Satellite Photo of IkeWe survived!
On Thursday night, very late, we left Galveston. Thursday was a very long day of packing, moving, protecting and Jonathan and I were wiped out by the time we reached my Mom's in Houston a little after midnight. We drove down the Seawall one last time as we left town and it was eerily quiet, boarded up and empty. There were two bars open, one aptly named the Poop Deck, hosting the last of those who stayed behind and a few journalists I am sure.
Boarding up Windows and Preparing HouseAs most of you know, the storm was fierce and was much more destructive that anyone could have anticipated for a category 2/3. Unfortunately most of Galveston was under water from the swells and storm surge. Houston was mostly effected by horrendous wind and rain, and even more rain on Sunday after everyone thought the worst was over.
The majority of the Greater Houston area and of course Galveston County is without power. I am sending this from the only place I know that has an internet connection, A/C, and is free - my mother in-law's office near the Galleria.
On Tuesday the City of Galveston announced they would allow residents and business owners to "look and leave" the island to assess damage. We quickly stocked our vehicle, left Eva with Jonathan's parents and headed to the island. It was stated that we would have to provide proof of residency at checkpoints and that we would only have until the 6pm curfew to get off the island or pay a $2,000 fine. After waiting in a line of cars and traveling 4 miles in two hours, we finally reached the island.
The good news: Our house is still standing! The not so good news: For those of you who have not had a chance to visit us, we lived in a renovated, historic, three-story home. Our entire first floor was flooded. Everything that we had to leave on that floor is lost. My car (that was moved to the other side of the island on much higher ground) was also flooded (although this is really good news because I was going to get rid of it any way, so now it is an insurance problem).
This is our stairwell from first to second floor covered in debris and our back door
that had to be forced open. Note the water line on the wall.
The better news: A tall palm we had in our yard was snapped and possibly caused the roof damage we had, but did not break a window (thanks to the plywood). The roof did not leak, as far as we could tell, so everything on the upper two floors was untouched.
The snapped palmThe frustrating part: We only had about 45 mins to assess damages, take photos, gather was many of our belongings as could fit in an SUV and get off the island. The city has not allowed anyone back onto the island, so there our house sits. We cannot open windows and start getting everything out, so it will be in much worse shape than if we had been able to start working on it right away. We are hoping that the dampness does not cause significant damage to everything we have left on the upper floors.
We are officially Ike refugees and are trying to formulate a plan for where we will be and what we will be doing as our home, even we are allowed back and utilities restored, will be uninhabitable.
Eva has behaved beautifully and is being spoiled rotten. She is acting just as a toddler should, getting into everything, not listening (most of the time), laughing, playing, exploring, fussing at bedtime (even though it's just a playpen she is sleeping in). We have tried to maintain a calm demeanor around her so that she won't pick up on the stress and frustration and it seems to have worked. I know she most likely will not remember any of this, but if she does, I am sure it will seem like a fun, never ending vacation.
Thank you all so much for your thoughts and well wishing. I can't tell you how encouraging that has been for us. We will keep you posted on our progress, as it is literally a day to day existence. Hugs and Kisses to you all. Hope to see you soon. Michelle, Jonathan and Eva
PS - My beautiful, tiny patch of a yard is no more.
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