On Friday we drove with the family to Escape the effects and dangers of Hurricane Irene. I think we made a good choice, especially living so close to the water and they were predicting Irene to be a category 4 hurricane. Storm Surge is a big concern in our area.
And so we were lucky enough to have family who rented a house in the mountains. I had a lot of concerns about being in a new house. After all, it is hard to sit still even at our "Sadie Proof" house. As I expected, Sadie was into everything in the kitchen...she just loves being in there. She is innately attracted to the ice maker on the outside of the fridge, the sink, the knife drawer, and of course the ever changing and interesting trash can. She was her normal self...she never stopped walking around, she was up and down the stairs, in and around exploring the WHOLE time. I don't think I ever sat down for more than a minute, and that's when I decided to barricade myself in our room with Sadie. So that she could feel more free and I could relax. At one point the 3 piece sectional sofa was split up in an attempt to block her way into the kitchen and to the stairs. Chairs were even put in front of the door to the stairs that went down to the 3rd bottom floor. The kitchen trash can was moved to the bathroom and grocery bags were hung up high for the trash in the kitchen.
A few things I didn't expect, she was able to go up and down the stairs mostly unassisted between the 2nd and 3rd floors. She actually sat on her bottom at the top of the stairs and scooted down on her butt. When someone was with her on the stairs she would hold their hand and walk down. She was mostly safe being left alone for a small amounts of time. However, a side note is she was "safe," I didn't say she didn't get into anything. The toilet paper had to be put up and any thing else like shampoo or soap would get dumped out on the floor. She emptied all our bags in our room on the floor and anything that would hurt her was already up in the top shelf of the closet. I was pretty worried about the open outlets and her pulling a dresser or tv over.
I think our trip gave me the courage to try another trip, with a little more prep, like taking a paid attendant so that I could sit a little more and enjoy the break.
Other things that I expected...Sadie was her usual HAPPY self, sweet, loving, snuggle self. She slept well once she went to sleep and she slept through the night both nights.
Overall, while it was stressful for me at the beginning of the trip, it did get better and I have the confidence that maybe we can try another family trip.
On a side note, Sadie and I met up with a friend and her family for lunch at Applebee's on Saturday. There aren't enough words to express how glad I was to spend an hour with them. Their daughters are amazing. Their oldest was so sweet to Sadie, even though Sadie kept blowing Frito mouth raspberries at her =) And their youngest shared a granola bar with Sadie.(their youngest has Down Syndrome, which I have to mention because being around a family similar to us makes me feel so normal AND I'm so grateful to have such a good friend that I feel "safe" around).
Below is a photo of the very very quick stop we made on Afton Mountain to view the Shenandoah Mountains.
Below is a photo of our neighborhood hangout, which is on the inlet. Our house is around the corner, but higher above sea level, so we actually didn't have flooding like this.
We came home on Sunday afternoon to electricity, minimal leaves, and small branches in our yard. Over all, I think we were very lucky and my heart goes out to those who had more damage and lost their lives to Hurricane Irene August 26-27, 2011.
