I don’t usually get political on my site, and I’m not saying McCain has all of the answers, but after watching this video, I’ll definately be voting AGAINST Obama in November…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o84PE871BE

The Boston Globe has some great pictures of the hurricane on their site that I wanted to share.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

As most of you already know, Hurricane Ike has made its way through the gulf, into Texas, and already up into Canada. Many of you have been calling or texting and asking how we’re doing. We appreciate the concern and the many offers of places to stay. Let me tell you how our preparation and evacuation has gone.

Tuesday Sept. 9th – 7:00pm

Jessica and I had our first discussion about Hurricane Ike, which was around Cuba at this point. We talked to our parents down in Portland (Corpus Christi area) and had learned that the projection was for the hurricane to land around that area. We figured we would either have them evacuate up North to Houston, or we could head south to them if it changed paths.

Wednesday Sept. 10th – All Day

There was very little discussion throughout the day about the hurricane, it wasn’t until Wednesday evening that the news reports were coming in that the projected path had moved north, meaning that Houston was going to get pretty stormy, and Corpus would catch a little too. Now, we started thinking of alternate plans of evacuation. Should we weather out the storm at the new house in Houston? Should we go to College Station? We decided we would play it by ear and decide on Thursday.

Thursday September 11th – All Day

Suddenly, Houston is in full out evacuation mode. Overnight, the hurricane had made a turn north and was now projected for a direct hit on Galveston Island. The grocery stores were packed, and the gas station lines were long, but Jessica and I still had to work. We received calls from family and friends all day long. Thanks for everyone’s concern, and a big thanks to those of you who offered us a place to stay.

I was let out of the office after lunch, and Jessica had to finish out her day at school. Once I got home I made sure we had the essentials… mac & cheese, water, beer, etc. When Jessica got home, we decided to make the ride out the storm, but we didn’t want to do it alone, so we went to the Woodlands to stay with Justin, Katie, and their family.

Friday, September 12th – Noon

We woke up at Justin and Katie’s house then went to their parents’ house in the back of the Woodlands. The parents’ house is much larger and generally better protected from the trees and the elements because of the boarding up that they had done beforehand.

Friday, September 12th – 5:00pm

This was definitely the calm before the storm. The air outside was as still as ever, and the sky was clear. It was almost eerie to know that a hurricane was on its way. The breeze began to pick up and the first sprinkles began to fall at about the same time that we had our first Crown and Coke…. the hurricane party was on.

We spent the night playing pool, meeting the neighbors, and making last minute preparations for the storm. At 3am, when I went to bed, the wind had picked up, and the rain had started… it wouldn’t stop for 24 hours.

Saturday, September 13th – 5:58am

I am awake because of the loud storm outside. Surely this was the worst part of the storm. I walked out of our bedroom into the hall to check things out. Everything seemed normal inside, but a peak out the window showed a much different scene. It was completely dark, but I could see enough to know that I didn’t want to go outside.

As soon as I made it back to the bed, the power went out. This may have been the last time the Woodlands had power in September… Nothing to do but sleep it out.

Saturday, September 13th – 10:00am

We woke up to find the storm still blowing pretty strong. We could tell it was calming down, but the damage in the area had already been done. Two very large pine trees were down near the Abshires’ back yard and the streets were filled with debris; mostly tree limbs and trash.

Saturday, September 13th – 3:00pm

We had grown tired of our board games so we decided to take a drive down the streets of the Woodlands. Five of us hopped in the car to see what Ike had left behind. While most residents looked like they had made it through the storm without any problems, It was clear that many of the unlucky ones would not recover quickly from this storm. A good number of the large pines that give the Woodlands its name had fallen… and a good number of the fallen had landed directly on the roofs of houses and garages. Someone was commenting on how crazy it was that a few inches can make the difference between an inconvenience and a disaster.

Saturday, September 13th – 5:00pm

The new house had obviously been a concern of Jessica and I. We buy a house and are forced to leave it to mother nature less than two weeks later… of course we’re nervous. So we travel down I-45 from the Woodlands to the house in Jersey Village. As we enter the neighborhood our nervousness grows. Many of our neighbors have lost shingles in their roof, trees in their front yard, and even siding on the side of their house. But as we pull into our driveway, it’s clear that we hadn’t suffered any major damage. Everything looks normal… thank God.

It turns out that the only thing we really had wrong with our property is our back fence. We lost a section of that, but no big deal, I’m happy with just that. Before we left, we were able to enjoy a romantic candle-light dinner with our friends, and our first dinner at our new dining room table… Mac & Cheese served with hot dog wienies.

As we settled in for the night, we decided that the two hour trip to College Station would be better than another night without AC and electricity. Justin, Katie, Jessica and I packed our things and left for what we thought would be one night in College Station.

Sunday, September 14th – 2:00am

Arrival in College Station. Kayla (Jessica’s Sister) offered her place to stay for a night. I crashed quickly. The ny-quil I took for my cold had made me a little sleepy.

Sunday, September 14th – All Day

After waking up and watching the news, we realize that we may be in College Station for a few days. Reports are that The Woodlands may not get power for another 2 or 3 weeks. It’s not until 8pm on Sunday that we find out that my house may have power. Houston officials are saying not to return into town while work is saying that the office is open on Monday. We decide to err on the side of safety and skip Monday’s work. I guess I could always use a vacation day if there’s an issue.

Monday September 15 – All Day

So that brings us to today, we spent what hopefully turns out to be our last day as evacuees killing time in College Station at the mall and around town. Our plan is to travel back into Houston tonight to see about the electricity and work situation.

I’ll post the hurricane pictures I have as soon as I get a chance. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We were lucky that we were only inconvenienced by all of this. Talk to you soon.