Our power came back on around 3:30 p.m. We got a message from Debbie and simultaneously received an email from our alarm system. I'd received an alarm email "low battery" after the power had been out for a while and we then received another once the power came back on. A little later on I got the expected emails from Honeywell that our thermostats had reconnected.
Even better, I was able to connect with Jim Brendel, our contractor, who is going to check the house and take charge of getting it secure. We don't know yet how much / whether we have inside ceiling damage. I'm hoping to hear from Jim shortly re what I should be bringing with me -- shingles & tarps -- for temporary repairs, as those items will be in short (!) supply in Florida.
I think that at this point I'm going to re-roof the house with steel and replace soffits, fascia, gutters. The existing shingles are the original roof, so they're 22-24 years old. Insurance will cover the repairs but I'll put that money towards a new roof. I'm saying all this but don't know anything about cost & timing.
Lisa will check the inside of the house, hopefully today. Yesterday she was helping her brother.
Having Jim on the job makes me feel a lot better. He'll get the house secure. Otherwise I wouldn't feel very good about heading off to the Cracker Swamp ride. At least that's how I feel now, offsite !
Today we head to Stef's and then onto Erie PA. There are large sections of I95 that are currently closed, but they are north of where we would be hitting that highway at I26. I had looked at alternatives but we'll stick with our current plans. We should probably check with the hotel in Orangeburg SC as there may still be people holed up there.
We both got messages from Verizon that we have unlimited data between now and the end of our billing period. Big deal. We have 4 more days in our billing period and have not used any of our 2gb yet. Unless I start uploading huge pictures or watching movies, we won't even touch that 2gb. That said, we won't have to bother with wifi in the hotels on the way south :). I can use personal hotspot for my laptop; Sandy can do the same with her ipad, browsing all day while we drive. Big deal :).
Sandy was cooking / prepping most of the day, getting ready for dinner at Stef's. The car is packed, save some plants, a small overnight bag each, Cassie's traveling food and sleeping pillow. I've got to lock the shed, garage, barn and pack the Vonage VOIP box and satellite receiver.
I probably don't have much more than 1/2 hour prep to leave but then the closeup takes time -- saran the toilets, lower the blinds, etc. Sandy will finish emptying the upstairs fridge, pack the cooler(s).
Otherwise, we're pretty much ready to leave.
It's 37F out there right now; it was 39F when I got up 1.5 hours ago; time to head south.
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