Ike update! Our tour of Texas!

We are okay. Our area suffered heavy tree damage from the high winds and rain. It was quite unnerving to hear the debris hitting the rooftop and the howling winds. Early Saturday morning we heard a loud hissing sound coming from the front yard. We had lost the top of an oak tree in the front yard and it happened to land directly on the gas meter! The winds were too high for the fire department or Centerpoint (the gas company) to come out till the storm moved further north. After the winds slowed down, the fire department came out and turned off the valve. Later the Centerpoint construction crew showed up and put a cap on the line. I will need to have a plumber come out and fix/inspect the line going to the house and then have a new meter installed. After digging up the old one! We lost a large limb in the backyard that is hung up in two other trees and dragging down the power line. Mostly small limbs all over the yard. They estimate that it will take at least 2-4 weeks to get power restored if then. Our street had several trees land on/in houses so we were lucky. So with the lack of electricity and gas, we headed out Saturday afternoon (after the gas line was capped) to our friends house in Pflugerville (north of Austin) where Uncle Curtis and Aunt Cathy had evacuated to from their house in Alvin. Visited with them for a day till the power was back on in Tyler (at mom & dad's house). So today we are in Tyler and the girls are enjoying visiting with Grandma and Papaw Herrington. Clint is in contact with his office (which also suffered damage) and they are still working on when/where to set up a temporary office.

Here are some pictures:
Our house Before Ike, notice the nice clean lawn!
We had already taken in the small pot plants and house number sign in preparation for the storm.




The backyard before Ike




After Ike Pictures:
Oak tree on the gas meter!


Buried gas meter. The pipe sticking straight up is the line coming from the gas main, the pipe laying slightly to the right/bottom of the picture is the line that goes to the house.


Lots of small debris


Notice the broken Oak in the middle of the yard, that's the one that hit the gas meter. The meter is under the treetop (looks like a bush from this angle) toward the right side of the picture.


The backyard after Ike


Hanging limb on the power line