Yowser! It’s bad in places!
Went shopping with the kids today and then on to the library, which was closed due to the power being out. So, since the Hubby had been telling us how horrific the damage from the ice storm was on his route, we decided to take a little detour on the way home and drive down some of the streets that are in his route.
Whew! Our neighborhood got off very, very lightly. We turned down Earle Street, a historical district street with lots of old trees flanking it on both sides. We didn’t get down one block. Why? Because the city was out with a truck, picking up plant debris and branches that the residents were piling at the curb. The truck was full and nearly overflowing with dead greenery. People were out with chainsaws, cutting up the branches and some of the trees. And these folks had no power, either. It may not be restored until Tuesday.
So we turned around and went down the next street, which was Croft St. Again, we didn’t get down one block. This time it was because a huge branch, as big as any tree, had fallen across the road. It was barely held up by the main tree trunk on one side, and by electrical wires on the other. Its smaller branches hung down in the road and made it impassible. So, again, we turned around.
This time we went down two streets, turned right, and drove to the end of that one. There were sizeable piles of debris on both sides of the road, but no major obstructions. At one point, we had to drive over one of the downed power lines. The kids were very nervous about it and I drove slowly. I can see why they canceled school again on Friday; the one in that area had no power, and the county school system’s policy is that if one or more schools are canceled, they all are.
Just heard from someone at church. There will be two services tomorrow morning, but no Sunday School and no nursery. The main auditorium has no heat, and probably no power. Since it was built later, it was on a different power circuit than the Christian school. So the services will be held in the school auditorium, which does have heat. We’ll probably go to the later service. Better than some churches, which have had to cancel services entirely.
Felt like I bought out WalMart today or, at least, bought out the shoe department. Got sneakers for Boy #2 and the Girl, and dress shoes for all three kids (and treated the Girl to a cute pair of ankle boots). Then there were the grocery items as well. My back ached so after that, but we took a break long enough to down a sandwich and a drink, then on to Aldi’s for the majority of the shopping. Home to put away the frozen/refrigerated stuff and then to the closed library, and our adventures in the badly hit areas.
The power company is doing what it can to provide power to the traffic signals, but we encountered one very busy intersection where the police had roped off the left turn lanes and were directing traffic personally. I am still amazed what a little ice can do, and am so thankful that we weren’t hit as hard as we could have been.