on the other side of the state and out of Dorian path, so we just went about our business of having fun...
MadHatters chalk flower on the driveway.
A little too short for the wings at the movie theatre, but just right for the pig.
A crazy round of mini-golf...
And then schools were closed for an extra day just in case, so we also added some shopping to the mix. And then Dorian decided that he would finally start moving again, this time North. I make light of it, but we were fortunate to have dodged this one. As I said, he was a Category 5 storm and inflicted damage beyond belief on the places he hit. As I write this, he is still making his way up the eastern seaboard and just continues to cause destruction.
Suddenly, the weekend was over, and the girls had school on Wednesday, so we said our goodbyes, packed all of my creatures into the car and set off for home. Where I got to put everything back outside again. Well, until the next hurricane comes along...
This time they shared Dulce's bed. And she isn't mad, just talking to MadHatter as always.
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