********NOTE THIS IS PERSONAL RECOLLECTION OF THE 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE RITA NOT A CURRENT STORM**************
Review the Intro Post 5 Years Later Remembering Rita
Remembering Rita the next Chapter......
September 23, 2005: Evacuating on I-10 I have just enough gas to make it to Lafayette, LA to meet my son. I feel somewhat safe with my son in his 2 bedroom upstairs apartment. The dogs smell fear and know something is up, the pomeranians find a hiding spot and Goldie curls up underneath my son's computer desk. It's been a rough day for all of us! We had to use the elevator to get Goldie up and down the stairs when we took her outside---that was alot of fun--ha!
My son and I begin to watch the local TV station KPLC TV broadcast from a bunker at St Patrick Hospital (selected as the safest spot in Lake Charles) they are broadcasting with minimal equipment and a dry erase board format of messages held up in front of a screen ....very inventive idea!
Calcasieu Parish is in lock down mode. Everyone just waits for Rita to make landfall on September 24, 2005, we follow the reports and pray for our city, officials, families and homes.
The first news reported after the storm is that, no one is allowed back in the Parish. I make arrangements to fly to Flordia to meet my husband in Boca Raton, FL until we can come back home together. I will wait out the rest of the evacuation period in paradise until we return home in mid October!
SUNNY SKIES AND THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
Florida welcomed evacuees as they know something about hurricanes! I flew into to Palm Beach, FL and thought I was on vacation instead of evacuation. Hence we came up with the term "hurrication"
If anyone has ever spent time in South Florida you know how beautiful it is. While Lake Charles was trying to recover from the devastation and restore electricity, clear roads and make repairs, I was enjoying the beach and a Mojito!
If you have been following my Blog and read Evacuating Like a Band on the Run with 3 Pomeranians and a Golden Retriever you will remember I evacuated from Lake Charles with 3 pomeranians and a golden retriever! Well I flew to Florida with 1 pomeranian What happened to the others? My son's friend took our golden retriever and another Pom to stay at his parent's farm and my son kept 1 pomeranian. Our family was really split in all directions!
- What would we find upon our return to Lake Charles?
- Was our home even intact?
Stay tuned for the aftermath and cleanup chapter! We have come a long way baby!
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Introduction 5 Years Later Remembering Rita http://activerain.com/blogsview/1866707/five-years-later-remembering-rita-
Part I Remembering Rita http://activerain.com/blogsview/1825643/evacuating-like-a-band-on-the-run-with-3-pomeranians-and-a-golden-retriever
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