LexieCat

OK, so I'm down here in the Outer Banks for a one-week vacation--booked this AirBnb cottage late last winter/early spring, as a planned relaxation/writing getaway for the second major part of my Year of Lexie.

I was keeping an eye on the hurricane news. Originally planned to get a VERY early start Saturday for the 7-8 hour drive, but decided to wait a bit and hopefully miss the worst of the storm. I carefully packed EVERYTHING I thought I might need, and even included a solar charger, etc., in case power went out. Feeling very well-prepared, I headed down around 10 am.

The drive wasn't bad, for the most part. It was a little scary driving over some of the long, LONG bridges, where the ocean level had risen almost to the bottom of the bridge, and you could feel the wind hitting the car. No super-heavy rain--I had to put the wipers on high speed for just 15 minutes or so here and there, and much of the trip there was little or no rain.

There was some deep water in spots on the road, as well as blowing sand, once I got near my destination (southern part of Hatteras Island). I had a bit of trouble opening the lockbox and had to call my host (who lives across the street), but finally got it open and carried in my stuff. As I was unpacking my electronics, I had a sinking realization. I had brought both my personal and my work laptops (have a presentation I need to finish up for a training we're doing next week), but I didn't bring a charging adapter! I called my host, who actually DID have an extra adapter for a Mac, but it was the wrong style--and I didn't have with me the small adapter-adapter that would make it work with my Mac. So, after searching availability, it looked like my options were (a) drive 2.5 hours each way to the nearest Apple Store in Virginia Beach or (b) order it from Apple or Amazon with the soonest possible delivery Wed. or Thurs.

Since the whole POINT of this vacation was to do writing, (b) was not a good option. So I ordered the adapter online and planned to be AT the store when it opened at 11. So, another lovely drive up and back to get the adapter. The Apple Store dude was a hottie with long, sun-streaked wavy hair in his mid-20s, who chatted with me about surfing in Hatteras--he was sympathetic to my long drive.

So I get back to the cottage, and holy crap, there was almost too much water in the street to drive through. Correction, there WAS too much water in the street to drive through, but I did anyway, cringing at what the salt water was doing to my new post-collision paint job. This time, the KEY wouldn't open the bottom door lock--my neighbor came over and finally managed to get it to work (though we concluded that from now on I should lock only the top lock).

No sooner did I make it in than my host texted me to suggest I put my car at the end of the street, as it was NOT good to drive through the water. I asked if I should leave it where it was, now that I'd parked it on dry land. He said, "Probably should move it--it's going to get worse before it gets better, and high tide is at 10 tonight and again at 10 tomorrow morning)." He apologized for the inconvenience but suggested I move it now. I told him the hurricane wasn't his fault, and I'd move the car.

I figured any errands better be done NOW, since it wouldn't be fun wading through the water on the street to get back and forth. So drove back through the water (which was up to my lower calves), and found a car wash the next town over, and had it thoroughly washed (body shop guy said no wax for a month--he didn't say anything about salt water baths), including undercarriage. Found a grocery store and picked up a few things I needed, and then parked at the end of the street and waded back to the cottage.

This morning I slept in till almost 10, and the water was even HIGHER. There were guys on styrofoam boats picking up trash for trash day. I discovered I had no dishwashing detergent for the dishwasher, and when I texted my host he offered to "paddle some over." I told him no rush, we can wait for the water to go down, and he said he'd bring some by at 4 when it's low tide.

So. It hasn't gone exactly as planned, lol. But for now, I have what I need, and hopefully the water will recede over the next few days. I haven't even gone down to the beach, as I'd have to wade through deep water to even get to the sand. The cottage is cute, I have the windows open, and it's nice and quiet.