Dear Friends and Family,
What a crazy weekend we had here on the East Coast. I'm sure you are all aware that Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast this past Saturday and Sunday. Connecticut was hit especially hard. There are huge power outages and massive flooding along the rivers and coast. Joey and I knew the storm was coming and made a last minute decision on Friday night to get out of town. According to the predictions Wallingford was right in the path of the hurricane and we didn't feel our apartment was a safe place to be with high winds and falling trees and power lines.
We decided to head to Binghamton, NY because it was not in the predicted path of the storm and was only a four hour drive from Wallingford. We had a full car with Clara's things, our suitcase, my violin, and a dog and cat. We spent Friday night in a hotel in downtown Binghamton. Unfortunately the hotel was not great and we didn't feel it was a particularly safe area so the next night we moved to another hotel outside downtown Binghamton. We thought there might be some fun things to do in the area, but were disappointed with what the city had to offer. For example, we thought of going to the zoo, but after reading reviews online stating that the zoo had lost its accreditation due to the mistreatment of animals, we decided not to go. But we were happy to be out of harms way and tried to have fun watching tv and playing with Clara in the hotel room. It was Clara's first time in a hotel and she had a blast. She was a total party girl and didn't want to go to bed.
Today we headed home. As it turns out, the city of Wallingford is the only city in Connecticut that didn't lose power. I guess it's because Wallingford has it's own electric company. Anyway, we are lucky to have power in our apartment tonight. Our house in Stonington does not have power, however. It was not damaged thank goodness, but we really can't move in until the power is back on. We were planning to move tomorrow but that may not happen. Joey's parents were supposed to fly out to see us today but they changed their trip to Wednesday to avoid the storm. So we are just waiting to hear about the power. We are so ready to move and the thought of spending more time in Wallingford is a bit depressing. However, after seeing all of the flooding and damaged homes as a result of Irene on the news, we really can't complain. So many people have it really bad right now and some even lost their lives.
I guess when you live by the ocean you have to expect hurricanes and tropical storms to occur. We may not have needed to leave town, but why take risks when you can go somewhere safe? I'd much rather be on the safe side, especially with a baby.
Hopefully there won't be anymore storms on the way for a while. We sure never had to worry about hurricanes in Minnesota! Check out some photos below from our "fun" weekend getaway.
Baby Gym
Pajama Party!
Practicing tummy time!
Hotel beds are so much fun!
Playing with daddy
Watching Irene on TV in the hotel room
