So here's how my day has been.
It's been raining constantly. The remnants of the hurricane are washing over us this Halloween, and it promises to be wet and windy. Now, if you're a returning visitor to my blog, you probably already know I'm from Florida. I practically grew up in a hurricane. So I knew what to expect. Except, I'm from Orlando, which is a little bit higher than, say, the coast. Flooding doesn't happen as much and most roads were still manageable (as far as I knew).
At first I thought, "So this is what a hurricane looks like in Texas. Not much different from a hurricane in Florida."
Then I drove. I drove on the interstate, through Waco, Marlin, Lott, and finally Troy, then went to pick up David from school. Turns out, flash flooding is a real thing. I got to see it firsthand. It's a scary thing. Always remember: TURN AROUND, DONT DROWN. I even got to put that into practice.
We're safe, don't worry--only problem is, our lake is overflowing so bad that we can't get home. :( I'm considering swimming and coming back with a canoe for David... lol. I'm kidding. We're gonna sit here on high ground by the gate and wait for the hubby. But damn. I've NEVER seen the lake this high. O.O
I should have known it'd get bad. Driving to Troy was similar to those adventure movies--you know the ones, where the dashing archaeologist has to escape a temple, but he's being chased by a boulder, poison darts are flying from the walls, and with every step he takes the ground crumbles beneath him, giving way to a bottomless chasm. Of course, he's always seconds ahead of certain death.
In real life, making it across at the last second doesn't happen nearly enough. And all too many people are willing to try. Which is why David and I are sitting here at the end of our driveway. The main gravel road is completely flooded out, and I almost didn't even get this far. It's scary knowing the only three roads to my house are all gravel roads and they all have the potential to be impassable, all at the same time.
Unfortunately, the lake is overflowing so much that it is literally one foot from overtaking the entire driveway. This is one insane adventure. And it's not over yet. As soon as my hubby gets home, we can intellectually configure our way to the house, even if it requires my brother with a canoe! :P
On the bright side, my new thermos has kept my pumpkin spice coffee perfectly hot this entire time. It's been 3 hours and it's just as hot as when I brewed it! Good investment there.
So here I am, blogging from my phone, passing the time, happily not drowning. The rain is playing 'Red Light, Green Light'. And... yay! Hubby is home! Well, got to go find a way home! Wish us luck!
UPDATE:
We made it to the house! Hubby analyzed the water overflowing from the lake and estimated that it wasn't very deep, just extremely wide. Thankfully, our trucks are both pretty tall. He carefully maneuvered his truck across the water--kind of like on the Oregon Trail game from the '90s, but with a truck instead of oxen--and once he made it across, he drove to the house. He was going to get the tractor out and pull my truck across to make sure I got there safely, but naturally the tractor tire wasn't cooperating. So he just drove back down, took off his boots, and waded across the spillway. He drove my truck across for me, and we made it safely home.
It's still raining though, and the run-off is probably going to continue to flood the lake through tomorrow and possibly into Sunday. If the rain doesn't stop tomorrow night in time for trick-or-treating, I'm going to dress up the kids and let them trick-or-treat from one room of the house to another, where my husband and I will hand out candy to them. I'm hoping it clears up though.
But still, yay for the comfort of my own home!
