GUSTAV EVACUATION- FINALE

Well, we made it home safe and sound. My sister, Jessica, Anna and I left Wednesday and traveled to Kingwood to visit some friends and pick up my grandmother to bring back to Louisiana. We had a great road trip, no traffic, beautiful weather and only 3 hours. (My family left the night before and a typical 6 hour trip home took 12 hours.) Kingwood was great. It had been the first time I had been back since we moved over a year ago. Everything is the same, except the new Super Target and TJ MAXX, along with other stores. It might be a good thing I don't live so close anymore. (Unfortunaetly, I missed you Lisa, but I might be coming back to Kingwood this Thursday night to make a mass for my Grandfather this Friday morning. This all depends on Hurricane IKE.) It is really sad when a 23 month old wakes up and tells her mom, "Let's go Shopping." Yikes. No wonder I am working.

The evacuation was a mini-vacation that we have named, Hurrications.

Now we have to sit and wait for Hurricane IKE... Looks like it is coming straight at us again. I just don't know how many times I can pack up and leave. All of our stuff is still in storage and our house we are in now is over 50 years old. I just don't trust it during a strong hurricane, so I pack up as much as I can and take everything off the walls. (I do have to say, it had minimal roof damage from Hurrican Rita, but I can not chance it.) Not only do we have to worry about our houses and things, we have to evacuate and move out our classrooms. Since Hurricane Rita, we do not take chances with the schools. So, that is a tiring thing also. Keep us in our prayers, I don't know how much more we can take of this, eventhough we have lived here our entire lives, and would never move away from the Coast. (I know sounds crazy, but worth it, eventhough it sounds like I am complaing.)

GUSTAV EVACUATION DAY 1 & 2

We made it safely to Fort Worth. Only took us 8 hours, which is great considering the traffic and being in a 5 car caravan. We started our trip thinking we were going to stop at our camp for a night or two and then complete the trip to Fort Worth. We left at 8:20 Saturday night and drove the entire way to Fort Worth. We arrived and in bed at 4:30am. We drove the entire way because there was a mandatory evacuation Beaumont area. We did not want to get stuck in traffic with the kids. Our set up is great, each of us have a hotel/suite room with a kitchenette, bed and couch. Perfect for the kids and grownups. Our house away from home.

Yesterday we tried to get some rest and toured the area. Since we are from Louisiana, it would not be complete if we did not sit outside all night cooking and drinking. This was our Hurricane Party away from home. (We actually all cleaned out our freezers and brought it with us to cook. So, we cooked RABBIT last night with rice and gravy. It was great.)

Today we are taking the kids to the Fort Worth Stock Yards. We are going to ride the train from Fort Worth to Grapevine and back. I'll let you know how it goes. Hope to take some pictures and upload.

We are all safe as of now. Just pray we have a house when we get back...