Sunday, August 28, 2011

hurricane week at university

Fiona and I were scheduled to fly to Newark today, in time for her to check in and do orientation, placement testing and registration at university. Our flight was canceled due to Hurricane Irene, and it took us a couple of days to get new travel arrangements that we hope will get her to school on time.

We'll fly out of Vancouver tomorrow morning on a hoppity-skip journey around the US, spend a night in Charlotte North Carolina, and ride a train from Philadelphia to Newark where Fiona's room mate and her mom will pick us up and drive us to the university. This intricate plan depends on everything working at 4 different airports and one rail line, so we're crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Whatever happens, we'll be on our way, and progressing as best we can.

I'll check in and post a blog after our arrival. From the news on TV and the internet, it looks like many towns in New Jersey have been hit by bad flooding, and power is out all over the place. Charlotte and Richmond (both stops along our way) have also been seriously affected. Please think of us in the next couple of days.

With all this in mind, we're aware that our troubles are minor compared to those of families who have lost loved ones in the storm or experienced damage to their homes and businesses. It's easy to say it could have been worse, but we know for some it is pretty awful even so.

So we'll try to be ready for anything, and travel with patience, curiosity and compassion. It will be a trip to remember for sure.

question: what's left behind after the eye of the storm has passed?

mompoet - counting our blessings and trying to take nothing for granted

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