Hurricane Season

So as you may know hurricane season is in full force and let me tell you – I don’t have much luck with hurricanes. It seems I always schedule vacations around this time of year and get screwed because of it. BUT…needless to say – we’re attempting to go to the beach this weekend despite Hurricane Bill that’s churning in the Atlantic right now. Cross your fingers kids!

So, here’s a little history of me and storms –(keep in mind my birthday is August 29th – generally Labor Day weekend):

Labor Day weekend 2008 – Booked airline tickets months in advance to New Orleans/Baton Rouge to have a fun-filled weekend celebrating my birthday by going to the first LSU home game and reuniting with about a dozen sorority sisters at dinner.
I am scheduled to leave Thursday night but earlier in the week Hurricane Gustav is predicted to hit the city of NOLA and everyone starts flipping out and there is talk of evacuating the city. Me? Plzzz…let’s all calm down and wait and see where this thing is going. I’m determined to go in anyway – I figure I can evacuate to BR(where my brother and his kiddos live) if nothing else.
I board Buddy and go to the airport. Flight is delayed 1 hour. Great! I’ll grab a cocktail! Come out 30minutes later and the flight is gone? Yep, they moved the time back up and left without me.
I was devastated but decided it was a sign. Brad and I had only been dating a few months so I decided to stay in Charlotte and hang with him. Good thing I did. They shut NOLA down, including the airport, and Gustav actually SLAMMED BR worse than it did NOLA.

Labor Day weekend 2005 – This was my big 30-birthday weekend! Actually, I made it a whole week celebration. Months in advance airline tickets were booked to go to NOLA/BR for a weekend with friends – again, enjoying the first LSU game, etc.
I was scheduled to leave Thursday, August 31st. I actually spent the earlier part of the week in San Francisco and Napa with all my west coast besties and my Mom drinking and living it up in the Bay area(just LOVE it out there).
Then – I started getting calls from friends who were scheduled to be at my big birthday bash saying they couldn’t come anymore because talk of a storm named Hurricane Katrina that might hit NOLA.
I’m like – yeh right. Let’s all calm down and wait and see what happens. I do nothing to reschedule my ticket even though all my friends have left the city of New Orleans.
I continue to booze it up in Napa and we watch the coverage and we’re like – YEAH!! The storm missed NOLA!!
It was my actual 30th birthday that day – so I went on and lived it up and when we got back into the city of SF – I turned on the tv and was SHOCKED To see people hanging off roofs! WTF happened?

The levees broke.

Needless to say – it was one of the worst things(in my opinion) that has ever happened aside from 9/11. I had friends and family who lost everything except their lives. NOLA will never be the same. And of course.. I’ll never forget my 30th birthday.

I, of course, didn’t go to Louisiana but instead stayed in CA and me and my Mom drove down the PCH hitting Carmel, Big Sur and Pebble Beach. It was fun – but not that fun due to the fact we could barely stay in contact with my brother and his kids because phone lines were down and jammed.

Well, that’s it sorry for the long post kids.
Happy Humpday?