DarkFury

Well landfall hit around Mobile, Alabama at around 2 a.m. this morning... which is about 50 miles away from my hometown, Pensacola, FL.

So far, I haven't been able to get in contact with any of my family down there... so I don't know what is going on. And not knowing can be just as bad as having confirmation...

Hopefully they are ok down there... but it don't look good so far from what I've seen on the TV reports.

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slaus

My thoughts are with your family in florida.

ufcrusher

I'm sure they are all ok. They had plenty of time to prepare and theoretically should be as snug as a bug in a rug. Now its time for you to grab a chain saw, hop in the hemi, and go help your folks out.

*Here he comes to save the Day!!! DarkFury is on his way! DF to the rescue!*

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Kim

DF, have you heard from your family yet? I'm hoping they are safe and well.

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OC

Hope everyone's ok, DF.

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DarkFury

Well, I finally got a phone call about 8:00 this morning from one of my cousins... as it turns out, all of Pensacola has no power, no water, and no sewer... and cell phone service is sketchy at best (I guess you gotta use a car charger to keep em charged up... but if the towers are down, you're screwed...)

Pretty much my cousin told me that they had been in contact with my folks and that they are ok... some of the property down there got damaged and there are a bunch of trees down everywhere but they are alive... (which is a good thing.. ya know...)

Anyways, everytime I try to call down there, I get voicemails... which just tells me that the system is down. So pretty much, whenever they get some power restored, I guess they'll try to reach me at that point.

I know it must SUCK sittin' down there in the dark with no water or refrigerated food.... I remember how bad it was when Frederick hit when I was about 8 years old...

Jihforce

sorry to hear that man. hope they make it thru alright.

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DarkFury

Well... on to Phase 2.

I got a phone call today... partial celluar service is up and running, however the electricity will probably be out up to 3 weeks now.

Lines for gasoline are like 3 hours long down there...

So my brother calls me... and asks, "Hey, can you look for a power generator up there for us? All the ones within a 500 mile radius are sold out down here".

So I called around... and guess what? Most stores are either sold out, or they shipped their generators to stores in Florida to meet the demand down there.

Pretty much they were looking for a 5000+ watt version... however for the most part, I could only find 3000 watt versions for around $500 (and 5000 watt versions usually sell for around $600 - $750) as all the 5000s were sold.

Well, I finally found a 5000 watt generator at one of the "local" hardware stores.... for the amazingly low price of $468. I was like WOW!!!

So I immediately rushed down there to get it... and a good thing too, as when I got there I was told that there is some dude in Grand Rapids, Michigan and another in California who are buying up all the generators in Indiana. So far they have bought like 30 generators, but the one I just found had JUST gotten in and they didn't get their hands on it.

Pretty much it is kinda weird that someone is cornering the market on generators? Are they REALLY part of a "relief effort"... or are they re-selling them at a profit to people who are in desperate need?

Anyways... I got the generator and a chain saw (which are also running in high demand down there) and now we gotta figure out how to get this stuff to my folks. Honestly, I didn't wanna drive 13 hours one way on such short notice... so my bro called around and found that he had a friend who was current evacuated to Nashville, Tennessee (which is only 5 hours away). He wants me to drive down there tomorrow and give the stuff to her so that she can take it down to Florida. Only problem is... she has an SUV (versus my full size truck) and we're scared that there will not be enough room in her ride.

So more or less, I'll start this "adventure" tomorrow. They want me to meet them around 4:00 p.m. after the Tennesee Titan game is over (which they are going to), so I have to leave here around 10:30 am to make it there on time.

Man... this week just gets better by the minute...

speedracer120

The crap we do for family eh? Good thing for your family you're such a good person. 10 hours of just driving, better warm up your Escort. Have a safe drive man.

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ufcrusher

See...my prediction came true. I have a feeling you are going to make the LONG drive down to no power....but at least you have a generator once you get there. (Just a hint, get your gasoline for them well before you get down there.)

Have a safe trip.

DarkFury

What Escort? I never touched the stuff... (I know you ain't referring to the Nas-T Bird... )

Anyways... I just got back from Tennessee. 10 hours of driving and 2 tanks of gas burned (i.e. about $80+ in gas alone...) to get this generator HALFWAY to it's final destination.

I have posted the story about it on my website... you can check that out for more details.

I'm tired as hell now... for 10 hours, all I ate was a roast beef sandwich that I made for myself at home and half of a half-liter bottle of Ice Mountain water. Needless to say, I was starving when I got back to Indy... Thank goodness for KFC and the yummy "Crispy Chicken Strips" Twister, wedges, and a drink combo!

Oh well... my Sunday was shot to hell... but at least the Colts beat the Titans. Lots of sad faces down there in Nashville this evening... however I didn't laugh, because I didn't want them to attack me or something. You'd be amazed of all the traffic going back up I-65 from Nashville.... folks painting up their cars in Titan colors and all kinds of wacky stuff. Just amazing I tell ya...

Anyways... what an adventure. Hopefully everything works... I hope. Cause they sure can't return it now.

speedracer120

I forgot you had the Bel. Hehe. Good to hear that you made it back safe man.

CynJon

Yeah, unfortunately there are those unscrupulous types who will take every opportunity to capitalize on other people's misfortune...nearly every major disaster features someone looking to make a quick buck by price-gouging something that people want, from plywood to duct tape/plastic (after the anthrax incidents) to generators...One word for them: Karma

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DarkFury

Oh the irony...

Well the generator finally made it to Florida about 1:30 p.m. today... my Brother went and stood in a 20 minute line to get some gasoline for it, came back home and cranked it up.

It ran great... and then around 4:00 p.m. the power came back on in their house.

All that work... for 2 hours of power. Geez...

That's enough to make you say... "Well dayuum... if only the power were out for at least another day".... Oh well... I guess they are now prepared for the NEXT storm huh?

That's just some crazy @ss sh@t if you ask me... Dayuuum....

CynJon

Well, make sure they store it properly (either drain the gas or put Sta-bil in it), and fog the engine...It's Florida, after all, and unfortunately they'll likely have use for it again.