In October of 2012, my dad and I and my daughter Rebekah went to Connecticut and then New York, for Rebekah to test two pre-golds and one gold ice dance.
On Sunday afternoon, after the tests, as we celebrated her passing the three dances, I got a text that our plane home from Hartford to Colorado was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane was expected the next day, but the airports closed early.
Even if we wanted to drive our rental car out of the area, we soon found out that we could not leave since the highways in Connecticut were closed shortly after that and the airports were closed for days.
The ice rink in Simsbury was open the morning before the hurricane, so Rebekah went skating anyway!
After skating I remember Rebekah being so disappointed that Starbucks was closed early due to the upcoming hurricane!
On the way back to the hotel, the GPS took us on strange routes off the highway.
Friendly's diner was still open right near the hotel, so we ate a big afternoon meal and then returned to the hotel and tried to settle in and wait. The server at Friendly's said that like Denny's, Friendly's never closed, but she also lived near the restaurant and could go to work easier than some of the other employees.
I stopped and bought some food and water. Flashlights were sold out.
It was very scary being in Connecticut the night the Hurricane hit.
It actually had been hard to find a hotel that could house us for several days and when we found a hotel, there was a sign up that said that there might not be any water, power, or food and to "stay at our own risk." People were sitting in the lobby watching the news and the hotel was staffed by a skeleton staff. I decided maybe it was not a good idea to use the hotel's indoor pool or do laundry :)
When the hurricane finally came Monday night, we shut ourselves inside our room away from the windows and waited. Power went out, but only briefly.
Then....the hurricane shifted away from Hartford and the newscasters calmed down and we found out we were safe.
Unfortunately, other locations were hit hard. I recall the Ice Theatre of New York's offices were ruined. I remember that the husband of an ice dancer in New Jersey died. I saw on the news destruction in NYC and in surrounding areas.
The morning after the hurricane the rink reopened so Rebekah skated again! The roads were deserted and there were places we couldn't drive to.
We just "sat tight" and waited. We were stuck in Connecticut for three more days.
I was glad when the Hartford airport finally opened and we were able to go home.
I am thinking of all of Florida right now. I am so worried about the people I know who are there. Waiting and wondering is the hardest part, but hearing about damage and destruction makes me so, so sad.
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