Good Night, Irene.

Enjoy the Weavers.  It might put you in the proper mood to plough through the rest of this post!  Diaristwoman and I spent the day driving up to Brigantine to secure the house before the arrival of Hurricane Irene.  Of course today was a beautiful day with gentle wind--perfect for goofing off with a good book and a beach chair.  Regrettably we spent the day preparing for the storm.  We left Maryland early in order to get on the island before the 2 pm deadline, after which the police were closing the only bridge leading to the island to oncoming traffic.  On the ride east to the coast we encountered a solid stream of traffic heading west.  It was good to see that tourists were heeding the evacuation orders but one had an unsettling feeling going against the flow!  Did we miss reading the daily memo?  Was there something we didn't know? 

The local newspapers had one story to report.  Double click to read "all about it".

Our house looks good from across the street.  Hope the joint is still standing on Monday.

Down on the beach the beach patrol was busy moving surf boats, life guard stands and other paraphernalia to higher ground.

The last weekend in August and hardly a soul to be seen!  If the dune grass was brown instead of green this could easily be a winter time picture.

This lone surfer was out testing the surf.  Come back tomorrow dude!

Some people take their window boarding seriously.  Today the bay water is almost mirror smooth.  That won't last.

Like most businesses, Aversa's Bakery was boarded, sand bagged and closed for the duration.  Where will the police get their donuts tonight?

At the Yacht Club, some took the club's orders to tie their boats down seriously...

but others, not so much.  It will be interesting to see if these Optimist dinghies are still here after the storm passes.

A touch of defiance flying from the club's yardarm.

Lighthouse circle is near the south end of Brigantine Boulevard.  The bridge off the island is about a mile beyond this point.  Once we leave the island we won't get back on until Monday at the earliest.  What will the "after" photos look like?  Hopefully not too different.  Stay tuned and don't touch that dial...