BENEVOLENT JOURNIES: Hurricane Ike threatening Palacios

Brett and I sit, helpless and anxious, in Oregon as we watch Hurricane Ike approaching our friends in Palacios. I heard from Rebecca and they are evacuating Palacios as well as much of the Gulf Coast in Texas. I talked to Truda at the park and they are calm but worried about the potential of this hurricane. There is an expected 14.5 foot tide surge to enter the bay, which covers the park/marina clear up to Main St.... This would be disastrous for the town and for our friends' boats as the floating docks would probably come off their piles with that high a surge......

My heart aches and I cry as I think about each person in Palacios that has become like family to Brett and I.

Our boat looks safe for the moment and we can only pray that if the hurricane veers East, that Keith will be there to take care of the boats...

My nerves are raw and I am a wreck. I've never felt this kind of anxiety before. The anxiety that hurricanes cause as I think about my friends evacuating their homes and leaving their boats to mother nature. As we leave our own boat in the hands of mother nature...

Brett went to the doctor yesterday and is going to have to make some changes. It is a blessing that we are here in Oregon where we know our doctors and he can concentrate on this lifestyle change before we head back down to the boat. He seems to have COPD. It is caused usually by smoking and damages the lungs...

Mama and baby deer in Rick's field on our porch...

We have been staying at Brett's old boss' place in a cabin on their property and it has been great. They have beautiful property and the cabin is perfect with a bathtub and everything! Well- Except we still need a stove. LOL But we have a microwave! We've been enjoying the solitude and the space of our own place. Brett has been helping them fix up the farm where we are at. I enjoy the commute to work every day. Hardly any traffic or lights. We drive slowly down a gravel road by a pasture every day and I talk to the cows and sheep as they lay under huge walnut trees, chewing their cud.

I have gotten a new (used) guitar to start learning again. It's a Fender Catalina. I have read excellent reviews about this acoustic guitar.

It is a very nice guitar and is doing wonderful. I am so excited to be able to play guitar and have been teaching myself every day. Even Brett, Ray and Debra (my aunt and uncle) played with it on our camping trip.

The camping trip was wonderful- The lush green forest of old growth and maples smelled wonderful. The water of the McKenzie river rushing by our campsite, crystal clear and cold as ice. We gazed at the stars, even seeing the Milky Way through the trees. We watched shooting stars together and pointed out the satellites as they soared through the dark sky. We hiked through trails and rode bikes down old roads. The time went fast but it was great. Brett did a lot of fly fishing and caught many fish. He even caught the largest fish he'd ever caught on the river! It was catch and release only, though, and he had to regretfully let the little guy wiggle out of his hands and back to the rushing water.

I put a bunch of pictures of our camping trip so my friends on the Gulf Coast can enjoy some of our beautiful home state just as my friends in Oregon enjoyed our lovely pictures of the Gulf Coast this last year...