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Dennis's Toll on Beach Plans
Following are excerpts from e-mails we have received about beach plans:
Instead of going to the beach this weekend I am going to stay in DC and go hear the concert at the Lincoln Theatre
Sunday night at 8:00 pm, which is being presented by the GALA choruses (Gay and Lesbian Association of
Choruses). It will feature the Washington Gay Men's Chorus along with Bread and Roses and the Gay and Lesbian
Chorus of Washington.
We had to cancel our plans for Nags Head for the coming Labor Day and we are not sure what we will be doing during that period?
I guess go to shopping mall.
After 2 and 1/2 days of constant wind howling and rain beating down...we gave
up on the Outer Banks and headed home. It was like a constant headache once
Dennis decided to just sit on the outskirts of the coast and not continue out
to sea.
Most definitely "Dennis" changed our plans. My husband and I decided to
leave our bayfront rental at Ocean City and return home to Manassas. We
pulled our boat out of the water yesterday, packed up our belongings and
left. It was supposed to be a week shared with four other family members.
One member was coming from Nags Head. That fell through obviously. A lot
of money wasted. Instead of kids playing in the ocean, we had to spend $to
keep them occupied.
I had planned a 3-day sea kayak trip through the Chesapeake Bay in
Mathews County, Virginia beginning Saturday morning. With the effects of Dennis on the water: big waves & beach erosion, I'm playing it safe and staying out of the water. Kayaking in 4 foot swells w/breakers along the beach is a chore.
Dennis hasn't changed my plans a bit. We are heading down to Kitty Hawk,
NC tonight for a long weekend. The rain won't dampen our plans to enjoy
the beach one last time before fall.
Yes, Hurricane Dennis changed our plans. We rented a house in Nags Head, NC on the sound side from 8/28 - 9/4. The storm started Monday around 4:00am with very strong winds and pouring rain. We hung out in the house all day (we lost cable around 10:00am) ...setting out pots and bowls to catch the drips from the leaky roof. Later in the afternoon we ventured out to see what the roads were like and to see what was open. Not much was open....except the bowling alley and a bar. We consist of two adults and two teenagers.... we did bowl two games - at an exorbitant price. I don't bowl much, but $3.25 per game per person and $2.00 per pair shoe rental made it pretty pricey for a family of four. There wasn't much open in the way of restaurants (we didn't venture very far from our rental home)....we ate at the Western Sizzler (fine dining to be sure). The food was good, hot, and the staff was very short-handed and they were doing an excellent job - good naturedly. We headed back to the house after dinner and played poker with match-sticks! We all went to bed by 10:00pm. Power went off and on during the evening and Tuesday morning the power was on when we first got up...we put coffee and water in the coffee maker and turned it on...the power went out immediately! No Coffee!!!! We proceeded to lounge around through most of the day with no electricity, a leaky roof, two bored teenagers, and a scared dog. We left Nags Head that day. The weather reports indicated that the storm was headed back inland and was not projected to get any better throughout the week. I've read through our lease agreement thoroughly and if what I read is correct...I have no recourse. I have lost all the money I paid to rent this house for a week. I don't hold the realtor or the homeowner responsible, they wrote the lease for their own protection. My only hope is that the homeowner will show some compassion and let us come back for the four days we missed out on...even if it's during the winter.
Still Pouting in Northern, VA,
I booked my camping trip on the Outer Banks over a month ago. Obviously
I can't go now, leaving me with not too many options for this weekend.
Also, since I pre-paid, it is unclear to me if I will ever get my money
back.
I have planned a big bash, with relatives coming from all over. At one
point, I cancelled because the weather forecast said it would be in the
80's on Sunday, so I rescheduled it. Now, the forecast has changed
again, saying it is going rain on Sunday. It is too late to cancel
again, so I am stuck with having to do a picnic with wind and rain. I
know the cool weather is a result of Dennis.
I was headed to Waves, NC for the weekend. Now I will be at Rehoboth. I
welcome the winds though. I am an avid windsurfer.
Yes, Dennis has changed my plans for this weekend.
Now that surf is up, I'm heading to Va Beach and do
some surfing. Doesn't matter if the beaches are closed,
I'll head south past Sandbridge if I must.
I was trimming my hedges and Dennis was in North Carolina. I live in New York but I just couldn't help but run back inside every five minutes to see whether Dennis was going to pay us a visit. Then my mother-in-law called, and we got to arguing about our trip to Six Flags last year; she still says we owe her forty bucks for the blue and white Smurf Soft-Servs because I was over at the ATM while everybody was in line and the line moved faster that I had anticipated. When I returned, flush with cash, she had already paid and I just stuck my wallet in my pocket and that was that. She was giving me looks for the rest of the day, though. Anyway, it all came out on the phone and if I hadn't been inside watching cable I never would have picked it up.
For that, I blame Dennis.
We (my family) were going to spend the weekend at Rehoboth
Beach but cancelled our plans earlier in the week when
things looked questionable. Now it looks like there has
been so much beach erosion it wouldn't be worth going.
I was on the outer banks last week, tracking Dennis. Unfortunately I had to
leave on Sunday, as my seven-year-old son started school on Monday. I will be
back at Hatteras this holiday weekend, and my only concern is that route 12
is passable. I windsurf, so the spin off winds from Dennis is everything I
look for. It has been many years since I was last able to sail in high wind
conditions. I am not sure what I will find or experience, but?
To me a vacation is not bright sun or lights, but the beauty and solitude of
Hatteras and the raw elements of nature.
Dennis certainly altered our plans. Showed up in Duck, NC, Sunday evening, and got in a walk on the beach, which turned out to be our only time out near the surf. Weather news kept us on edge -- the growing wind kept us up most of the night. After wrestling the deck furniture inside Monday morning, which was no mean feat, we stayed glued to the TV. Developed motion sickness from the swaying of the four-bedroom house. The police warned everyone to keep off the roads, so we stayed put. Counted ourselves lucky as we still had power. Until Tuesday morning. At 6 am the winds snapped the power lines over our driveway. The power company said we'd be lucky to get the service restored by 11pm. While out shopping for "I survived Dennis" T-shirts, heard that the storm was headed back west. Returned our beach house about 5:30 pm -- power lines still dangling, which meant no TV, no lights, no toilets (the water wouldn't work without power). Heard on the radio that the power company had revised its estimates on restoring service to midnight of the next day. Since Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills had been evacuated, and spending another night in a now dark house would be miserable, we threw our stuff in the car and left. Hope has
not yet faded. I still have the house keys, and keep turning on the Weather
Channel with hopes of a miraculously revised forecast that will let us
return for the remaining couple days of our rental. I found it interesting
that the high-rent district (north of Southern Shores) was never evacuated.
I've been evacuated a couple times before for much less of a threat. Trip
insurance doesn't kick in unless there is an official evacuation.
we live here and since it is so far away (the storm) we have been watch-
ing the tides come and go a little high and the low tides stay sort of
high; the ocean is acting up but interesting; the parking lot on assa-
teague was closed but i understand it will be open saturday - definitely
not a day for lying on the beach, but decidedly different and interest-
ing - walk the trail - see the wildlife - go to the shops - walk in the
rain (if it does - we haven't seen ANY rain at all)- i have seen people
riding bikes in the strong winds every day, and at the same time most of
the guests have left for home and/or cancelling their plans - maybe
they will rethink those plans and come on down with the natives who just
ride over to see the ocean, get something to eat somewhere and curl up
with a book; then go see the ocean again!!!
We were booked for a week in Kitty Hawk in an oceanfront cabin, actually
down there the night Dennis first hit the area. The howl of the wind
and the roar of the waves Sunday night was unbelievable. The waves were
"jet plane" loud that night. We left early Monday morning to go inland,
and returned Tuesday afternoon to a washed out and debris strewn road.
The cabin was still there but the surf was rushing over the road hitting
the car. It was time to call it quits and we returned home.
Yes, I am still planning to go to the Virginia Beach this weekend. My
brother, Lt. John E. Smith, Jr., Navy Retirement Ceremony is tomorrow at
3:00pm. I won't miss it for the world. He has a lot of activity plan for
the long weekend, such as, a pool party following after the ceremony,
Saturday, Beach party, Bowling party as well as the family reunion get
together on Sunday for a Buffet Dinner, etc. If all goes well with a little
prayer, things could turn around for the better, if not, he might have to go
to Plan B. All we can do is keep the Faith.
We have rented a house in Kill Devil Hills, still plan to go. The condo we
own is also
going to be occupied. We are keeping in touch with the rental company to
make a last
minute decision. We are motivated because our son leaves for a year-long
tour in Korea
this month and we are gathering our family for a quiet?? weekend.
I
wanted to let you know that I've decided to change my plans... I'm GOING to
the beach now. I called Rehoboth Beach this morning and while room rates
have not gone down, the hotel I contacted had lessened their per-night
minimum for the weekend. So I'm hopefully going to take advantage of a
somewhat quieter weekend at the beach.
I am planning on going to Nags Head for the Labor Day week and I have no
intention of changing my plan. No sun? No problem. No beach, no swimming? So
what? A week away from the DC Metro area to chill out is fun enough.
Supposed to start a week at the Outer Banks in Nags Head on Saturday and
I'm still planning on heading down. We have a house rented for 18
people and unless mandatory evacuations are in place, everyone is still
planning to go. Went through Hurricane Charley down there in 1986 and
still had a good vacation, so I'm going to try to make the best of this
situation.
My sister, her son and my two kids plan to depart Bethesda on Saturday
morning and head to our family's oceanfront home on South 9th Street in
South Bethany, Delaware. I'm looking forward to the three-day weekend and
the chance to "beach it" one last time this summer. I've been down there
before during some pretty rough weather and it was kind of exciting,
thrilling and scary all at the same time. However, I'm really hoping for a
beautiful, sunny weekend to catch that last little bit of summer sunshine.
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