IT'S AN IRENE SUNDAY!

[Nasoosie]

GOOD MORNING ALL!

Day after the Ruckus brings Ruckusy weather with the outskirts of Irene upon us already----dark, dark skies with clouds traveling an unusual east to west direction, wind beginning to whip up, and rain coming down. Temperature is 61, so it's not too cold out there, at least.

I was very glad to read of all the GTG people arriving safe and sound at their destinations last night. Poor Anita seemed to suffer the most angst what with not finding diesel fuel, misplacing her credit card (how well I know that feeling!) and then finding they had closed her campground destination! Liz also found a closed park with people apparently leaving it to go.....where? What on earth was the state thinking??? At least Liz's reservation at another park was still honored, so she and Roe and Bandit could hunker down for the night. Pete found a good stopover spot at Walmart in the Erie area, with just about 5 more hours to go to his home today. I hope the winds haven't reached that far west yet, or those 5 hours could feel like 50! Ruchard called when he got home to his little cabin in VT, and found his grass about a foot high!

The people who attended the Ruckus 2011 were wonderful, as they always have been! Everybody pitched in and helped with the food every night, the preparation, the cleanups, the fire-building, the shucking of chairs all over, depending on the weather, and all had an endless supply of "stories from the roads!" Having the Ruckus is such a joy for me, as I really don't have to do much of anything, other than enjoy company. I wish I could head for Beth's GTG in PA, but, with the size of Mandy's belly at this point, I have a feeling I would be on the road when the birth happens if I tried. Today is the shower in town (Saranac Lake) if the winds don't get to the point of knocking over trees by this afternoon.

The trailer is already beginning to rock and roll a bit, and the rain has begun in earnest now. This might be a crossword puzzle morning, or I might get a slide show together of the pics I took this past week. I am hoping others were more diligent at picture-taking than was I!

Hope you all on the east coast are in safe spots for meeting Irene, and that everybody finds something fun to do today. Coffee is hot, and there are a couple of leftover blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I miss my Ruckus friends!

[Liz]

No rain here yet, but the wind is beginning to get gusty. I see the people in the 5th wheel are finally putting their awnings up....I wondered if they intended to leave them out. Predictions are for up to 40 mph gusts here today. I worry about the people camping in tents here. There is also a pop-up I wouldn't want to be in today. I just hope no large limbs fall on the rv.

I've had Roe and Bandit out for their walks...they may have to spend the rest of the day cooped up with me in here. I plan to work on pictures today...gtg & blog.

Hope everyone south of here stayed safe with no damage as the storm passed. Also thinking about those still in the path, especially my friend on Lake Champlain who is already still recovering from record flooding earlier this spring.

[Irmi]

Good morning Soos, Liz & everyone!

Soos, take the time to unwind from your ruckus and prepare to become a grandmother!

Liz, I'm so glad you found a place to stay. Lots of areas around here were evacuated, as well as campgrounds.

We spent the night in our motorhome at a business just down the road from our house as our house has flooded in the past, and we're flooded again. It is just a mess and I hate to think of having to clean up the mud and mess once the water levels recede. I'm getting ready to call a local campground to see if they will let us in and perhaps give us special rates due to our emergency. If not, we'll pay the full price but right now there is nothing we can do with all the water in the house & yard. We need to wait until the winds subside before going down the road, though. We're just hoping the roads will be clear for us to make the trip.

Take care everyone.

[Nasoosie]

Irmi, thank heavens for your motorhome! I can't imagine having to deal with a flooded house after just having a flooded basement a couple of times----it's a horrible job. I sure hope the campground will allow you a special rate until you can get safely back into your home. Please don't try until things are over and calming down. The NJ shores are a real mess, as the storm is downgraded but still raging and causing so much flooding. Make sure there are no power lines down as you venture home later.

[flick4411]

Glad all is well with you, Nansoosie and Liz. Irmi, so sorry to hear of your house flooding. Hopefully, it's not too awfully bad. Having a hard time wrapping my brain around the huge amount of damage and flooding when my neighborhood survived so well. I am praying that you find your house in better shape than you found last time. And I sincerely hope the campground understands it's a time of caring for those impacted by the storm--and that they give you a reduced rate for the duration. Be very careful going home when you can. And may the sun shine for you and yours soon! Take good care!

[Acadianmom]

Irmi, so sorry to hear that your house flooded. After dealing with 2 floods in 3 years I know what a mess that is. Around here it is a big business to elevate houses. They even lift houses slab and all. I have never checked into it but I think they are getting a grant through FEMA. Dealing with FEMA was such a circus, I hope it has improved.

Colleen might be coming through today so we might have another GTG. Will be nice to meet another sister.

Martha

[Bethers]

Ouch, Irmi. I only had to deal with a flooded downstairs in a house once, and would rather not do it again. Hope like others it's not as bad. And I hope all those in the path of this storm are able to stay safe and remember, the things aren't as important as their lives. Yesterday evening, a couple here left us to head EAST back into NJ where things were being evacuated. In their MH - a high profile vehicle. We tried to talk them out of it - they said they didn't want to drive it today. Other campers tried to tell them to stay another day. They didn't listen. I sometimes don't understand people at all.

We are without power here at the cg. Lots of branches around. And it rained, rained, rained overnight. I could hear acorns slamming into my roof occasionally. And probably some small branches, but nothing big in my site this morning. There is a tree down across from me between 2 rv's. They are really lucky how it went down. I haven't seen many other larger trees down. Mainly the smallyer limbs. They are continually going through here getting rid of what's dead, which helps when storms come up

Still raining, but supposed to lessen as the day progresses. Winds haven't seemed bad to me. Never felt any motion in my rig. But being in the trees, means I might not feel as much as those in the open.

Stay safe where ever you are.

[Anniepoo]

Soooo sorry about the flooding! Bummer bummer bummer!
What an icky awful thing to deal with!

Yay, small victories for friends weekend for me. As I write this I'm on Skype chat with friends who are in Thailand, Sally and her supportive partner Ab. Sally's just a day post sex reassignment surgery, so big victory in her life.

Still struggling with the dip**** dipstick on my transmission. The guy didn't come yesterday.

It's beginning to turn chilly here. I've actually pulled on a hoodie against the morning chill.

[bikerchic777]

I had lost track of time and what all is going on with GTG's, etc. I see I missed out on the excitement about the Ruckus, Soos. I REALLY want to go sometime!!! Maybe I can workamp closer sometime so I can. It's hard to me to make it to the GTG's since I'm not retired and have to workamp for a living OK...I [u]GET TO[u]workamp for a living

Prayers going out to everyone on the east coast, dealing with hurricane Irene! I texted my DS in Stafford, VA yesterday and it was raining, but he said he didn't think it was going to be as bad as predicted. I need to get an update from him today. How is it where you are, Li? I do know that I wouldn't want to be in those high winds in Myrtle and either would Rags

I'm waiting for the guests to leave my cabins so I can get in there and clean. Looks like they won't make it out by the 11:00 check-out time...surprise It is starting to slow down a bit. I see by my schedule that 3 of the cabins will be empty until Fri. So far, they have been mostly booked. That gives me a little freedom with when I clean them. I told them that I would clean the one that is reserved today first, then go do my RV pump-outs, then clean one of the big ones and do the other big one tomorrow. I usually don't have any work to do on Mondays, anyway. This is a great job BTW...One of the workampers here is looking for a partner to help him with his job here next summer, if anyone is interested. I'm sure you could even have your own site.

Well, time to go get my cleaning supplies ready! Have a great day!!!

[flick4411]

Hi again...

I went out to go check on Foo Foo about an hour ago. Traffic was awful in my little town. Not sure if everyone felt the same way I did--being cooped up inside for 36 hours was just too long. That being said, I finally made it to the RV storage lot only to find they have no electricity so the gates won't open. The parts I could see through the fence looked ok...no real debris at all. Guess I'll try back tomorrow.

So since the traffic was so bad, I decided to take a cut off that went back towards my house. OMG, the tress that were down...the trees on the elect lines...and the debris that had already been pushed back off the road...it was really shocking. Our street has a lot of tree debris, but nothing more. But on this road, there were at least half a dozen trees on power lines, one tree that JUST BARELY missed a house, and about 20 trees that had already been cut back and pushed off the road. So when I came back into my little housing area, I went up a street over from mine. Mostly it looked like mine...until I got about half way up. And here was a huge oak tree sitting on the roof of a small house...huge tree uprooted a big part of the yard, and somehow managed to not go through the house. Scary...

We are sooooooooo lucky to live in maybe the one place in this part of Central VA without overhead power lines. I think that saved us completely. I now realize that many of those peoople on the roads earlier are without power and are looking for ice and generators. The Lowes parking lot was totally full...I think there's a lot more damage than I can see. We have a million without power in VA; and after seeing the kinds of devastation that exists, who knows when they will get power back.

I am so thankful that Mother Nature was kind to our neighborhood. I hope she continues to be merciful to the rest of the Northeast. Now I'm going to call my co-workers and ensure they are all ok too.

Stay inside and safe those of you who are in the path of Irene.

[dayspring39]

Good morning again, cyberspace ate my post have no idea where it went.! Quite a few have posted since mine got lost. Irmi do you have a basement? I'm sure glad you're safe and like others glad for your motorhome.
Soos Hope you can get a little catch-up rest while you remember the great ruckus you had! I cannot remember what my first post said! So I will just wish you all a good day wherever you are,
Kathleen

[VickieP]

Irmi, I'm so sorry you have to go through the flooded house once again. Like Martha, we've been there before also. Hopefully you have flood insurance to help out financially, but it's still a long road. With so much destruction hurricanes and tornadoes bring, the biggest problem is finding skilled,reliable repairmen. I think everybody else is that area has checked in either here or on Facebook, hopefully no more damage will occur.

[Readytogo]

Hi all, just wanted to post and say I'm glad all our friends in Irene's path, so far, seem to be okay. Irmi, I hope you house flooding is not too bad and fixable. Yesterday turned out to be one of those busy and on the phone all day kind of day. Friday pm I had one Gdtr and friend spend the night and they stayed in the pool til bedtime. Then we got up yesterday and got ready for and had her bday party. During the party my old high school friend who lives in Ark called to see when and if I was still going. As I said in the gtr thread, I was still thinking aboutit. After the party i called and made my reservation and called him back. Then my sister in Calif called to tell me my BIL was in the hospital with bloodclots in his lungs! I will call her later. I talked to him he sounded good, I'm not sure how serious this is. Then as I was about to get comfortable have a glass of wine before bed, my neighbor calls. She does this a lot. She takes a lot of pain medication and i don't think she knows what time it is! This isn't the one who is going on the cruise with me in TWO WEEKS! Soos, I think the ARK gtr by the way is about the time your gbaby is supposed to come?! Everyone stay safe, maybe the worst is over and maybe we will cool off a bit down South. Wendy

[DeeRV]

Checking in from the Philly suburbs....

Horrible winds, rains and tornado watches all night long. Who can sleep with that going on? No trees down on my property but many on the surrounding roads. The Brandywine River is a couple of miles away. As usual, the adjacent areas have flooded, but I've never seen it this bad. The River is behind this house and the trees.


(a friend took this pic, I haven't ventured "out" yet.)

The Brandywine is a great place to canoe/kayak. Today, you don't even have to be on the river to do this.

Irmi, I'm so sorry you are dealing with a flood at your house. Sending hugs your way.

Dee

[Bethers]

Wow, Dee what a picture. Have been thinking about kayaking there - still haven't done it. Might have to wait for waters to recede if I keep it on my possibles list this season. So glad you are safe. Stay in - no need to get in the way of the cleanup.