Saturday, we decided to go to Charlotte, but then got to Savannah, got a further western movement for Irma and turned around and came home, deciding to look at it Sunday.
Sunday found us still here and deciding to ride it out in our condo. We were not alone, 4 other couples stayed also.
Then Monday, Irma arrived. The first hint was waking up at 3:30AM, and all was well, then again at 5:30, and there was no power.
The rains were heavy that day, coming in sheets across the marsh. The winds were clocked at gusts to 65mph, with sustained winds at 45mph. Some rain came into our back porch, but the winds were blocked somewhat by the configuration of our two condo buildings, and we did not feel it in its fury at all.
Our most significant event was the storm surge. I'm not sure of the actual surge, but it was predicted to be 4 to 6 feet. We are at least a mile from the open ocean and were surprised when we began getting water into our driveway and ultimately in the garage on the lowest level.
All of our water was coming out of the marsh to our west.
It covered the roadways on the east side.
It covered the pool and spa on the west side, as well as all the grassy area.
It went into the storage cages in the garage and soaked anything that was on the concrete floor, rising maybe 8 inches or so.
It filled the elevator well, and is still there today.
As we found later, Irma played havoc with the beach area, completely taking out the center span of a pathway to a sandbar and depositing that section up near the parking area, probably 6 feet above the level of the ocean at high tide.
Trees were down around our area and all about the island, closing roads and taking down power lines all over.
When Tuesday rolled around, I found on a quick bike ride, that the wood storks had a new place to frolic, just north of our condos. What had been a medium sized lake, was now much larger with the influx of the surge.
We were without power from about 4AM Monday to 4PM on Thursday, but we had food, and the temperatures were not bad at all, inside or out. Our water stayed on, and we just acted like our ancestors, going to bed when it got dark and rising up when it got light.
Wednesday, we looked out on a gorgeous sunset, an omen of a better tomorrow.
As I sat on the back porch, after Mayre Lou had gone to bed on Thursday night, I thought of all that had transpired over the 4 days of Irma, and was very thankful for the view of the pool area with lights on. Those lights seemed to say, "All will be well."
But the overriding emotion of the storm period was not fear, but gratitude.
Gratitude for a strong building, for temperatures that cooperated, and for the fact that we had water and sewage, but most of all, it was gratitude for people.
One neighbor brought Mayre coffee each morning that surely helped her survive the ordeal. Neighbors brought food and more food. People kept us up to date with the latest advisories that they received from outside and furnished hints on better living. In short we were blessed.
We were uncomfortable, but not fearful.
There was a better tomorrow to look forward to, and we did, and it did.
We prayed for help when the storm came, and we thanked God for that help when it abated.
He is faithful, and we were glad we believed that going in, and coming out.
Amen
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