Just like when the in-laws come in for a surprise visit, Sandy banged on our door, demanding we let her in. Thankfully, here in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania we were lucky to not have as much damage as other low lying areas.
Yesterday, Sandy started out like any other storm, dreary, dark and rainy. By mid-afternoon, we began to see the wind pick up. She meant business. There was no way we were going to be able to escape this storm. Even if we wanted to, it was too late at that point. By 5 pm the winds were up to about 40 mph. I'm truly amazed that our power didn't go out. That night the wind whistled and shook the house while the rain pelted the north and west sides of our house. When the eye of the storm went past things got eerily silent. The wind virtually stopped, but the rain continued. I thought Sandy was leaving, but sadly she wasn't. About an hour later the wind continued.
We had prepared for the worst by storing our own tap water, enough to last us a few days and recharging batteries for the flashlights. We gathered candles and flashlights and put them all in one central location. I even went out and gathered rainwater in the rain to make sure we had enough water to flush the toilets, if need be. We had our stockpile of food that could be cooked quickly and easily on our gas stove should we lose power.
This morning the first thing I did was run to the front window, then to the back window to see what damages we had. All in all, we fared very well. We didn't lose power and only a few branches fell in the front yard. Although the temperature has dropped and is a whopping 43 degrees this afternoon. Our main concern is the Susquehanna river. It has yet to crest and with all the flooding in upstate New York that will flow our way, I have a feeling the worst is yet to come.
