When we rode out Andrew, we experienced 100 mph winds plus higher gusts. The eye scraped the coast of my parish (Terrebonne) before coming inland. The eye made landfall only 25 miles to our west, putting us in the most dangerous part of the storm. I had just turned 16 and was only a week into my Junior year in high school. Lacey was just a 7-month old puppy. I remember my mom having to hold her all night. What she hated the most is when my dad boarded every single window up. She threw a fit. She loved looking out the window. After Andrew passed, we were 8 whole days without power. Surprizinly, we only had minor damage. Just lost some roof shingles, trees, signs down, power poles down. We did lose one property though. Our fishing camp but it sat right near the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico. Only 2 walls still left standing.
After being 8 days without power, the heat became unbearable. So, my dad decided to go to Sears to get a generator. We took Lacey for the ride with us. The generator took a wrong turn coming from Houston. My dad said he was not leaving without his generator. Since we were all in one vechicle and my dad drove, we were stuck. Some other families had the same idea and stayed too. So, that is how we ended up sleeping in Sears with our yorkie; Lacey. Another family had 2 of their yorkies spending the night; too. But, Lacey did not want anything to do with them. Being the only dog in our family, she was not used to other dogs. They ordered pizza for our supper and had donuts ready for our breakfast. We arrived at Sears around 3 p.m. that afternoon and did not get to go home until 9 a.m. It was miserable sleeping in a sleeping bag on a hard floor in a department store. The ironic thing is that as soon as we got home with the generator, the power was turned back on! And we did not get to use it until 13 years later for Katrina! And another weird thing is that my place of employment is now Sears! |