Hurricane Irene

We've been listening to the radio and TV talk about the treacherous Hurricane Irene for a week now, we even discussed putting together an emergency kit, just in case (we didn't actually end up doing it, we didn't even get past discussing a flashlight, but still).  So yesterday, when I went to get some water during work and noticed that the waves were HUGE, it finally set in that we were actually going to experience some effects of the storm.  On a side note, I'd also like to mention that we were told, upon moving to Jacksonville, that hurricanes never hit Jacksonville-so it was nice to find out that that is true....sort of.

Mike and I decided to take Lloyd on a walk at the beach so we could go and check out the waves together and apparently we were not the only ones with this idea!  It looked like a Saturday in summer when we pulled in to the lot, people where everywhere.  It was an amazing thing to see once we got close to the beach though, the tide was so much further in than normal and the waves really were HUGE!  Even bigger than earlier in the day, it was so beautiful!

Serious surf from Hurricane Irene!

This picture does not do justice to how big the surf was or how intense the current was once in the water.  Mike was two feet into the water and it was mid-calf on him, so you can imagine how donkey-legs Lloyd probably felt with that much water!  He freaked out a bit and definitely swallowed some salt water, but otherwise did a great job keeping up with Mike and I, running in and out of the waves as they hit the beach.  Not that we encourage him to get wet or anything...

Scared little bobble-head!

It was just really cool to see the affects of the hurricane as the rains approached and passed Ponte Vedra and Jacksonville.  None of this is to say that we aren't very appreciative that we only got rain from Irene, we are certainly lucky that we didn't actually experience anything hurricane-like in the end.  And our thoughts and prayers are with our family and friends in North Carolina and New York over the next few days as the storm heads north. 

We need an emergency kit....other than wine, what actually goes in one of these?!  :)  A happy and safe weekend to everyone!