Merry Christmas from the Deep South!
We had some very nice fall weather until mid-November. This is the most enjoyable time of the year here because we have close to a two month stretch of mostly mild, sunny days with low humidity. Since mid-November the weather turned surprisingly cold and windy, with some days stuck in the low 40s. This would be considered a bad day in January. The year began with our typical winter weather with most days getting into the 50s during the warmest part of the day. As we headed into spring, things took a wild turn on March 14th with the first tornado to hit downtown Atlanta. The twister wreaked havoc on historic Oakland Cemetery, numerous skyscrapers, arenas and hospitals. Mike happened to be downtown that day attending an event at the Georgia World Congress Center. He left in the early evening. The storm hit shortly thereafter. The tornado was officially classified as an EF-2 with wind gusts up to 135 miles per hour. When the dust settled a few days later, we checked our mountain property and were relieved that we had not lost too many trees. We had a few less dangerous tornado events in April. The last “big blow” came on Mother’s Day weekend. In addition to high winds and a yard full of debris, we had a horrendous hailstorm. We were fearful that our skylights might not be able to withstand the force of the hail. In the end, all windows remained intact. However, many of our neighbors were not so fortunate. Their windows and cedar shake roofs did not fare well.
This summer was not as hot as it was last year. We had numerous days in the 90s, but very few days above 95 degrees. The first 90 degree day was on June 3rd. The drought continues. For the last few years we have been under severe watering restrictions and they will likely continue for the foreseeable future. We did get some “help” from hurricane Fay. Just north of here Fay dropped 10” of rain. We had about five inches of rain here. We could have used about five more Fays to make a significant difference in filling up Lake Lanier, our source of household water.
Kristin was able to make it home for Easter. Eric spent a week here at the end of May. We saw Kristin again when we made a trip to Tybee Island for a beach vacation. Savannah is about twenty miles from Tybee. Eric came home again the first weekend of October to attend the wedding of one of his fraternity brothers and to celebrate my birthday. He also attended the GT – Duke game with us.
In April we made a day trip to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA, about 110 miles southwest of here. The gardens are famous for their azaleas and butterfly house. Callaway is huge and has many other features including the Sibley Center, a large greenhouse display area. There are also miles of hiking and biking trails. In mid-August we headed for Tybee Island, GA and Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Unfortunately, this trip coincided with tropical storm/hurricane Fay’s numerous landfalls in FL. We were able to make the most of the beach at Tybee as Fay was far enough offshore. We stayed at the Tybee Island Inn, a beautiful B & B, which was conveniently located to the beach. Despite the iffy forecast we went ahead with our plans for the Ponte Vedra Beach Inn and Club. This resort is located just south of Jacksonville. It is right on the Atlantic Ocean. We did not have rain the first two days that we were there, but the wind was getting worse and the surf was very rough. We decided to check out early so we would not have to drive home in a hurricane. It is no fun as we learned many years ago when we left the FL panhandle in the height of hurricane Opal.
The next four months contain travel plans that could take us to Savannah in November; will take us to Disney World in December and we will be on a three week cruise to South America from mid-January to early February. We will be on a Celebrity ship, the Infinity.
The other big local story other than the wave of spring tornadoes was our auto gas shortage. This was caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike. For all of the ferocity of Ike, the oil rigs were not too badly damaged. Yet, the fundamental act of stopping production probably was a bigger factor in not having gas when we needed it. To further complicate matters, 47 counties in GA require a special blend of gas to comply with EPA standards. The refineries had all they could do to provide the basic blend. Our governor appealed to the EPA to allow the metro areas to use the basic blend until normal production resumed. The EPA relented, so more gas was able to reach us. For the three weeks starting September 12th, the metro area had virtually no gas. When a truck would arrive to re-stock a filling station, long lines would form and the station would be depleted of its supply within a few hours. That station would not see another truck for four or five days. Fortunately, neither of us has to drive very much or very far, so when we filled up our cars on September 11th, ahead of the shortage, we did everything we could to stretch our gas for as long as possible. We were concerned that Eric would run into gas shortages on October 3rd when he drove here. We told him how risky it was for him to undertake the 500 mile trip from Charlottesville to here. Fortunately the closer it got to the weekend, more and more gas was coming into Atlanta, and so Eric decided to make the trip. He was able to find gas in the Greenville-Spartanburg area of SC. He was only able to get regular grade and his car requires mid-grade or premium. Kristin also had plans to be home October 3rd – 5th, but she decided not to risk the trip in case she was unable to refill in Roswell for the ride back to Savannah. The Savannah area had plenty of gas as they are not supplied via the Colonial and Plantation pipelines from the Texas-Gulf coast.
Fortunately, things remain the same for Mike and me. I did have a surprisingly traumatic experience on the 15th of October when I was attacked by two dogs while I was out walking. One of the two dogs bit me on the upper calf of my right leg. I ended up with six punctures and a lot of bleeding and bruising. The owner witnessed the attack and brought me inside his house to clean up the blood and bandage me up. I still had to see a doctor to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics and I will be left with permanent scars. Because the owner was negligent in not having either dog on a leash, and the seriousness of the bite, I reported the attack to the Fulton County Animal Control, which placed the dog in ten day quarantine. In GA, as soon as a dog bite victim seeks medical treatment, as I did, the health care provider is required to contact the local animal control – so no matter the source, the report would be filed with animal control. The dog owners are upset because the attack was reported and are now refusing to pay my medical bills. Also, one of the owners launched a verbal attack on me in public, no less! Since I did everything “by the book”, I have a feeling that my medical costs will be reimbursed sooner or later. As Gilda Radner of Saturday Night Live was known to say, “It’s always something”!
This year Kristin and Eric were able to make it home for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to see them. Kristin set up our Christmas tree, put the lights on it and decorated it while I was taking care of all of the kitchen duties. Both of them encountered a lot of traffic delays as they returned to their respective homes. It wasn’t too bad for Kristin, but it took Eric over eleven hours to return to Charlottesville due to the extreme amount of traffic on I-85. All of us will travel to Orlando on the 14th for a week at Disney World. We will be together for Christmas, but by New Year’s Kristin will be back in Savannah and Eric will be back in Charlottesville. We are looking into getting tickets for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl as GT will play in that on New Year’s Eve. Then it is on to South America for us in mid-January. We will be on a cruise for three weeks. We will be sailing on a Celebrity ship, the Infinity.
We hope you have happy holidays and a good year in 2009.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
2008 in Pictorial Review
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