isabel blowing

we took apart the greenhouse.  we loaded all the plants from the yard, almost all of them, into the camper cap of the truck, a safer place to ride out a storm. i hope.  we cleared the furniture off the porch.  all the yard furniture is in a pile outside the garage door waiting for us to put it IN the garage tomorrow.  we didn't put it in tonight because it was getting late.  and......our priority was jumping in the car and heading to the beach to wave watch.  so amazing.  not another soul where we were, just the wind, the rolling breakers, the wind  (i'm tempted to write "beneathe my wings" except for how much i hate that song.  but....it really felt as if i could fly, the wind was so strong.), the spray in our faces, the wind.  we walked a while, buffeted and braced.  then we headed into town, hoping obie's would still be open.  of course it wasn't.  no turkey burgers tonight.  everything is closed and boarded up.  hotels have sent people home and closed down.  the only folks on the boardwalk were locals there to wave watch and eat ice cream.  we had thai food, as it's not on the sea front it was still open.  also ice cream.  tv trucks lined up along the curb behind the bandstand, but i didn't see any cameras on the boardwalk.  while we were eating the wind doubled in force and it began to rain.  time to head home, where it's a different movie.  not much wind here, no rain yet.  all is quiet.  what a difference twenty miles makes.  i'm so tired, it's been a hard couple of days.  class has been canceled tomorrow and friday. isabel's gift to us:  a four day weekend.  we'll see what kind of holiday it turns out to be.  i expect power to be out tomorrow night and friday, maybe all weekend.  and that's it for now.  i'm crashing.