Ike Was a MoFo - Part 2

Saturday, September 13, 2008 - So, we get to the hotel in Brookshire, it was called Executive Inn & Suites. (have you ever had to drive with no back window, it's really weird.) Sadly, all we could get was 1 room. So, in a room with 2 double beds, we had Mom, Megan, Jerob, Jereth, Victor, the two dogs and me. We had some key problems, so the gentleman behind the desk walked with me to the room to figure out what was going on. While he was up there, I asked him if they lost power and he said, in a thick Arabic accent, "No, not for one second. We have our own transformer!" And when he said transformer, he used Vanna White arm and pointed to the transformer that was right in front of our room. So, we have decided if we have to evacuate again, we're going to the place with it's own transformer, but we tend to bring the black cloud with us. Knowing our luck, the next time the transformer will get blown off the pole and land right in our room. Anyway, once we got to the room we discovered that the television was only getting 3 channels...ABC Family, TNT and cartoon network. The adults really wanted to watch the news, but Cartoon Network kept the kids quiet. So, around bedtime, we had to decide on the sleeping arrangements...Megan, Jerob and Victor in one bed and Mom, Jereth and me in the other bed. I've mentioned before that I have a bubble butt that I got from my mother...when the three of us laid down on the bed, both the mother and I had a butt cheek hanging off the side. To top it all off, I come from a long line of snorers...ALL OF US SNORE...EVEN CUJO - THE PUG. I will let you in on one of my 'things,' I like total silence when I got to sleep at night, the rest of my family has to sleep with the TV on.




Sunday, September 14, 2008 - After I woke up, I decided to walk to the front office to see if they had any coffee, what I found was even better...A COMPUTER!!! Every time I wanted to get on it, I had to pay $3.00, but I didn't care. It was a lifeline to the outside! So, when I logged on, I immediately went to the City of Seabrook website. What little hope I had for the city of Seabrook making it through the storm was gone when I read the words, "No one, including the media, is allowed in the City of Seabrook." My worst-case superpowers came out and all I could think was that my apartment and my mother's home was floating away in the Gulf of Mexico. Around 6p, Terra called me and told me that their lights were on and that they wanted all of us, even the dogs, to come stay with them until we could back in our homes...she said she would not take no for an answer. So, Mom, Megan and I discussed it and decided it would probably be the best for our family to go to her house. (It was also getting expensive staying in a hotel.) We went to a pizza buffet that night and the kids and I played Miss PacMan, went home, packed and got ready for the trip back to the south side of Houston.

Monday, September 15, 2008 - Loaded up all three cars, went and checked the City of Seabrook website...it said that people west of Hwy 146 (me) could come back and people east of Hwy 146 (mom) were still not allowed in. We all pile in the cars and off we go to the friendly place on earth...FRIENDSWOOD. Once we arrive, I look at Terra and Lyndon and tell them, "If our friendship can survive this, we can survive anything!


So, Lyndon took me over to my apartment...I didn't know what I was going home to. While we were driving down Nasa Road 1, we saw parts of Clear Lake that looked untouched and other parts that looked like a war zone. The Nassau Bay Hilton got torn up pretty badly. Apparently, the skylight fell out of the top of the building. Then we went a little further east and right down the road from my house there were boats lined up on the side of the road, I had heard that the storm surge pushed them all up on Nasa Road and the people cleaning up the debris pushed then off the road so traffic could get by. So, we get to my apartment and the front of the complex doesn't look bad! Once we get to my apartment, I start noticing all the trees have been blown down, I'm talking roots and all! I get to my apartment and go in...all the windows are still there and there is no water on the floor!!!! I pick up a few more things and we go back over to their house.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - This was the day we had been waiting for. We were finally allowed to go view the east side of 146. Mom and I headed over to her house...Up to this point, all we had seen were pictures of 146, there was a picture that someone took where they were standing on the Kemah bridge and looked north toward Seabrook and all you could see was debris from the bridge back Nasa Road 1. So, as we were driving, all we could do was expect the worst. We pull up to mom's house and there were no trees down - good news! We walk in and everything was right where she left it - no windows had been blown out - good news! We walked around for a minute and thought that everything was fine, then I started noticing that every time I took a step I heard a weird sound, kinda like a 'squish.' We discovered that her house had been in the storm surge, and judging by a few pictures sitting on the floor there had only been about 1 1/2" of water in her whole house. When we walked back outside, her neighbor 2 doors down came over and told her that the surge had, indeed, come in and said when he walked outside the water was up above his knees, but as quickly as it came in it went back out. When we looked at the outside of her house we saw a water mark.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - Spent the entire day at mom's house with my friend Jeremy pulling up carpet...I have never pulled up carpet before, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. There is a lot of carpet in a 4 bedroom house with a living room and a den...and the padding under your carpet gets EXTREMELY HEAVY when it gets wet.

So through all of this, Terra & Lyndon let all of us stay at their home. They have been great and I don't know how to thank them enough for sharing their home, beds, couches, recliner, electricity and air conditioning with us. I am happy to report that Mom went by her house and my apartment on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 and said that both places had power!

Oh, and a big thank you to my apartment complex...I went to my place on Saturday, September 20, 2008 to clean out my refrigerator and come to find out...they went in and cleaned everyone's refrigerator and freezer out, apparently they were getting complaints from some of the residents that the smell was getting too bad. Even though they cleaned it out for me, it still smelled like a corpse was in my apartment...let me tell you, Carpet Fresh, Febreez and Oust are miracle products.

So, there you go, my experience with that MoFo Ike. I have lots of pictures, I will download and post them soon.

If you live in Houston, good luck with the clean up....and if you still don't have lights, I am so sorry, I hope they get to you quickly!

Until next time...

Mandy