Evacuation Day!

Mornin'! It's 73° this dark, early morn. Talk about quiet. Not a breeze to be had. Not a car on my street other than my own. As I stand on my front landing looking in the direction of Rio Grande Ave., all I see are cars bumper to bumper heading off the island and it's only 5a.m. It's the calm before the storm on this evacuation day. New Jersey is under a State of Emergency says our Governor. And the Director of Emergency Managment has issued a mandatory order of evacuation. He actually said "if you do not leave, prepare by putting an index card inside your left shoe marked with your name, social security number, next of kin and a phone number for identification purposes." After typing this blog, my personal evacuation begins as I head out of Wildwood leaving my home as I once knew it. I'm as hunkered down as I can get for the time being and the rest is in Mother Nature's hands. Today will be mostly sun with periods of clouds as there's a chance of showers sometime later this afternoon. Tomorrow much of the same with more clouds than sun. It'll be muggy and humid both days. Tomorrow night (Saturday) is the window for Irene's impact as heavy rains and intense winds will begin. She'll roar through right into early Sunday evening. It's a new moon as well so the tides will have a huge impact with the floods and tidal surge as the hurricane crushes the island. Tides will be in that 7p.m.-8p.m. hour (Sat.and Sun). Winds will be 75mph sustained and 100mph gusts. Can't believe I'm typing those numbers. By late Sunday evening...calmness should begin to be felt as islanders begin to return home and access what Irene's left in her path. I guess that's all I got as I sign off with hopes of sitting in this exact spot ready to blog about the aftermath! Good luck to all of us in her path!