One of the coolest things about the blogging community is that you get a tiny little glimmer of insight into lives that may be nothing like your own. For example, there are some of you, possibly a lot of you, that will read this post and think “Seriously, what does it take to prep for a hurricane?!” or “This looks like too much, unplanned fun. Does this girl even work?!” or maybe “Is the saying ‘the calm before the storm’ legit?” The answers to these questions are a lot, too much, and yes.
We are currently at the Calm-Before-The-Storm Phase of this impending Fourth of July hurricane weekend. During the week, when I’m not coordinating events, I work as an independent marketing contractor for a national home warranty company. This job gives me a bit more flexibility when things {like hurricanes} pop up and I need to help my family out. Yesterday I texted my boss at 7am with a slightly cryptic message:
“Arthur will be a Cat One at landfall.
Heading to NC to batten down hatches.”
So yesterday, I spent the day packing up anything and everything at our river house that had a possible “could catch wind” factor. We flipped over tables. We pulled in all bird feeders. We made sure windows were closed. We double checked to make sure our webcam was working. We strategized about the placement of our boats in the yard and under trees. We took the pontoon boat off the lift and out of the river. And then we drank. {If this was more than a Category One Storm, we would also be taping windows and things of the sort. Here’s hoping it doesn’t pack too much of a wallop.}
Surprisingly my mom trusted me, with the high winds and the rough water, to drive her beloved pontoon boat to the ramp. It was either that or I take her truck and huge trailer {which I’ve never towed before.} Pretty positive she was thinking it was going to be a lose-lose either way. But I successfully drove, docked, and trailered the pontoon on my own. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
But first, let me take a selfie.
Meet my sister. She is too cool for selfies. But she’s all about some panoramics.
After everything was successfully in it’s hurricane-safe places, there was nothing left to do sit on stationary porch swing and enjoy a glass of wine. #wheninromeperquimans
Yes, the swing is sitting on the ground.
After wrapping things up at the house we went into town for a quick bite to eat.
Hertford is known for just a few things:
1. It’s the size of Mayberry. It’s precisely one street and two stop lights big.
2. A turtle log. {Exactly like it sounds: A log, that turtles sit on.}
3. An S-Bridge that needs to be saved.
4. Inexpensive food and treats found in the back of the drug store.
So of course we were heading straight to Woodard’s Pharmacy.
As a kid, a whole quarter would get you three scoops of ice cream. Now, with inflation and all that jazz, we are up to 75 cents plus tax. Look out Cold Stone!
I did learn though, that even though they may be giving away their ice cream, where they actually make their money is on the essentials. $8 for my lactose pills was just a little but outstanding. {The bad outstanding, not the good one.}
In other news, I’m not sure why all ice cream stores do not sell lactose intolerance tablets. It’s beyond brilliant.
