Hurricane Evacuation Lessons Learned

Dan is excited that he can check "Evacuate from Hurricane" off of his bucket list.  I am excited to have learned a few things.  First, let's go over the things we did right:

I had a suitcase that was 95% packed and ready to grab and go sitting in my closet.  I had a doggie evacuation kit for the dog all ready to go. We were able to get out of the house in under an hour from the time the decision was made to leave.  This includes the time to load the car, get kids ready, and take out the trash.  Extra time was spent wrangling the big metal dog kennel onto the roof.  So we were good on time.  We left with a light load, and a full tank of gas.  All we packed was 3 suitcases (1 for me and the 4 girls, 1 that Joshua packed for himself and did and awesome job with, and 1 for Dan.), dog evacuation kit (which is a backpack), a full cooler of meat from the fridge and other perishables, porta crib for Rylee, a bag of food in case we were stuck on the road longer than anticipated, and whatever important pillows, blankets and toys the kids managed to pack and haul to the car.  So we had plenty of room.  We had the bare minimum of stuff necessary to run from a storm.  Oh, I also had our important documents file with all the important papers and an emergency cash fund.

What I can improve on:
We had the best case scenario for travel.  If we'd spent longer on the road or had to drive through awful weather, we might have wanted some towels and rain slickers, because the dog would need to go out to pee still.  I should have packed a toothbrush, but I forgot it! I packed for refugee status- all the clothes were things the kids wouldn't miss and I didn't put anything in there for church or exercise.  I haven't run in a week now! I wish I'd brought running gear. The only shoes we brought were the ones on our feet, and I could not find my matching comfy sandal as I left, so I'm wearing beat up flip-flops.  Yep, every day! Church is tomorrow and I'm grateful for cousins about the same size and good thrift stores. I'm pretty sure I'll be returning with twice as much stuff as we left.   The biggest thing I wish I had done differently was our fridge.  They told us to empty it out before we left.  I figured we'd be okay for 3-4 days and I was sure we'd be back by then.  Oops. I did take the meat so it wouldn't rot, but I didn't have room in the cooler and I didn't want to throw everything else away.  (And we were trying to get out fast.)  So I didn't do it.  Now I am very sorry I didn't.  We head back home on Monday- exactly one week since we left.  I am afraid what I will find. 

What will I do next time?  I'll do the same thing we did this time.  And..... I'll plan for the worst.  I will pack my running shoes. I will pack church clothes. I will put all the food in the fridge into double sealed zip lock bags if I'm not going to throw it away.  I will make Dan drive his own car so I'm not tethered to his schedule.

And even if I don't do anything differently, we have been okay.  We have what we need.  We have walmart for whatever I forgot, and we have my amazing sister-in-law for everything else.  We have been truly blessed and I am grateful.

I also feel the need to do a shout out to NAS JRB Nola.  I am really glad we are not there with no power, but I am really impressed with the things the base is doing to try to make people more comfortable.  The FB page may not have all the answers, but is doing a good job of posting info as it comes in.  There are buildings on base that are open and generator-run, and people are invite to go cool off, charge things and hang out.  There is a place offering free meals, there is ice, MRE's and water available, and a building you can sleep in if you can't stand the heat in your house. One place is even offering some washers and dryers for those who need to do laundry.  This is a crazy time and the base has been without power since Tuesday.  I am impressed with the efforts to make life as bearable as possible.