We are back in The Woodlands. It doesn't look much different around here today than it did on Sunday. People are starting to get their trees removed and we are waiting our turn - hopefully within the next few days. They are working on the tree across the street right now. The yard is already full of debris and they only have 1/4 of the tree down so far. The whole neighborhood is going to be piled with chopped up pine trees by the end of the week.
We found out quickly after we got back that our neighborhood is one of the lucky few that have power. Less than 10% of the power has been restored and it is spotty. A restaurant on one end of Market Street has power, but the HEB at the other is still running on generators. Grocery shopping was an odd experience. The usually bright and open store was dimly lit and structured to keep shoppers moving in the same direction. I was impressed though, the shelves were surprisingly well stocked, they had a ton of people working, and they were doing a great job getting people in and out.
Gas is still tough to come by. Without power, the gas pumps do not work. The few stations that are open have cars lined up for blocks waiting for gas. One of our cars has a full tank and the other is a little over half full so I'm hoping that we can hold off for a couple days and maybe the lines won't be so bad.
The local channels are still covering Ike all day. Some of the pictures coming out of Galveston are unbelievable... completely wiped out in areas. You can only watch the media coverage for so long though before it starts to drive you nuts. The press conferences are the worst. The reporters are trying to find some dirt for a juicy story to put blame and anger on someone. There are the usual critiques of the government and FEMA, but they'll attack whoever happens to be speaking at the press conference.
So, for now we are home... with power. We had random power outages after Rita, so I wouldn't be surprised if that happens again, but so far so good!
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