Thursday, November 1, 2012

Hurricane Sandy

If you live in the Northeastern US, I hope you and your family are safe and didn't sustain damage to your home in Monday's storm.

I live at the Jersey shore and my family was extremely lucky.  Our neighborhood is set pretty high in town so my street didn't flood.  We also had unbelievable wind gusts but didin't lose any trees, which is much more than I can say for many homes on my block.  At this point we have no power/heat/hot air...but we have a generator running here and there for some essentials and our sump pump is keeping our basement dry.  The electric company has given us an estimate of 10 - 15 days without power and we have been informed our kids will not be going back to school until that time.  But - again - we feel absolutely blessed to be alive and living under our own roof.

I cannot tell you how helpless we all feel here at the shore.   So many people are without homes and an indescribable number of our beloved landmarks have vanished.  The devastation is just impossible to truly comprehend.

Please say a prayer - or offer up a silent moment - for the people whose lives are forever changed because of this horrific storm.

*** The above drawbridge is in my town.  The boats you see were dry docked at a marina nearby and were picked up and carried away by raging floodwaters.   That marina is on the exact site where once stood the Union Salt Works.  The salt works were burned down in April 1778 by British loyalists who were trying to cripple this area by removing the only way to preserve meat and other foods.  Against all odds, after repairs, the salt works were once again operational...as will be the Jersey Shore in the coming months and years.  

28 comments:

  1. Keeping you and your family in my prayers. Take good care.

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  2. Carol and Tracey,
    I am so glad you all are unharmed, and that your families are together. Thinking of you often. Let us (me) know if I can do something to help. Love,
    Amanda

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  3. Carol, I can't imagine what you or others in your area must be going through. I'm so glad that you and your family came through mostly unscathed, but the stories about the surrounding devastation are heartbreaking. I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts.

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    1. Girlfriend...having buds like you to bug with my incessant Sandy talk is more than enough. :)

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  4. I think most of the northeast will now be able to categorize their lives as Before Sandy and After Sandy. Looking at the utter destruction that has become of my beloved Jersey shore is devastating. My mother sustained substantial damage to her home in Wildwood, but she's counting her blessings that her damage may be limited to carpets, drywall, and appliances. I don't think I've been able to wrap my mind around all of it yet.

    I'm glad you're generator is still going and I hope your family can find some warmth in these cold temps.

    Philly escaped mostly unscathed but the surrounding counties are still suffering. Many of my neighbors still have no power or even lost it just today. My children were able to return to school today and for that, I am most grateful!

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    1. Erin - how is your front yard?? You are so right about Before Sandy / After Sandy. There are times when I see a photo and the devastation truly boggles my mind. I'm sorry to hear about your mom...parts of Wildwood are a mess. :( I hope she's coping OK. It is not an easy thing to live through.

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  5. We Floridians live with this every year: no power for days. Noisy & stinky generators. Long lines at the pump. The hassle of wading thru insurance claims. At the end of the day though, we are thankful. Thankful to be alive and have our loved ones be OK. Sending our prayers to you and everyone upstate affected by this storm....

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  6. We, on the west coast have been watching it all unfold on the tv screen. I knew you were some where in the path of the storm but not at the heart of it! That is wonderful that you came thru unscathed, small miracles. Hopefully you can find gas to keep your generator running. my prayers are for you and everyone hurting as I feel things may get worse before they get better. Take care.
    Sally
    British Columbia Canada

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    1. Thanks Sally - we are doing OK. Drove over the state line into PA to get gas yesterday...much easier! Just drive in - get your gas - and leave! What a concept! LOL : )

      You are so right about things getting worse before they get better. There are people in my area who haven't even been allowed back to their homes yet. We've all seen the damage in photos and not in "real life". I fear that day when we are allowed to drive up to the beach. There is a gazebo on the beach in Manasquan that we frequent...and it is gone...along with an arcade called Gee Gee's where we go to play skee ball with the kids. I pray they rebuild.

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  7. Carol, living in North Carolina, we have seen the results of storms many times but nothing like this that has affected so many lives in such a tragic way. Since you know first hand of needs in your community, is there a specific place to send aid that would benefit your neighbors? We will give to the Red Cross, but would love to help out any other way we can. You have made me laugh so many times and now I would like to share the heartbreak you must be feeling as you see your community suffer. Just let us know what we can do to help.

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    1. Thanks so much B. That is very sweet. At this point, I am having a hard time figuring out how to help - an I live here. It's still so new that we're not even allowed into many areas that were hit the hardest. I would say the Red Cross is your best option. My neighbors and I are OK...no power and some downed trees...but no flooding and everyone here has insurance for the trees and the damage to their homes. I feel so horrible for those near the water who have no insurance because they're in a "flood zone". What in the world do you do??

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  8. Carol
    So glad to hear that you and your family are safe and dealing with the storm as best you can. We even saw the effects up here in Ontario but with just rain and 'strong' wind. I never thought a hurricane would affect us in Ontario! Thinking of you as you and your neighbourhood deal with the affects of the storm.

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    1. Thanks Menatra. I know - wasn't it nuts?! That storm was so massive...I couldn't even wrap my brain around what I was seeing on the radar. Hope you guys are OK...you guys lost power in some areas, too, right??

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  9. I'm so glad you checked in and that you & your family are safe. Hang in there guys!

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  10. Dear Carol and Tracey, it has been a while, but nevertheless I was thinking about you girls. We got hit in Montreal with a lot of wind and rain, some people lots power for a few hours. I am so glad you are OK and hopefully everything will get back to normal. Watching everything unfold on TV was incredible, I can't even imagine what you and your family were feeling during the storm. My prayers are with you.

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    1. Thanks Anon. I could not believe what I was seeing on TV when they were talking about this storm affecting parts of Canada. I think it made everyone feel like we were all part of the same scary situation and made everyone band together even more.

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  11. Glad you are safe, and hoping for a speedy recovery of all the ruin and devastation.

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  12. Hi Carol and Tracey - Glad to hear that you're well. Hope that the recovery in both of your towns goes well. Sad to hear about the landmarks, but maybe somehow they can be replaced/reinstated. I used to spend summers in Avalon and love the Jersey shore. Take care.... Dawn E.

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    1. Thank you so much, Dawn. I think Avalon is OK. Well..nowhere down here is OK...but they didn't get hit as hard as we all expected. I am still in shock over the massive bullet Cape May dodged for the most part.

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  13. Dear Carol,

    I have been thinking alot of you, Tracey, Shannon and Jen M. Here on the west coast we have been closely following your hardship and plight. Believe that there are many of us who are deeply concerned and are sending you our good will and best wishes to you and all your families.
    We have a connection in that we all follow this blog and your delightful videos and observations on all things Outlander. I cannot tell you how much pleasure and peace it has given me personally at a paticularly diffucult time in my life.
    Thank you for what you do.

    Mary,
    Vancouver, British Columbia

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    1. Thank you so much, Mary. You brought a tear to my eye. There is nothing like a little good will to perk up the soul. Have a wonderful day. :)

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  14. So lovely to see this thread! Thank you all so much for all the kind thoughts and wishes. I was the lucky girl this time--in the midst of an area where probably half the community is without power, we never lost power or internet, and had no damage from the storm. (In fact, out of Randy/PattzR, Third Sister Jill, and Carol, we were the only ones not to lose power.) We're INCREDIBLY lucky and feel blessed.

    For my husband and I, the biggest issue with the storm has been work. I work in lower Manhattan, and my office has been without power or a way to get there since Monday--so I've been working remotely during what's already a REALLY swamped time. My husband works for NJ.com (the state's largest digital news source) and has been working 18 hour days. (Yesterday he did a 12 hour workday and said it felt like a vacation.) Our house has also become a defacto shelter--folks are coming over here to work during the day, get warm, shower, charge up devices, etc. We've been sharing a lot of takeout and "I need to cook these 50 lbs of ribs now or they'll go bad" type meals with friends. (And drinking a LOT of wine. LOOOOORRRRRRDDDDDD the wine.) We have several of my husband's coworkers staying with us, and I'm thinking we'll have more once the temps start to get lower. (Carol you guys should come up!) I'm about to venture out of the house for the first time in almost a week....haven't seen the lines for gas yet, but I'm already a bit frightened by them.

    Hopefully we'll be able to report better news at chat on Monday...but for now, please keep this whole area in your thoughts and prayers. It is most definitely THAT BAD but we are Jersey Girls (AND JAMMF GIRLS BITCHESSSSSSSS!!!!) and JGs are SURVIVORS!!

    xoxo,
    Tracey

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  15. Carol,
    We are so sad watching the news from your neck of the woods. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and and yours and so many others like you. You bring a bit of sunshine into the days of so many of us who go to your wonderful blog for a little fun during our sometimes drab lives. How I wish I could send you sunshine now. Stay strong. Think of all those great American pioneers who proceeded you and the hardship they endured and then conqured. Hang tough!

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