Rita, Oh Rita
Well, I figure it's time to post a blog about whats been going on. When we were first ordered to get out, my sister, grandmother and I along with all of my sisters cats (8 to be exact) tried to evacuate Thursday around 11:15. We turned onto Hwy. 105 from Major Drive and only went about 1/4 of a mile in 2 hours. My car has a tendency to get very hot so I had to turn the A/C off to keep the engine from overheating. The windows were rolled down and there was a bit of a breeze but between the temp. outside and heat from surrounding cars, it was stifling. My grandmother was with me and she ended up getting overheated and we had to turn back and return to my house. My family decided that the best route would be to wait until the evening to evacuate. So, my sister and I (along with her cats and my dog) piled into our cars around 7PM and left for Ivanhoe (7 mi. south of Woodville on Hwy. 69.) At midnight my sister and I got to the lakehouse and got it set up for my parents arrival the next morning. When my parents left our house at 7:30 the next morning it took them only an hour to get to our lakehouse (that's how long it usually takes.)
When the storm acutally showed the worst it was around 2 AM. I couldn't sleep because everytime I would be almost asleep, a shower of pinecones would rain down on the roof above my head. I got up, grabbed my pillows, a blanket and my dog and decided to head downstairs. As I was walking out the door of my room, I heard the most sickening splinter, a crash and the house trembled. For the rest of the night that sound would repeat again and again as my family and I sat huddled in the safest part of our house praying that the falling trees didn't come through the house. Thankfully, the most damage incurred was some bent gutters and the top metal part of our chimney was on the roof. I'm thankful that my grandfather built such a sturdy, safe house.
Once morning came, everyone around us began to come out of their houses to check out the damage. Surprisingly enough none of our cars were damaged and the houses on either side of us had minimal damage. Around noon my step dad decided that it would be best if we found somewhere else to stay, so he started calling hotels. We told him he wouldn't be able to find anything and suggested that he call his sister-in-law in Dallas. She graciously agreed to let us stay at her house and that's where we've been ever since Saturday night.
Monday we found out that there was damage to the house in Beaumont. I really surprised my mother by telling her that if my stuff was damaged or gone or whatever, so be it. I was thankful to be alive and still be with my family, to have a place to lay my head during this horrible time. Tuesday my stepfather made it back in to look at our house and he was beside himself. The damage (considering what could have happened) was very minimal (we needed a new roof anyway.) None of my stuff is damaged. The two things I really wanted (my bed and my clothes) are perfectly fine along with everything else I own. Now that I know for sure my things are okay I feel a bit better (I've justified feeling this way about my things because the first thing I thought about was my family and friends.)
Around noon today my stepdad left to go back to our house. He bought a generator here in Dallas and enough gas to last him quite a while. He plans to go back to the house and clean up so once my mother, my grandmother and I and our two small dogs can return to the house, it will be liveable and won't smell like a dirty, dead foot. Hopefully power will be restored quickly (I've been watching kfdm.com and power is being restored faster than I thought.) I hope everyone that reads this is safe and that they will have somewhere to return to when we are allowed back to our homes. If I haven't heard from you yet and I know you, or if I haven't heard from you in a while, contact me through here and I'll get back to you.
Take care everyone, we'll all be together again soon!