Safe & Sound from Matthew (updated w/pics)

Wow what a storm! We got lucky this time. It was predicted to be off shore by only a couple of miles by Friday afternoon. However on Friday morning as it was moving up the east coast it started a slight turn east away from the coast. By the time it got parallel to us it was about 25 or 30 miles off shore. Enough to still have very high winds of 70+ mph but not the 100+ we were anticipating. By around 3:00p the winds started shifting & coming in from the Northwest which actually caused higher gusts.

LOTS of debris. 

Driveway, back patio & porches alone took around 3.5 hours to clear. We did those on Saturday & then tackled the yard on Sunday. 

Only one very large tree down, no damage done but it's got electrical wires tangled in it so we are going to let the power company take care of that.

Our power went out around 2:30p Friday & still hasn't come back on for us (72 hours & counting). There were over 250,000 w/o power from our utility Co. alone, not counting surrounding counties. They are telling us we'll be back online by midnight tonight but they haven't even driven down our road to assess the damage. 

We have generators going. They run our pump so we have running water & both refrigerators & freezer are powered along with a few light & receptacles. We are/were prepared but so many weren't. Of course, those are the ones complaining the loudest.

We have a gas grill as well as a gas cooktop so no problem preparing meals. We've had breakfast casserole (made ahead of time), grilled sausages, steaks & twice baked potatoes (taken from freezer & put in cast iron covered w/tin foil). Plus other casseroles taken from freezer & easily heated by putting in a pan on the cooktop, getting the pan hot then turning to low & covering. Only problem is that I had to move my coffee pot to a different plug, oh the horror ... lol.

We went to check on Greg's business Saturday morning & the lines for all the fast food places was ridiculous! Plus, many street lights were out & should have been treated as 4 way stops but it seems that no one knows how to do that. People can be so stupid.

Greg's business is fine but he doesn't have power either. He opened today & is running registers off of a generator. 

It could have been so much worse so we are thankful for our safety & the fact that we have provisions so we don't have to run around town trying to find gas & supplies.

Hurricane Matthew

This one is huge & is expected to skirt right by us Friday afternoon & evening. To add insult to injury we have had a Nor'easter sitting over us for the past 2 days. It is windy & raining as I type this but has nothing to do with the hurricane. It is just making the ground saturated which loosens up the soil and makes trees fall & limbs break easier than normal.

All of the coastal areas around here are being evacuated & even some inland areas near rivers & streams. We are just outside of the evacuation area & so will be staying put here in the city.

I do need to go by a few more plastic tarps, just in case, but we are well set for food & water, just need to move a few things into the garage.

It's a good thing too because all the store shelves are pretty much empty & the gas stations are running out of fuel. Grocery stores are supposed to get re-stocked today but I'm sure will be wiped out as soon as things are put on the shelves. This pic of the bread aisle was taken by a friend at 2am this morning.

And just about the only thing left for pre-prepared meat products.

Our generator is ready to be cranked up if need be & will run fridges & freezer as well as a few plugs inside the house so we can have lamps & fans running. Our biggest worry are the trees but can't do anything about those so we will hunker down until it is over.

Hope anyone in the path stays safe & dry.