<p>I thought this weekend would be the perfect time to visit D in DC–the weather has cooled off so it’ll be pleasant to walk around, hurricane season is pretty much over, snow season hasn’t begun. Ha! I have return Amtrak reservations for Monday morning. Depending on whose projected storm trajectory is correct, I could slip out of town in the nick of time or be caught there for days (leaving H to deal with Halloween–that wouldn’t be pretty, I see him falling asleep in front of the TV while the doorbell keeps ringing, and then I come home to an egg-covered house). Feeling very crabby.</p>
<p>Again …ugh !</p>
<p>If we’re allowed to whine whine whine then here I go. I’ve always had a thing about WDW. DH wouldn’t be caught dead at an amusement park so I took my kids individually the summer after each graduated from elementary school. One 11-year-old boy + one mother = <em>fabulous</em> trip. Fast forward to this past year, when DH was out of work and life was just a little sucky. All along I promised myself a trip to WDW when things were looking better. About a month ago it was finally time to plan the trip. Today is my birthday but I couldn’t get a discounted room at the resort I like, so I am scheduled to leave on Monday. From an airport in the mid-Atlantic. When I first heard about Sandy I was concerned about Florida, but I AM GOING TO BE SO P’O-ED IF THIS STUPID STORM INTERFERES WITH MY TRAVEL PLANS.</p>
<p>I cancelled my plans to travel up to Mass in order to see my daughter run in a marathon. I was on the fence because the storm wasn’t supposed to affect the area that day , but I was planning to drive home ( coastal southern NJ ) I didn’t want to get stuck or caught driving right into Frankenstorm</p>
<p>Also our business is very vulnerable…two of our places are in flood prone areas and when Irene paid us a visit last August , we literally had to work around the clock to secure things. It was exhausting and we will have to do it all again now, but without the manpower …Soooo , that means a lot of lifting, moving and driving trucks too big for my comfort level…
I really hope that this storm takes a turn and heads out to sea , but I’m not counting on it.
Soon, I will head out to buy some ice and batteries
Be safe everyone :)</p>
<p>@MyLB - typically airlines waive change penalties when big storms are threatening. Perhaps you can fly out Sunday ahead of the storm and get a cheap room on rt192 in Kissimmee if you don’t want to pay for another night at your resort.</p>
<p>This may be a naive question but since DD is at school in urban Philly when should she expect some sort of Emergency notification from the school? If they plan on cancelling classes or doing any sort of evacuation it would be nice to know. Maybe that is asking too much?</p>
<p>Momof3Stars, I think so. I live nearby, and at this point we have no idea when we will be impacted, or how severe it will be. The forecasters don’t even know the exact path of the storm at this point. If classes are cancelled, it will probably be announced either the morning of the day they won’t be held, or at the hour of the day they need to dismiss. It all depends on timing. Last year our school district lost a day of school for flooding when Irene (?) came through the second weekend of September. We had a day of heavy rain, which led to some flooding. But the impact wasn’t felt until the next day. That was the day school was closed. So it all depends on the conditions.</p>
<p>However, I will say this. Whatever school your DD is attending is planning diligently today for any eventuality, and she will be well informed. We are all shaking in our boots today. :)</p>
<p>We lost power for a week and a half due to Irene, and two days after the October storm. And still DH (who also works from home!) doesn’t want to get a generator. Well, if we lose power AGAIN, I’m buying one - the kind that is attached to the gas lines, so I don’t have to lug it around in a storm. Enough is enough!</p>
<p>One of the computer models has Sandy following Irene’s track, right up into Vermont - the area around Rutland/Killington was devastated by Irene. I sure hope they don’t get hit again. Hey hurricanes, don’t you guys know that Vermont is inland???</p>
<p>It looks like the projected path is veering inland with less of an impact in New England. There will still be an impact but I’d prefer rain and mild wind to a tropical storm or a ton of snow. We’re still in the process of charging batteries and devices and I’m going to the grocery store mid-day to stock up on stuff. Hopefuly we won’t need any of it.</p>
<p>If it does get here, it could potentiall arrive Sunday morning so we’ll do preparations before then unless models change. I plan to stop at the bank to get some cash just in case we do have power problems and ATMs and credit card systems are down.</p>
<p>Most of my family is on the east coast so I pay close attention, knowing who might be impacted. </p>
<p>I just read in a worse case scenario this could impact the east coast through election day, if power goes out. Might be good to add early voting onto the list!</p>
<p>Last year we finally bought a generator, but our power came back on and we didn’t use it, so we returned it. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Last year, my 89 yr old mother–well, she was 88 then–who lives alone in CT was without power for at least 10 days because of Irene, and then again for about a week because of the October blizzard. Unreal. She could have stayed with either of my nieces who live in the area, neither of whom experienced power loss, but no… At least she was good about keeping her cell phone charged up using the car charger, so we could keep in touch.</p>
<p>My daughter and son in law are traveling to DC for her goal marathon- Marine Corps. This is her second trip this year into a storm! Her main worry at this point is whether they will be able to get out of DC on Tuesday morning! Glad it’s not me!</p>
<p>Early voting is a good idea for lots of reasons. So is stocking up on wine. :)</p>
<p>This storm sounds horrible, and I hope everyone gets through it without incident. The East Coast has really had some bad weather luck the past few years.</p>
<p>Snowmageddon, Goodnight Irene, Halloween Blast and now Scary Sandy!!! Since 2010 east coast weather [October to February] has been shipwreck.</p>
<p>You forgot to mention the earthquake.</p>
<p>@nj2011mom–not so worried about getting there, just hate to lose a day at the parks if things are delayed too much.</p>
<p>But that did remind me of a pretty major snowstorm the DC area had in March of 1993. DH and I had a reservation to spend a night at Inn at Little Washington (Christmas present from my wonderful family). With the forecast, we got to leave a day early and spend the whole weekend. Even got a free lunch from the Inn because so many people got snowed in. (BTW–I remember this so well because DS#3 was born nine months later. 
)</p>
<p>Uh oh. Guess I’ll start obsessively checking through the weekend. From the Washington Post about 10:00 AM:</p>
<p>“With computer models locked in on the eventuality of a punishing blow for East Coast from Hurricane Sandy (with the latest model runs favoring the northern mid-Atlantic), analyses suggest this storm may be unlike anything the region has ever experienced.”</p>
<p>And this:</p>
<p>"A very prominent and respected National Weather Service meteorologist wrote on Facebook last night,</p>
<p>I’ve never seen anything like this and I’m at a loss for expletives to describe what this storm could do."</p>
<p>I just emailed S2 in DC to warn him about the storm. He doesn’t pay attention to weather reports, so I figured he was probably oblivious to what may be coming his way. If the storm goes inland around NJ/Phila., then he could get a worse hit than we’ll get in CT.</p>
<p>Just got a call from orthopedist cancelling S1’s appointment on Tuesday at 3pm. They are cancelling all Monday/Tuesday appointments. Very annoyed at this, as he’s having lots of elbow/shoulder pain (he’s a swimmer) and the PT doesn’t think it’s tendonitis, so we’re trying to get this cleared up before the season really heats up. </p>
<p>Will wait until Monday to determine whether to keep the colonoscopy appointment. This doctor has a fairly packed schedule, so changing it will just push it out a month+ and I just want to get it over with.</p>
<p>Looks like NJ will take the direct hit - the eye will cross somewhere between Cape May & Toms River.</p>
<p>@MyLB We remember the blizzard of March 1993, too. I was 9 months pregnant, and we lived on a dead end street in Laurel. DH was very nervous.</p>