Weekend and Monday Blog!

My Street

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My Yard Sunday Morning (Ice Rink)

My Yard

Ottens Harbor filling the streets

Started blogging last night...Evenin'!  It's 30°, clear, starlit, moonlit and calm.  When I was standing out there checking on things in the darkness tonight (it's around 7:30p.m.), I got a tiny bit teary-eyed thinking about how this wonderful little island was just relentlessly pummeled for about 30 hours by Mother Nature. A lot was going on in Wildwood this past weekend.  We made the National News! Hubby and I are good to go as we once again became survivors.  Our electric came back to us this afternoon thankfully and we came out unscathed.
It all began last week as Thursday and Friday at work was already weirded out as everything and everyone was in a heightened state.  I work along side emergency workers and it increases the heart rate as preparedness begins and that heightened state of emergency has an energy like no other.  Once home, hubby and I were wrapping things up for our "hunker down" weekend ahead.  From what I had learned in this recent preparedness was to keep the focus on the likes of another hurricane Sandy as far as coastal flooding was concerned.  I was freaking as with Sandy we had to evacuate under Gov. Christie's mandate. No mandate this time. Winter Storm "Nor'Easter Jonas" was planning on checking in on a Friday night of a Full Moon and checking out sometime during the overnight Saturday into Sunday.  The scary thing for me was once Jonas was checked in, he was going to get pushed incessantly and aggressively by the moon, winds and ocean to the back side (bay side).  Jonas packed a punch with 50-60mph sustained winds (75-80mph gusts) as he got pushed ashore with a vengeance. I live near Otten's Harbor which is on the back (bay) side. Not to mention some of the harbor already has ice forming from the recent wintry temperatures.  So, if the harbors and canals and bays were icy/frosty cold and somewhat frozen...and it was a guarantee that all back water was coming down my street via Jonas...work had to be done to get ready.   So, back to Friday...having two vehicles we knew without question they had to be moved to higher ground.  (For Sandy we took them offshore to the Mainland prior to evacuating).  Friday we just took them to the Wildwood municipal parking lot across from the Firehouses off of New Jersey Avenue for the weekend and walked home. We were warned that we were up against 3 extremely high tides the first being Saturday morning so now the cars were now on much higher ground. Friday night it began. The tides were very high as the temperature was dropping and the winds began wailing.  Weather was-a-happening big time outside on Friday night.  We began to get snow in the darkness.  Fast forward to 2:30a.m. as I woke to winds sounding like a freight train out our bedroom window.  The minute I woke and looked at the nightstand clock I knew we had no power as the clock was dark.  I got up and went downstairs and found it cold and 52° on the living room heater thermostat. No lights illuminated on the microwave or coffee maker or TV or clocks or anything including the streets lights or neighboring houses; no WiFi or computer or house phone. Outside it was snow covered (4-5") and with some minor drifting (8-9") from those winds.  I began to get some more preparedness done now that we were without electric in the wee morning hours.  First...fire up the gas fireplace and begin warming the downstairs (I made a long flat sheet to put through a tension rod to extend over the stair well keeping the heat on the first floor) and went all around the house filling candle holders replenishing all the candles with flashlight in hand. Got out the ol' Corning Ware percolator.  I was still able to light the gas stove top burners with a grill lighter and was able to make coffee/tea and prepare meals (made my first batch ever of Manhattan clam chowder from fresh clams hubby brought home from the Lobster House Friday).  We had hot water (gas hot water heater), We had a battery IPOD station for our music and warmth from the little fireplace and were good to go.   By the first tide on Saturday (the worst of all three) the water came over the bulkhead at 8-8:30a.m.  I had a bulls eye view of that.  It came fast and furious pushing all that snow from the overnight and all that ice from the harbor onto the streets.  Not everyone experienced it...just those on the West side of the island and I discovered later that the north end in North Wildwood saw water depths that broke records including Sandy's.  I received 18" of ice filled water around my property but I heard that some saw 36".  These tide waters took forever to pull back and leave the streets and when they finally did...the debris they left behind was off the chart.  I saw pilings, trashcans and propane tanks among other debris floating down my street in a wake that actually had waves.  The tides subsided and gave our pup a bit of a chance to relax but returned Saturday night at 9p.m. and once again came pouring into the streets with winds howling and snow pouring down laying wherever there was no tide water.  By now our damages consisted of anything stored under the house now floating (beach chairs, beach cart etc) and yard (seat/storage chest, grill, trashcans, giant planters) on their sides floating in ice and refreezing. The North side of our house got battered and the window screens all torn to bits from flying debris.  Hubby's checked under the house and the only thing he said was "It's just stuff and can be replaced."  Oh well...it's true and one must keep that focus and not to mention Philly along with my family and friends got 20+ inches of snow! By Sunday morning in Wildwood, the winds calmed as the tides receded while we welcomed a warm Ms Sun.  We began the clean up, walked 3 blocks to get our vehicles by the afternoon (they were fine by the way) and took a drive around the island to observe what Jonas left behind.  Jonas took North Wildwood's beach between 1st and 5th Aves., and left debris everywhere.  Homes which got water had all their furniture and stuff already by the curb.  So sad to see that. After our drive we went back to a dry home to more yard clean up and before 3p.m. our electric went on!  Just for fun we kept flicking the light switches every time we walked by them as brownies baked in the oven!

Our Pooch thinking it over

Here's today's blog...

3rd & Kennedy North Wildwood photo taken by  NW Rec Center

Mornin'! It's 25° in Wildwood.   Normalcy has returned as far as weather goes.  It's clear and still with starlit skies and not much in breezes to note.  It'll be sunny and crisp today with temps in the mid 30s and breezes out of the NW at 8-9mph.  Tonight...clear and starlit with temps tapping 30°.  First thing I did this morning was hit the light switch!
High tide:8:36a.m.
Low tide:2:48p.m.
Ocean temp:39°
Sunset:5:13p.m.