Hurricane Irene

When we got news of Hurricane Irene causing likely flooding, downed trees, power outages, and gale-force winds all throughout the area this weekend, Florian decided it would be the perfect time to go camping on the coast. 

While Florian's tragic flaw may be a bit of... impulsiveness, mine is that I generally go along with his plans without getting full details ahead of time. 

So it was that we ended up driving the van toward the very center of Hurricane Irene as it passed over the coastal lowlands of the Chesapeake Bay, the same areas that sensible people had evacuated a few hours earlier. 

Fortunately, we were sleeping in the van and so had a relatively safe, albeit wet-dog-smelling, place to ride out the storm. 

 



Florian thought it would be neat to park the van close to the water so we could hear the surf. He found a road that led to Elliot Island, a secluded road covered with hopping frogs escaping the deep rivers on either side, and he drove us slow enough that, he promised, all the froggies escaped unscathed. 

I didn't think that our watertight van was going to do us much good once it was floating though. So after a few hours of listening to the rain and wind and Florian's snores, every so often turning on the front lights to check on the rising water level around us, I woke the sleeping Swiss guy and had him drive us to a safer spot. There we settled, and I spent the remaining hours of the night with both dogs cuddled close in their uncertainty about all the intense noises outside the van. I guess they must have assumed that I, as the human, felt at ease with the whole thing.

Overall I have to say those dogs were incredibly good sports through all the buffeting rain, howling winds, and frog-safe driving. So today when it cleared up we rewarded them with some time at Calvert cliffs near North Beach, where they could chase sticks, drink salt water, and paddle around to their hearts' content.

And we humans could enjoy stress-free wildlife viewing without fear of hurting any froggies.