Look what Irene blew in. . .

The latest and last post about Irene. . .

Even though everyone told me that my homes didn't suffer any damage, it was truly a relief to see that house when we drove up.




Nicola, Grotto's and Louis were all open. Most of the restaurants were still boarded up. Pizza anyone?

The Back Porch and Go Fish were still boarded up just like about 80% of the businesses in town.

It was so strange to see so few people milling about. Eerie considering it is August. I've lived here all of my life and can't remember the town being is deserted at this time of year.

The beach is still here ~ a little worse for wear. The old jetties are still there, but some of the sand split. Just a few people walking around ~ no beach chairs or umbrellas. It looks more like a winter picture.

This pic is of Lingo's Market on First Street, three blocks from my homes. It's been there forever and many of my guests feel that a trip to Rehoboth is not complete without visiting there for their morning pastries. Dinah must have gotten a really good buy on the duct tape. I don't envy her getting it off those windows.

Yup, guys the beach is still there! Tomorrow we'll see people sunbathing and the life guards will be back on duty.

The Candy Kitchen at Rehoboth Avenue and the boardwalk. No one's getting any of their favorite fudge today.

This is Henlopen Junction just as you are entering Rehoboth.

A very rare picture of the outlets ~ deserted!!!!

Tomorrow, it's back to normal. Rehoboth officially opens to welcome visitors back, Route 1 is open again, and my homes are ready and waiting for my next guests. An earthquake (another story waiting for the next post) and a hurricane all in one week are a little much. It's been a long one ~ filled with stress and little sleep. I'm on my way to a good night's sleep. A very happy ending, good night everyone. . . .

Gooood morning everyone! This picture was posted on my FB page. It was taken at the inlet in Ocean City, MD. Although it is some distance from Rehoboth, I thought you might like to see anyway.

I still haven't been able to get to Rehoboth yet, so all the news I have is second hand. Most of it is coming from the President of Rehoboth Volunteer Fire Company, who is dear friend. He called this morning to tell me that my homes have no damage. There will be some clean up to do around the yard, but nothing major. He suggested that I wait until after 2 pm to attempt the drive. Indian River Inlet Bridge is closed and won't reopen until divers can get in the water to make sure that it is safe, so I will have to drive around going thru Millsboro. There are several places on that road that are still in danger of flooding and the winds are as bad now as they were last night.

I am told that Rehoboth as a whole suffered very little damage. The ocean never got to the boardwalk, very few trees were lost, and not one business lost a sign. City employees are busy getting the benches and trash cans back in place on the boardwalk. Thankfully, the Irene wasn't as bad here as some Noreaster's we have been through. The sustained winds never got above 55 MPH.

We decided that we would ride the storm out at home. We never had any doubt that we made the right decision. Our biggest problem was 2 big dogs that thought the whole situation was tons of fun and wanted to rough house all through the house.

My plans are to head to Rehoboth ASAP to get everything in order for my tenants to arrive tomorrow. I will be sure to get pictures to post when I get home later this evening.

Stay tuned. . . . .

More pictures!

Look at the dates on the plywood covering Dolle's window! Isn't Louis funny? Love the notes to Irene and just look at the sand bags. Rehoboth has been closed to non EMS people all day. They won't let you in even if you own property. Fortunately, it isn't as bad as expected. The worst will passs here in about 3 hours.

Rehoboth today!

These pictures were taken today in Rehoboth by one of our fireman. He posted them on my wall in Facebook and I thought all of you would enjoy seeing them. Enjoy!

Irene's Saturday update. . .

Well, so far, so good! It's been raining on and off all day. At times, a heavy downpour but not torrential. Most of the time it's been a light rain. Our dogs have been running in and out seeming to think that this is fun.

The winds are still light, too. I am guessing that they are a steady 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 or 40. We have a few leaves in the yard and one or two small branches. Before the storm, the water in our pool was about 4 inches from the top of the pool ~ there hasn't been enough rain to make it overflow yet. Since Irene has been downgraded slightly, we are breathing a little sigh of relief. Are remaining vigilant though as there is a possibility that it could get stronger.

We are nice and cozy here at home. My soon to be daughter-in-law and I have been putting a jigsaw puzzle together and listening to all the reports on TV. Nicki brought the puzzle with her, but she left the box at home so I have no idea what it will look like when we get it together. I am getting cross eyed and I have only found a few pieces that fit together. So much fun!

The most interesting thing happening is the hummingbirds. I have a feeder right outside of the slider in our dining room. We love watching them as we eat dinner. Today, they have been feeding all day long. I have rarely seen as many as there are today. At times, there have been as many as 8 at the feeder with a waiting line. It's been the highlight of the day to watch them play, circling each other, dipping and diving in beautiful patterns as they wait their turn. I might even have to run out to refill it! The storm doesn't seem to bother them. They are even feeding in the periods of heavy rain ~ it doesn't seem to affect them at all. Hummm. . . Is this a good or a bad sign of what's to come later today?

Waiting for Irene. . .

Sorry, I haven't been very good about keeping my blog up to date. We stay so busy maintaining my homes and making sure that each and every guest has the best possible stay that I don't always get arround to maintaining my blog as I would like. I promise I will try to do better.

It's been an absolutely wonderful summer. There haven't been many rainy days to keep everyone from enjoying the beach. The weather has been a little on the warm side sometimes, buy hey that's purrrfect beach weather, isn't it?

We almost made it thru the season without any bad weather, but it looks like Irene may more then make up for our lack of stormy weather this year. This morning for the first time since I started renting my homes, my guests had to mandatorily leave Rehoboth a day early. Even worse, my incoming guests will not be able to arrive until late Monday, if there is no storm damage.

At this moment Rehoboth, as well as all the towns along the coast line, is a ghost town. Rehoboth has officially closed the bridges ~ no one can get into town unless you own property or are EMS personnel with ID. They are predicting that this will be the worst storm in close to a 100 years with major flooding. Fortunately, my homes are built on the highest point in town. I don't expect flooding, but I do believe that I will have damage. I shutter to guess how much. We have done all that we can do to insure they suffer as little damage as possible.

We are not leaving our home in Ocean View unless things get much worse then I expect them to. As I write this Irene has been down graded a little which is encouraging. However, this is still a very dangerous storm and not to be taken lightly. We have made evac plans, my home is secured, and I have moved many of my treasured pocessions to the 2nd floor. My husband's antique cars have been moved to higher ground and we are packed, ready to follow if need be.

Both my husband and my son are EMS personnel. My son is an EMT. He works for Ocean City, MD which is expecting to be hit much harder then Rehoboth. He has to report for work tomorrow morning, take his boat, and will not be released until Tuesday morning at the earliest. Ocean City closed the town last night. No one can get in unless they are a town employee reporting to work. The police are stopping cars to check ID's as you enter.

The pictures that I am posting are ones that were taken by a really good friend. As usual there are television station trucks all over the area. They seem to be the only ones that can get in town. I've done all that I can until after the storm, so I will not try to go back in town. The electric companies are saying that we can expect widespread power outages, so I may not have access to a computer for a while. I will post updates when I can!

Aaaaand so, we wait. . . . . .