8/14/04 10:00 p.m. Our power was restored at 7:45 p.m. We had spent the day trying to conserve cool air, in the house, the freezer, and the refrigerator. Porter had the rest of the strawberry-rhubarb crisp with nearly-liquid ice cream for breakfast. The house stayed reasonably cool, though we lost some of the effect by spending much of the day outside in the sun and heat, cleaning up. Porter and Janet worked on the roof, Porter on the screened enclosure, and I stayed on the ground. Hurricanes are good for neighbor relations; many people were out working, and all were friendly and free with encouragement and help.
Most of my experience with power outages was in the north, in the winter, where there was never any problem with what to do with food that needed to be kept cold: it was easy just to set it outside! Here we worked hard not to open the refrigerator and freezer any more than necessary. For our meals, we finished up milk and meat that we feared would spoil; fortunately we didn't have much of either. Despite the work, it was a relatively relaxed day: heat, humidity, and a darkened house tend to make one lethargic. We played Quiddler, read, napped, and enjoyed talking more with our neighbors than we have in quite a while. Now that the power has returned, life is busy again, as we realize that our responsibilities did not disappear in the hurricane, but were waiting for us on the other side.
The jugs of water I had frozen did a good job of keeping our refrigerator and freezer cool. Given the uncertainty of when power would be restored, however, we accepted a neighbor's offer to get a block of dry ice when he got some for his family. The cost was $30, but well worth it; it would have been necessary had the power stayed off much longer.
We went for a walk around the neighborhood, and saw that most people had escaped with only minor damage. Not everyone: there were some impressive tree uprootings. Other parts of Central Florida did not fare so well. Maitland and Winter Park were especially hard hit, and will be boiling their water for the next week. One of their power substations was obliterated. A friend drove by the Orlando Executive Airport (Herndon) and said that the runway lights had been bent double. At Orlando International Airport, winds were measured at 110 mph, much more than we experienced.
Our grapefruit tree only lost one of its fruit!
Here are a few pictures:
Trying to protect the piano
Camping out in the hall (most protected part of the house)
Janet knits by candlelight (the flash somewhat ruins the effect; it really is dark
Broken branches that didn't fall
Wind pressing against vegetation pressing against screen = torn screen
Debris on the back patio
The neighbor's tree fell exactly between his car and his mailbox
