Vacation 2012 Day Four

July 2, 2012

Powerless in Stifling Heat Wave

Another hot night left me tossing and turning. The nights’ here seem to drag on forever or is it just due to the super dark forest that surrounds us? The boys stay on the dock till late at night and then with flashlights climb “Heart Attack Hill”, oh to be young again! I often wake when I hear them come up, flashlights glowing on the deck and causing havoc with our dogs that sense more than just the boys in the woods. Last night the dogs woke me to bark, growl and run around my bed. It seems a critter or a few critters thought it funny we novice campers would leave trash for them. So they rummaged through the trash while our dogs were itching to attack them.

The thrashing on the deck sounded pretty loud and Mark rose to shut the glass door. We have no idea if it is small or large, but we do not want to invite the creature inside. Of course, closing the door made our cabin hotter and created more tossing and turning for me all night.

The next morning, yes, still without electric, we rose to find teeth marked paper plates and trash strew all over deck and on the ground. The boys shared they thought it was big, maybe a bear, but I think it was most likely a raccoon who are famously known for trash hunts. Time for coffee making and clean up before we head to the boat.

Yesterday we boated only once trying to conserve the gas, word has it may be several days before we see power restored. This storm hit hard and knocked out several counties. Yesterday, we had a threat of a storm which drove the boys off the dock around nine o’clock. Trees rustled with a strong breeze which had me cautiously eyeing the sky. The good thing, it never hit and it brought cooler temperatures for several hours.

Mark started the coffee while I straighten up our make shift beds, wash a few dishes and gather my bible and journal to sit on deck. While I read, Mark goes down under the deck to begin the critter clean up. As he exists the door, I hear him moan. Cobwebs like the one pictured on my page seem to materialize every night and no matter how often we knock them down, happy spiders rebuild quickly at night. Mark gets tangled every morning in the clingy webs.

Day Four of our primitive adventure is starting a little cooler. Mark had a bad health day yesterday and the heat really took its toll on him. I convinced him to keep a washcloth in the cooler of ice and apply to his face to cool off. For me, swimming works and I try to dip in the waters a few times a day, but Mark is reluctant to travel the hill with his joints hurting. He loaded up with water most of the afternoon, in this heat we are all dehydrating and keeping water on ice.

After clean up and coffee, we need to do an ice run. We buy food as we need it so it won’t go bad as the ice melts too quickly. My back hurts from the couch sleeping, but with the cooler temperatures slept a tad better than the previous couple of nights.

I keep my time occupied with reading and scrapbooking. I almost did not bring my stuff as I felt I might just be wasting the space, but so glad I did. Each day I spread out on the picnic table and work on a few pages. It helps pass the time and feeds the creative side of me. So far I think I have finished about seven pages in the last couple of days, I am even scraping in my journal. I find I like doing that. I find I am getting more creative things done here, except for writing. The only writing I am doing in my journal which details our trip and the cards and letters I send the kids. We will make a trip to town soon and I can mail them. I have no real distractions here and am getting more “me” time.

If only I could create time once home to continue with my creative side. This time with no power has stirred something inside me. I found we have many more resources when we really pay attention. We have learned to survive despite the irritation we have invented ways to make ourselves more comfortable and stuck it out for four days. This time of quiet without distractions is really what I have craved for a long time. So today, I give thanks to God for showing us what we are made of. Sometimes we are forced to become stronger and allow our creative sides to emerge.

Later, we decide to venture out to Cadiz which lies 13 miles away. Why does such a short distance stretch on forever when we travel on country roads? We do get to see the AE Power linemen at work, more trees down, fences pushed down from the thrust of the storm. Finally! Civilization!

You know you are in civilization when the golden arches of a McDonalds come into sight. Phone service! Limited for sure, but at least we can receive and send a few texts to family to let them know we are safe. We pull into the comfort of the golden arches and grab some late breakfast. Yes, fast food can really taste good after a few days without.

The town folk seem curious over us and a table set with several “elderly” gentlemen make small talk with us. Mark asks directions and we all discuss the storm. Dan states he thinks these same men were here last year and gave us directions. This place must be a social gathering for some folks.

We eat, check phones, use the running water facility and head out for our main excitement, The Dollar General Store. It seems funny that when you are from a bigger city and thrust into small town living how exciting an outing like this can really perk you up quickly. We all roamed the aisles looking for things we may need, a new ice chest as two didn’t hold all we needed, plastic bowls to put meat into, and other needed supplies. Seventy-two dollars later we left the store satisfied with our bargains. We took a quick tour of the town to find the grocery store and post office.

I am spending days not just scrapbooking and journaling but also to write the old fashioned cards and letters that I single handedly brought back to life a year or two ago. The post office was close the grocer and we quickly ran inside as the heat again was climbing into the upper nineties.

The grocery store is ok. Meat looks a little “iffy” to say the least. Another seventy dollars later for fruit, meat, drinks and veggies, finishes off our food needs. Our next stop is the hardware store to replace the basket we lost for fishing. Cha Ching! Our trip to civilization was an expensive venture for sure.

Now we head back to the cabin and our fishing time.

The rest of the day is spent fishing, boating, bathing and swimming. I catch another Blue Gill and enjoy the refreshing waters to cool off. However, when I bring out the shampoo and soap back at the dock, my little Blue Gills family start nipping at my legs while I try and bathe. Ouch! It does not hurt as much as surprise me and I jump each time one nibbles at me.

Dinner tonight is London broil, Fried potatoes and vegetables that Daniel Son cooks. The dinner was wonderful. Dan did a great job. The night heat is uncomfortable and even my dip in the lake is not enough to keep my skin from boiling. After dinner, dishes and clean up, I grab a cool rag from the ice chest and lie as motionless as I can with the rag on my head. It’s only 9:00 pm and I am miserable from the heat with no break in sight.

This is going to be a long, hot night and I am not looking forward to it. Up until now, I have weathered the heat pretty good, but tonight is my turn to pray for a rescue and a cool fan. Lying for several hours barely moving, I finally doze off as the air shifts and degree or two downward. The dog rouse me from sleep once again as “Rocky” raccoon visits us again. It’s 3 am according to my cell phone and I moan with aggravation. Heat, dogs, critters have kept me awake for several nights.

Grabbing a flashlight I pull myself off of the sagging couch better known as my bed and shine it out on the deck. Oliver our little fierce Yorkie, growls meanly while I scan the light around looking for our night critter. Sure enough, to my right, sitting next to the dog food we forgot again the bring in the cabin two beady eyes stare back and chop away unworried about me. I watch him for a moment and decide he or she is not worth my effort to scare him off and get bit. I crawl over the dogs shushing them and fall back onto the couch. Oliver gives one final forceful bark and growl before curling up by my legs miffed he was not allowed to get the critter. I almost believe our little Ollie could take the raccoon!

I struggle back asleep remembering the words for the local gossip line our favorite Ambassador Ted, that the electric company is edging closer to us and we should have power soon. Day four closes with those thoughts stirring me back to sleep.

We stink! Is my last thought as I drift into dreams of the hum of air conditioning and coolness.

Teresa Gale

Vacation Day 3

The Boat! The Boat!

Saturday afternoon we are finally able to get to the Marina and rent our boat. The Marina is also without power and warns us the tank is full, but they can not guarantee when power will be up and we can refill. As discouraging as this seemed, it was at least a bright spot in our vacation. A boat means swimming, fishing and at least trolling the lake!



Excited, we pick the boat up and the boys and I take it back to the cabin while Mark drives the car back. I actually get to drive, rare occasion. Dan however will dock it. We load up with cooler, ice, dogs and fishing gear and take off for the rest of Saturday, not returning until late afternoon. Boys were happy to fish and the dogs love the boat. I took pictures of the water, trees, men and dogs. The sun was hot and the water cool.



The rest of the day was spent cooking, cleaning up and talking. Mark and I exhaustlessly headed to bed as soon as the sky turned a soft gray. Dan and Mike settled in for the night on the dock to fish. They were having a grand time away from us parents with the water, fishing poles and stars that lit the sky.



Sunday July 1, 2012



We woke early again to find still no electric. I smelled the coffee rifting in the open door. Coffee was good, strong and I loved it. I suggested to Mark instead of the mug as he did the first day, he poured it through the coffee maker and straight into a pot. It worked! Not as hot and of course would not keep it hot, so he made enough for a couple of cups at a time. We are learning to be campers in a strange sense. Tedious, but oh so good to me. However, he and Dan found it way too strong and they ended up with the jitters.



I felt like I had slept way too long for me. Normally, I am a very light sleeper who wakes several times in the night and is usually up by 4 am to read. We had gone to bed much to early for this lady and my body ached from the couch.



The sun is out and the boys are still sleeping. Our boat lies waiting. The day stretches ahead of us and that makes me happy. It was going to be another hot day. Sounds drift around of others clearing up from the storm, chain saws, blowers and generators hum loudly. Despite the man made noises, the chirping of birdsong lifts in the air.



We decide to run and get ice and pick up some refreshments before we head out on the boat again. We look forward to a nice day of boating and fishing. The boys stock up on snacks and chatter about the day ahead.



The hard part about where the cabin sits is the hill you have to climb up and down to get to the lake. It is steep and only has a few scattered steps here and there. If the ground gets wet it is slippery mud and you slide. I brought a cane this time. We of course had to enlist the boys to carry items and take the hyper dogs down. Mark and I would then make a slow decline after them. This year I found it easier, not sure why, maybe it was my mind-set to make the best of it and I also chose not to rush. I took my time going down and climbing back up. The owner nicknamed the hill “Heart Attack Hill.”



We were all pretty happy to be able to take the boat out and I prepared sandwiches to eat on board. Sammy, our Golden Retriever must have remembered his last trip on the boat as he was super excited. He rode up front most of the time, sticking his head through the gate and sniffing the air. Oliver our small Yorkie lay down beside me, Dan called him a vacation dog because he knew the value of relaxation.



Yesterday we lost eight fish, one I had caught when we forgot to haul in the net before we took off. Not only did we lose the fish which was a shame, but the metal basket to keep them in. Dan felt bad and promised his dad to buy another. Of course now I had no proof of the lone fish I had caught. Darn it all!



A few hours of fishing, swimming and allowing the dogs to get wet and run along the bank was refreshing. The hot sun beat down upon us and the fish were a little more shy today but the boys had faith their night fishing would bring us more as the evening cooled.



I had taken a bath in the lake yesterday which felt great. I had small shampoo, conditioner, a bar of soap and liquid gel. Lake water would do for me and it cooled me off for at least a few hours after climbing back up the hill. I finally convinced the guys after two days and hot weather to try a bath in the lake I knew the stink would force them to go in or me to push them in. Let me tell you, sweat, worm guts and fish smell is not very appealing in temperatures of 98 plus. We stank!



Later, I spotted a beautiful red-headed woodpecker in the tree to the right of the cabin. A hummingbird feeder hung empty and I felt sad I would not see my little friend from last year. Birds are so lovely here and I wish I knew names of the several types I saw. We did spot a Crane or two on the lake. Lovely as it took flight as we edged closer, gliding through the air.



Our meal tonight will be hamburgers on the grill and some fried potatoes cooked by Dan our son. I think I shall sit and watch him cook while enjoying the sight of tall trees and sounds of laughter from my family. Even without electric, I find I am very much enjoying this time together. Who could ask for more? Thank you Lord.



Teresa Gale

Vacation Journal 2012 Day Two

Aftermath of the Storm

I had a fitful night of sleep. Every so often I would wake to check the coffee pot to see if electric came back on by watching for the little red light. I was met each time with darkness. I was just sure the electric would come back on in a few hours and was disappointed each time.


The cabin sits on the hill and it is surrounded by age old trees, so darkness envelopes us like a blanket. My eyes strain to look for any sign of light while my ears listen for the boys who are night fishing off the dock. Through the lace like leaves, I see glimmers of light from the pearl size moon.

In the wee hours of morning, Mark and I rose early as we normally do. My inventive husband figures out a way to make coffee. Lighting the charcoal grill, filling our iron skillet (Ha! again I brought something useful) with a bit of water to boil, filling a pot with water and centering it in the iron skillet he waits somewhat impatiently for water to grow hot and boil. He then takes a huge mug (Yes another treat I brought to make instant oats with) and a rubber band, fitting a coffee filter over top with the grounds. He pours water over top and there we have a small mug of coffee. Tedious for sure, strong most definitely, but well worth the wait as I take my first sip I thank my husband.

After coffee and a quick clean up, we decide to trek up the road and see if we can make it to the marina and pick up our boat for the week. We get part way up and find lots of limbs lying on the road and one big branch. I climb out and move the branch off the road, a few more feet and the same thing, another little bit and we have to move a larger branch off the road. We round the corner of the hill and carefully drive surveying the damage of broken trees and leaves lying all over the road. At the top we come to a complete stop and marvel at four large pine trees lying in across the road. There would be no way we can move these on our own. Here we were, stuck with no way out and no way for anyone to come in.

We call the friend whose cabin we borrowed and let them know what has happened. Our friend suggests we back down the hill and head to the first cabin where his neighbor Ted lives. Mark woke the poor fellow up and explained about the downed trees. Ted has a phone and said he would make a few calls. Nothing more we could do, so we head back to our cabin to wait.

So far, our vacation was turning into a little more than frustration. I begin trying to organize our items while Mark clears off the many limbs from fallen trees on our deck. It isn’t long before Ted rides up in a John Deer four wheeler letting us know the road is clear. We cheer and thank him. It seems the summer residents are very used to this stuff and have their own chain saws to handle Mother Nature when they can. While we novice campers found it troublesome, the residents shrugged it off like it was nothing.

We were now free to head to the Marina and check out the rest of our surroundings. Waking the boys with a promise of breakfast, we head back out. The road out is a steep one lane road in normal conditions, but today it is more of an obstacle course and we zig and zag up the road carefully till we reach the main road. The view is spectacular once out, set on what can best be described as rolling hills and farm land. Wild flowers dot the horizon making it very picturesque normally. However, today we find many downed trees, broken limbs and strewn debris everywhere we drive. Telephone and power lines are down, broken trees lying on top of them. The more damage I se, the more thankful I am for God’s protection. We have lived through a most scary wind storm.

Getting to the marina proved to be impossible with a closed road, instead we head to a little town called Freeport with the boys in tow. We figure we needed food and possibly ice. Three miles down the road, we found much of the same damage and to make matters worse, the only grocery store in town was permanently closed down. This vacation should have been a comedy show. We have to laugh, what else could happen at this point. Note to reader: Never jinx yourself by thinking the previous statement for you will surely find out just what else might happen.

We drive another block and notice lights on at a Marathon gas station and people lined up for gas. We venture inside the station slash small store to find they were running on a huge generator. This little place would become not only our life saver in the days to come, but it seemed the whole communities.

We had met the owner before on our last trip and found he was a man with a big heart. In the days that came on this trip we find he was honest and very helpful. The place became a source of information and supplies. He never hiked prices to take advantage of the situation and this in itself is amazing. It was a sure sign again from God there really are some good people in the world.

The owner tells us the news he hears from the authorities. Drum roll please….it could very well be days before electric is restored. The storm hit three counties hard in our area and may well have also done damage state wide. We moan at the thought of no electric fans in the heat that is promised. There lay my wish before our trip to be far from technology. God does have a sense of humor.

I have also bemoaned the fact that in our techno world, we have lost touch with the human factor. I am a believer in real written letters, less texting and game playing. Although I admit I succumb to both in my life, I find it really bogs me down. So here we are in the midst of a small town without those things plus the luxury of electric.

Until you lose power, you don’t always realize how much you rely on it. Simple things like water, for our system at the cabin is run on a pump for the well, will be surely missed in this heat. From the newspaper we read temperatures are climbing to record breaking numbers.

We head back to the cabin laden with ice and some food supplies to get us through the day. We have two coolers with us and load up on water, refreshing drinks and food. The boys trek down the steep hill to the dock and we hear excited cheers, they have snagged a big catfish on the line and continue to fish for more.

Dogs sit happily at our feet, Mark fillets the fish the boys bring up and I cheerfully sit back in the shade and take it all in. Here we are on a vacation with the most unusual circumstances, but I feel light and carefree. Birdsong lifts in the air and butterflies circle our camp. All feels right.

I remember the storm from the night before and how frightened I had become. How do you describe the fear at seeing giant trees bent double and what sounds like giants’ throwing rocks on a wooden roof? The image stays with me as well as the fact God sent his Holy Spirit to me as I prayed. “Trust me”. Indeed! God is with me. In Him I put my Trust.

I sit back watching my family move about chores on the deck and smile. We are safe, together and working on solutions. What could be better than this?



Teresa Gale

Vacation Journal 2012 Day One

Survival

June 29th, 2012


The day has finally arrived, our vacation. After much date crunching and switching events around we have made the decision to just go and enjoy. We are borrowing a cabin from a friend of Mark’s down on Piedmont Lake; it will be our third time we have stayed in Hidden Ledges.

I love the huge deck that has a “tree house” feel to it. The cabin itself has only one room, one bath and a small bunk house with four bunk beds. Daniel and his friend Mike will stay in the bunk house while Mark, myself and the two dogs will take on the “master cabin.”

As usual, I have packed a lot. I get laughed at every year. However, this year the stress of the months before had me a little fuddled and I ended up not bringing several items I normally would. Still, we had garbage bags full of pillows, blankets, towels (even bath rugs) and supplies. Mark shakes his head as I carry bag after bag of items out to our small car. Luckily our son was able to take a huge load as well. Fans are much needed as there is no a/c in the cabin, so that also has to be lugged. Our family jokes I bring everything except the kitchen sink and if I could, I probably would. Spices, potatoes, coffee, filters, salt, pepper, all the things I know we have that will come in handy on our nine day stay.

Sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to check into a hotel and order room service, but we enjoy the grilling out after a day on the boat fishing. We had reserved a boat but had no confirmation. It seemed every detail of our trip was a little more stressful this year, so we decided to just go with it and get away.

We set out around 12:30 P.M, after Dan got off work, gassed up; we watched the temperature rise higher and higher on our three hour drive finally reaching 100 degrees by the time we arrived. Air conditioner in the car can be very deceiving. Once we opened the door to start unloading we were hit with the stifling air, much like opening a hot over door. As we opened the door to the cabin, it had to be even higher inside after being shut tight. So unloading was slow moving, taking our time putting things right and taking breaks to water up. It was most unbearable heat.

I went about opening the windows in the cabin and as I reached over the sink my eye caught sight of one of the biggest spiders I have laid eyes on since the one who took a shower last year back home. Screaming, (yes I am a terrified of the eight legged creatures) I ran out to the deck and screamed for someone to kill it. To the rescue came Mike who loves all things insects and as I would later find out snakes. He studies them and is a world book of knowledge on types. Laughing at me, he says he “took care of it.” To me taking care of it means squashing it, he instead set it free into the “wilderness.”

As we lugged bag after bag onto the deck and into the hot cabin, I worked feverishly to try and put the necessary items away, taking frequent, and I do mean frequent breaks to sit and refresh with cold water. The men teased me over all the supplies I took but by the end of the trip, they would be grateful over several items they had first thought unnecessary.

After taking another break to wipe the sweat from my organizing, I sat down on a lawn chair and asked Mark to turn on some music. We were so glad to finally be there, I wanted to celebrate while we worked. The music soon turned into a siren blaring and a weather watch warning. Having been through a few storms, I wasn’t much worried until Mike said he got an alert on his phone that stated, “Take shelter immediately.” Mark looked worriedly up in the sky and mouthed something about high winds. Again I shook it off, told him not to worry and he stated they were talking about winds coming in over 70 miles an hour.

No sooner than the words were out of his mouth and the sun dipped behind some angry looking clouds darkening the sky. The wind started as a small breeze and just as I stepped back outside to sit down and enjoy the coolness, a sound like a train caught my attention. I looked to our right and trees started bending before my eyes. The boys sitting on deck chairs laughing at Mark soon turned into scurrying feet to run inside just as a huge tree branch fell on the deck taking out a chunk of wood with it.

The roof sounded as if someone were on top with a jack hammer. I jumped, moved inside quickly as Mark slid the sliding glass door shut. Rivets of rain pelting down hard and we watched in horror as the trees looked as if they were breaking like thin sticks. I sat down on the sofa and prayed. I prayed hard for protection and for the storm to pass. Mike kept his phone on and informed us the storm warning stated it would pass in an hour.

I didn’t think my heart could take an hour of the pounding the little cabin was taking. My thoughts turned to all the trees surrounding us and the tall ones on the slanted hill above the cabin. I had visions of them all crashing down upon us and several whacks against the roof and walls had me thinking this was true. My hero of a son put his arm around me and kept reassuring me it was okay. I kept talking to God, feeling his peace flow over me. Lightening lit the sky, thunder roared and the wind would momentarily die down only to pick back up at full speed. Everything we thought it was passing, it started again hurling branches, rocks, walnuts and debris towards us.

The storm lasted over an hour with me shaking, praying and Mark looking quite worried for our safety. The lights dimmed, the radio went off and then all power went out leaving us in a dimly lit room. Fans that were keeping us cool went silent. At last it stopped. We stepped out on the deck to survey the damage of downed trees and limbs. The deck was strewn with leaves, branches and walnuts. The one good thing this storm did was drop the temperature 20 degrees bringing us a bit of refreshment from the heat.

I stared in amazement that as best we could tell, we had little damage to the cabin and praised God we were protected and safe. Taking a big sigh of relief, we set about finding candles, (yes, laugh at me now) and flashlights to clean up what we could. I had yet to finish unpacking and now the sky was much darker and not allowing much light to work with, I left it for the next day.

The boys, now feeling safer decided to trek down the steep hill to set up a line to snag a fish. Mike loves to fish and could hardly wait to try his hand on the lake after the storm and cool air. We talked about the storm, lack of electric and how we would handle the night. I pulled blankets out as the temperature dropped even more and the breeze chilled us. (Yes, laugh at me now men, blankets to keep you warm). Who would have thought 100 degree temperatures would drop so fast we would need blankets for the night? I guess only a mother who tends to over pack. Turning in for the night, snuggled under a blanket, I thanked God again for His protection. Tomorrow we would finish cleaning up, put things away and pick up our boat. Those were the thoughts I had before shutting my eyes to sleep. Tomorrow, for sure would be another day.

Teresa Gale