Happy All Hallows' Eve

Last year after Hurricane Sandy blew through my little island, I spent most of that week in the library at the end of my street. It was the only place I could get in contact with the outside world. At home, I was one of the very lucky ones with power and heat, but no connectivity. There was no mobile service in the whole area either. The library became my refuge. They had free hot coffee and cookies, and they had wi-fi. After several days, one of the employees gave me this gorgeous fairy tale pumpkin she had grown out back. It became the centerpiece of my kitchen for months. With its really tough skin, it lasted well into March when I put it outside for hungry critters to enjoy.

Sandy Collides With City Island

This post is neither artistic nor inspirational, but more documentation. Many weeks later, we're still hearing about the effects of Sandy on New York and New Jersey. I heard about the storm coming for days and never gave it much thought. We get storms here on City Island all the time. People here typically worry about the Nor'easters more than anything. But the salty sailors who live all around me were worried this time too. Their concern made me take notice. After all, I'm pretty close to the water. I'm always amazed at how they can sense weather conditions better than any meteorologist.

City Island Yacht Club - This curved dock used to head directly outward where there 
was also once a roof on the launch house.

When I first moved to City Island, Irene came for a visit just a few months later. Panicky family members demanded to know if I had an evacuation plan. I just decided to ride it out, and so did everyone else on the Island. In the end, Irene thankfully wasn't so bad. My plan was to sit through Sandy too.

A tangle of sailboats knocked over by the surge at Stuyvesant Yacht Club

Just before the darkness fell and the first displays of wind and rain, I found out that the entire Island was in Zone A, and I was to be evacuated. Mandatory. I stayed in Westchester with family, and we lost power pretty early into the night. Luckily, the fireplace kept us warm and the home somewhat well lit. We also found some batteries and sat huddled around the radio eager for information. There was no way to keep in touch or see what was happening elsewhere. Bored with ourselves, we went to bed hours earlier than our normal bedtime. It was like the old days!

The famous neon lobster landmark before and after.

Found partially buried at very low tide on our street's beach.

The next day, still in a bubble devoid of news, we had a potluck "storm party" formed by the contents of everyone's slowly defrosting freezers. We drove to a nearby diner to try to charge all of our devices and on the way, saw the culprit of the electrical outage- a gigantic tree toppled and pulled all the lines down with it. The accompanying house couldn't have been more lucky at the fallen angle of the giant. We lived this way for two days when I decided to return home to City Island. I lose power throughout the summer seemingly anytime anyone turns on an air conditioner, but shockingly, it never went out. I had everything but tv, telephone, and internet for two more days. I couldn't be more thankful compared to what I was hearing back on the old-time radio. I immediately took a walk around the island, and this is some of what I saw.