Goodbye Irene

Update:
Looks like Jacksonville wisely placed itself two hundred miles to the west of Irene's path. What foresight! I'll keep a good thought for those in its path, though, like those in Stone Harbor, NJ; Long Island, NY; Boston, MA...

I was all dressed for a bike ride yesterday afternoon, because the skies were clear, the wind calm, and had high hopes for a spin. But when I turned off the lights to go, rain pummeled the tin roof out back, and I reluctantly had to take off my tights and helmet... and the wind kicked up a mini-storm. Figures! But lucky I wasn't caught out in that localized squall.

I see a string of storms in the South Atlantic, and this is peak hurricane season, so I'm sure we'll face other scares. I've printed lists and maps of shelters, including those that accept animals, and ones that are close to Amy's work as well as to our place. And I got to go food shopping for canned goods, crackers, gallons of water, paper plates, etc. and stuff a cooler full of those meals so we can take it and go.

Grove and I ventured to the beach last night. It was crowded, with some show-off surfers, who mostly walked along the shore instead of getting in the water. Which was pretty wimpy, since the waves weren't more than six to eight feet at their highest.

The beach had a trough of flood water just before the dunes, quickly becoming a temporary swamp. The mucky puddle was about fifty feet long by twenty wide, and about two feet deep. And located right where the wooden bridge enters the beach, so lots of people just stopped there. The stinky foam everywhere was the surprise, though. Really stinky! Even after several attempts, I couldn't wash it off my hands. I can still smell it this morning... Lucky for you all, smell-blogging isn't a common technology yet!