Hurricane Irma - September 9, 2017

The outer bands of Irma came through starting at 1am with wind, rain, and lightening. The storm was not outside of a typical storm in Oklahoma City. We were very lucky because we didn't take a direct hit like Hurricane Matthew the year before. Cuba and Puerto Rico took most of the force away from the Bahamas.

We were worried about storm surge and flooding. Mr. Delancy predicted correctly and none of that was an issue. We did lose power as the storm came through. And it came back on at 4 am briefly. By 11 am, we had our power back. We checked and the storm had fully passed the Bahamas. We were in the clear!

The airport announced that it will be open for limited operations on Sunday, which was the day we were supposed to leave. I called American and found out there were no flights that day. We decided to keep our Tuesday flight, as Monday would have been standby.

It was time to explore. The ocean was angry and the wind was whipping the sand all around us. A hat was no protection for the sand. We found one shell and headed back quickly. After much debate, we decided to head over to the other side of the island and stay at the British Colonial Hilton. There's more food options and we were hoping for some fun before it was time to leave. Surprisingly, the Hilton had space for us. Originally, we were going to stay there on September 9th but with the Hurricane, I decided to cancel that reservation.

The rest of the night, we ate, played yahtzee, watched the storm out to sea and watched tv. We never really unpacked, so we were ready to head to the Hilton the next day.  When we were packing for the trip, Ryan never thought that Hurricane Irma would come and mess up our trip. For a good amount of time, the storm was a category 5. An F5 tornado is the largest recorded tornado. His insight in packing was impressive.

Private Island Experience, Part III

This is the final installment of the private island experience. Are you thinking that you need your own private island? There are many to choose from and some are quite affordable for a week. Friday, we looked outside and at the ocean. We quickly decided that another long expedition out to the open ocean in the kayak was not feasible. So we kayaked to one of the neighboring islands to hunt for shells.

It was a rocky ride full of waves and wind, which made for difficult paddling. We had been to this island the year before but on the opposite end. This side had a shipwreck, which I thought looked cool. From this island, we carried the kayak across to the other side and continued our quest for shells. There was hardly any wind on this side and it was a much smoother paddle. 

On this island, I found tons of great shells to add to my collection. I did not find the elusive Bahamian sand dollar. I will find it some day though.

Saturday was our last full day and the most appropriate thing to do is nothing. We relaxed. We played Yahtzee at the gazebo, with wind whipping the dice and my hair. We BBQ'd the snapper and fed our leftovers to the fishes at the dock.

Sunday, we had to prepare to leave and a major storm was brewing. Our flight wasn't until 3:30 PM but Noel came to get us around noon. I actually saw a lightening bolt. Possibly because of the weather, our flight was delayed one hour. Besides the minor delay and stormy weather, we had a smooth day of travel. It was that evening that we experienced the moth.

We have decided that April is an excellent time to visit Little Deadman's Cay. The weather is quite warm, there is no chance for a hurricane and the bugs can't land (due to the windiness). While that is a good time to go, we will be back in September. There's a chance for a hurricane and the bugs are out in full force. The advantage is the labor day holiday, which saves me from using one day of vacation. The most efficient way to maximize vacation time is to use holidays. Next up on the blog will be my review of Sandals Emerald Bay in the Exumas. 

Weather Saturday

As I am writing this post, there's thunder, lightening, and heavy fat rain outside. I will not be going outside until things start to calm down.

Yesterday, Chomps had a little adventure that I don't want repeated. When hubby came home, Chomps was waiting and crying loudly. As soon as hubby opened the front door, Chomps bolted out into the hallway and started walking around. He was so annoying after that adventure because he wanted out again. Awe, Chompsy, there's dogs that live here too. You don't want to be out in the hall.

I wanted to share a crazy story with you about a windstorm in Anchorage. I couldn't find any good stories to link too because it was a long time ago but Anchorage was declared a disaster zone and FEMA came to help out. It was March 13, 2003 and I had classes in the morning and work afterwards. I bundled up in all my winter gear for the day. I had to take a bus after class to get to my job and the wind was absolutely howling. With wind chill, I was waiting outside in negative temperatures.

I was having a hard time standing up in the wind. Even with all my bundling up, I was shivering and very cold. After work was over, I waited for hubby to pick me up and the wind was still howling! The doors to the mall were opening and closing with all the wind. When hubby got there, I struggled to open the car door. Our home was an apartment in the garden level, and we didn't have any damage. Nothing happened to our car but others were not so lucky. McDonald's sign was blown over. Little puddle jumper planes were blown over. There was over $800,000 in damage. I'm surprised our car was ok.

Apparently, there was another wind storm just about a month ago. These are called wind storms but the intensity is that of a hurricane. And I stood outside for nearly half an hour in this craziness. I should have called in sick.

Listen

I enjoy listening to soothing sounds. Its calming and relaxing. Sometimes I can fall asleep to white noise. There are many trains here and at times it can be quite loud. I prefer when the train is further away in the distance.

Nature is full of wonderful sounds. Crickets can chirp so sweetly and it's easy to fall asleep to their music. Rain falling on the roof, waves crashing at the shoreline, and wind rustling the leaves are all good to listen to.

Music is something else I enjoy. I work well with music and it helps me stay relaxed.

Sail away

All stress floats away when on a sail boat cruising through the Greek islands. Its hard to believe I was there just a few short years ago.

I will be back on a yacht floating through fascinating places. This is the perfect life filled with relaxing naps, gentle waves, and time to do whatever puts me at ease.

Thank you Lord for creating the ocean, so I can relax on a yacht. Thank you Lord for the wind that takes the yacht from sweet island to sweet island. Thank you Lord.