Hunkered Down, Ready for Irma

This was the view for most of our 15 hour trip home from Florida Thursday.

Normally it takes 9 hours.  

It seemed like everybody in Florida was in a car on the Interstate.  Fortunately there was plenty of gas for all.

 We passed vans full of dogs and cats in wire cages being evacuated from animal shelters in southern Florida.  

In the rest areas there were people walking dogs everywhere.  I've never seen so many dogs outdoors in one place.  You couldn't have paid me to walk through the grass!

The restrooms at the rest areas were unbelievable.  All the sinks were labeled , "Out of Order", and the toilets and floors were filthy.  We brought our own food and ate in the car as we would have to walk through said grass to reach a picnic table.  

And like I said, there was no way I was walking through that grass!

It was hard to leave my mom.  She is still in the rehab center which is a hurricane-proof facility so she will be safe. 

We have stocked up on hurricane food (anything that cooks in five minutes or less) and a few treats, flashlights, camp stove fuel, gas for the grill.  We will not get the full brunt of Irma, a tropical storm here instead of a hurricane, and we are grateful for that.  We will probably be without electricity as we seem to live near a very touchy substation that goes out at the least provocation.  

We checked out the ocean to see how things are there. 

 Very windy, big surf, flying sand and foam.

Y'all take care.

We'll be back when Irma is gone!