Tag Archives: hurricane

First Snow of the Season

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OK I said a  four letter word.  Unless you are a skier or a snowboarder or one of those other winter sport enthusiasts,  the weather the last couple of days was not to your liking.

The Nor’easter the swept through the region brought rain and high winds and yes, snow, to many areas already hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. New jersey, New York and parts of Connecticut had just barely got their power back when gale force winds plunged them back into the cold and dark.

Here in Taunton , Ma it wasn’t quite as bad. The wind gusts were stronger than for the hurricane but for the most part we only got rain…that is until Wednesday night. The 11 O’clock news had pictures of heavy snow and skidding cars in Worcester, MA..but here in Taunton it was rain.

But we couldn’t hold out. By yesterday morning we too had a touch of the white stuff….but only a touch.

The ground wasn’t even “blanketed” which is ok by me.

By the time I left for work it was gone…melted..just a hint of things to come.

No…the word of the day was not snow it was wind. Driving to work took both hands and I kid you not, the car felt like it was lifting right off the road. It was kind of surprising that my company had linemen working. Even they were sending messages that it was “too windy” to climb. (Meaning the utility poles) But we did the best we could and today the sun is shining and the weather folks are predicting a warming trend and calm weather.

I sure hope so. I think we all could use a break. Give those storm ravaged areas a chance to recover before Old Man Winter really gets started.

The Search for Angry Seas continues.

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After a quick lunch at an IHOP in Newport, RI I reviewed my options. There’s a lighthouse I’d been meaning to try to find so this seemed a good opportunity. The Lighthouse is on Goat Island. I don’t know anything about that island either so the whole thing would be an adventure…and maybe there’d be some surf there.

I pulled out my trusty GPS and plugged in the address. It began by leading me back toward the Claiborne-Pell Bridge. I didn’t want to go over the bridge again and have to pay another toll  but I decided to trust the GPS and sure enough…right before the bridge entrance was a left with a sign “Goat Island”.

Taking the left took me into historic downtown Newport. There were lots of signs for Goat Island to support the directions my GPS was shouting at me. Right by the Newport Visitor Center and Terminal a right turn took me to “The Causeway to Goat Island”. There was a little park on the right and a place to pull off the road so I stopped . I could see the Lighthouse and a great view of the bridge.

It’s just a little lighthouse.

The seas here were pretty calm too but the sun was starting to go in and out. It wasn’t quite so bright and sunny and a breeze had sprung up. A sailboat was cruising around the harbor.

I wanted to see if I could get a different angle on the lighthouse but when I crossed the bridge it became clear that the Lighthouse is located on the property that belongs to the Hyatt Hotel. There wasn’t much parking except for guests so I decided to move on.

Retracing my steps brought me back to downtown Newport. I wasn’t that far from the Mansions so I decided to try Ocean Ave. On the way I drove into Fort Adams. I just pulled into the parking area but I have added it to my list of spots I want to return to on a better day. The sky was rapidly clouding up and it was starting to sprinkle. A large helicopter circled over the bay.

Leaving Fort Adams I took a right. When I reached Ocean Ave. there was a barricade but it had been moved to the side of the road. The car in front of me didn’t hesitate so neither did I. And that’s where I found them…those angry seas that I knew had to be out there.

As I took pictures it began to rain harder. I moved on along up the road to Breton Park.

Along here the ocean was even wilder.

What an adventure! This had my adrenaline pumping. The wind was really blowing now and it was raining quite hard.  I do believe the waves were getting bigger while I watched.

But all things must come to an end. The Newport Police arrived to throw everyone out.

They were nice about it but made it clear that it was time to leave.  Like the road in Jamestown to Beavertail State Park, the end of Ocean ave was closed while crews removed sand and debris so I had to take a twisty series of side streets to get back to Broadway. By now it was really raining hard as I settled in for what looked to be a long , wet ride home.  But I was satisfied. I’d found the angry seas.

I wonder what it would have been like on the Newport Cliff Walk? Now why didn’t I think of that!

In Search of Angry Seas

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Ok I was a good girl. I did not go out in the hurricane looking for storm photos. I stayed home. I was bored. But every time I’d think about venturing out I’d hear another horror story about tree limbs hitting cars or even whole trees falling… but one day is about my limit.

Hurricane Sandy: Tree crushes car

I was thrilled when I got up this morning and saw the sun trying to peak through. By 9 am it was shining brightly. There was a breeze but no major wind gusts. There was no reason for me to stay in today.

I had lots of places I could check out..The cape, Falmouth, Scituate, Jamestown and Newport RI??? No way would I get to all of them they were too spread out.

Scituate was on the news. Photos there looked pretty tame now so I headed south to Mattapoisett. Neds Point Light is pretty easy to get to and I figured it would give me an idea of what the ocean was like today. Getting there turned out to be the challenge. The Neds Point Rd. was closed with a huge tree down but one of the residents gave me directions to get around it. Those took me through a residential area with a lot of pine trees. It was easy to tell when you would see down branches because you’d smell that wonderful pine sent before you even saw  them.

Once I got to the lighthouse in its little park I couldn’t believe it. It was like nothing had happened.

The sky was blue, there was no damage and the seas were calm.

I enjoyed the ambiance for a bit then decided to head to RI, specifically Beavertail Sate Park. That place can kick up a surf without any storm. I was sure I’d find some big waves there.

To get there I had to go over the Claiborne -Pell Bridge. It’s a beautiful bridge. It’s huge!

When I got to the toll booth I asked if it had stayed open during the hurricane. The collector told me he was only going to tell me once…they need SUSTAINED winds of 69 miles per hour. He said they only had sustained winds of 45 MPH during hurricane Sandy.

I mentioned that I’d seen quite a few boats moored in the harbor as I came over the bridge, did they ride out the storm out there? He said yes, not the smartest thing to do.

Then my time was up. Another car was behind me. I wished my toll collector a good day and continues on my way.

Along the shore you could see the debris left by the storm so it was easy to judge how far up the waves had come but the road was clear and  before I knew it I was tuning down the road to Beavertail State Park. That’s when I saw the blue lights.  Oh oh road block. I made a left and parked, grabbed the camera and headed down the hill to the corner. A women coming up the hill said I was a day late..I should have seen it yesterday. As I suspected the road had been completely under water. (This is what it normally looks like)

Today they were cleaning it up and had the road closed so the workmen could complete the chore.

On a side note I was told that IF I was able to get across to the other side I would see a car floating in the bay. A woman had run 2 police barricades because she didn’t want to be trapped on the “wrong side” of the bay. When she got to the low-lying section the water was too high and carried her car into the bay. Here the story changes depending on who is telling it. Some says she swam to shore and was rescued by the police others say she got out before her car went in the drink. Either way what she did after that was walk to the nearest bar and get drunk. Most of the folks I spoke with said they hoped her insurance turned her down. They were pretty irritated by her irresponsibility.

I hung around for a bit but by 1:30 it was pretty clear it would be several more hours before they opened the road so I headed back across the bridge to Newport, RI.

Irene, The Aftermath

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Taunton MA had it easy. A few down trees and some short-lived power outages. My lights, cable, phone, and internet were all up and running most of Sunday even during the height of the storm. No food spoiling in the fridge or defrosting in the freezer.

My gas and hot and cold running water were uninterrupted. I am very, very lucky.

Parts of Massachusetts are still without electricity 3 days after the storm. Some people are even being told that service won’t be restored until possibly the weekend. None of the other utility  services (cable, internet and VOIP phones)  can come back online until the electricity is back on. National Grid says they have crews helping from as far away as Colorado. Funny thing, nobody has seen them. I saw 1 National grid truck today ( Wednesday) and I drove from Taunton to Plymouth then explored the Plymouth waterfront before driving to Hingham. That drive took me through multiple communities.

But I’m sure all the football fans will be relieved that Foxboro Stadium, Home of The New England Patriots has their power back so the game can go on, even if you can’t watch it because your power is off so your TV won’t work.

I drove around a little on Monday too just to see what I could  see. I traveled through Easton, Brockton and Raynham., areas that I know were hard hit and without power.  No National Grid trucks in sight on Monday.

Work was testament to the areas hit hardest. Over and over the technicians went to calls of down wires and out of service customers only to find live electrical lines lying on the ground. There was nothing they could do. We have to wait for the electric company.

Remember the old TV show “Car 54 where are you?”  I think the title of this show is “National Grid , Where are you?” I can’t help wondering what it would be like if the storm had blown in with the power that was originally predicted.

There’s still a few more days for voting in the NH dream Vacation Photo Contest. Remember you can vote once per day. Thank you! 🙂 http://www.nhdreamvacation.com/browse-and-vote/