It Was A Cold and Stormy Night...

I am busy patching up the rig, doggy, body and soul. We're still lost and confused. I have to get a little stronger before driving again.

We are exhausted.  Hurricane Irma made a mess of things for me and many many others.

I was grieving (still am) over seeing the devastating destruction across the Virgin Islands. I spent decades working and living  on both the US side of St Thomas, St John plus the British side on Tortola , Frenchmans Cay and Jost van Dyke. One of my careers was as professional crew on luxury yachts (not cruise liners.) I knew most all the islands intimately besides the ones I  hailed from.

I also ran a business that spanned across several islands, keeping me traveling on my little old sailboat.

Seeing my former homeport(s) destroyed from hurricane Irma was devastating. Wondering about the welfare of my friends left me sleepless at night.

Realizing I was in fragile health in an old motorhome sitting in Florida made me realize it was time to hit the road.

I thought I could run and hide from hurricane Irma.

In northeast Georgia I ended up after two hard days of travel. I thought I would be safe. On the third day I had to travel again, I was still on the search for a propane fill. My tank is built in.

The hurricane brushed  by us but brought more torrential rains. Trees fell, power went out, water went off, temperatures plummeted, wifi and cell phone died. Even the weather station I was trying to listen to on a battery weather radio became pure static. I thought they said something about a tornado. I couldn't be sure. I tried to put together a little tornado bag in case the dog and I opted to make a run for it. There was a concrete bathroom in the campground.

Before leaving Florida I packed up in heavy rains, so my motorhome was already acquiring an unpleasant wet moldy odor. My poor doggy was upset and crying. He wasn't used to the long days of driving with no stops. I was so thirsty during the driving but didn't want to drink my water, for fear I would need a break. I wanted to press onward.

An angel had sent me 2 cases of  drinkable superfood soup to help me out when I felt rough. These are delicious and I discovered they are perfect emergency food too as they taste great at room temperature. Each one is in a carton with a drinking spout. I sipped on one while driving all  morning and another one while driving all afternoon. I had put a few up front with me. Plus I had a little bag of treats for the doggy.

I had to stop for gas and I was looking like crazy for a propane fill for my built-in RV tank which had run empty. I was mad at myself that I had not filled it sooner.  Like last summer/

Now that we were camping, the rains came in and the cold settled into the mountains. Temps dropped to the 40's and 50's and with the icy cold rains it felt much colder I realized my winter clothes were back in a big baggy in a shed on my former spot in Florida.

Oops!

I found things to pile on plus a rain jacket for me and luckily I had Harley's dog rain coat. He insists on going outside for his doggy business. So we piled on clothes and rain gear, then I carried him across the mini river running past our door until we found higher ground where he could do his thing. Back home I tried to dry him off while he shook and shivered.

No power, no news, no internet, no phone, no way to know what was going on where. I rationed my water, propane and generator use. I didn't know if I needed this to last 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months. I drank all the water I wanted, because I have a gravity fed purifier. It will purify rain water, river water, lake water.

In the evening I ran my generator for a little while to charge up the batteries and have some heat. My fridge was running on propane but also uses the house battery for the controls and light. So in many ways I was comfortable and lucky. Very lucky.

Many angels have helped me and I would have never made it alive this long without you.