Why, oh why, must every Halloween be ruined in New Jersey? We knew it was coming and should have left before Sandy arrived. Seven days after Sandy hit, torn down trees, wrecked our towns, left us without power, we finally left for our planned trip to Delray Beach, Florida. We couldn't get out of New Jersey fast enough. It was rough living like you were camping for seven days. Although we didn't have heat, we did have a generator, but gas was scarce and we had to borrow a gas can. Luckily we have gas (not power) hot water and cooking, so we had steamy showers and nice warm meals as a family to clean out our pantry and refrigerator before the food spoiled. It was something none of us will ever forget, especially since Frankenstorm hit over Halloween the following year and Halloween was canceled as well. Second time is a charm....
Treetops broke in the hurricane winds in our front and back yard. We slept in the hallway and guest room while the hurricane swept through, tossing trees on houses. It was a rough night, but we were lucky the trees landed in the yard and not the house.
Walking around the neighborhood and surrounding roads, it looked like a war zone. Major roads in Wyckoff were blocked and the entire town was without power for a week or more. School was closed the entire week, with make up days added the following week that was supposed to be the New Jersey teachers conference....we were in Florida for those make up days. On day 2, we went into work with Dave because his office in Mahwah never lost power. Tom came in with Andy and the kids had an iPad fest with unlimited charging power!
Warming ourselves by the constant fire. All of our clothes smelled like a campfire with no way to wash clothes. Hand washing all of our dishes was a joy too. We did have a lot of family bonding time, but very little day light and too cold to do much.
A huge tree from a neighbors yard ended up in our yard. We cut quite a bit of it and burned most of the sticks that fell during the storm. It was an all day affair...with Gregg, Ariadne, Lexi and Gregg's dad over to help. Ben and Lily dropped by for a while too. It was nice to finally have friends over again.
PJ's all day and snuggled up to the fire. We made it out each day to find some warmth; one day to Ridgewood for haircuts and lunch and another day to the movies to see Wreck it Ralph. Distractions were needed to keep our sanity. Plus, we were on a hunt for gasoline for the generator! Gas was scarce in the Northern New Jersey area, otherwise, I would have driven out of here!
Olivia was on her "Blue Tongue Skink" rant...as in, she wanted one. She and Zach researched what a skink needs, then she drew one and listed all the things needed to keep a blue tongue skink alive and happy. She's a tenacious one.......
Zach took up the cause as well. Sorry kids, no more creatures in our house. The frogs and Kobe are enough. Feed him.
Electrical cords from the generator...this was our life for a week! We had to step over these cords...or trip in the dark, burn candles, cook by battery powered lanterns, you name it, we did it. Camping in your own house. Luckily, the housecleaner came while we were away in Florida and our return was wiped clean of any of this mess. Thank you Margaret...
My doll all snuggled and bedazzled up after her shower.
We had to stand in line and show our drivers license to prove we were Wyckoff residents before we could gas us a 5-gan can. Is this a third world country? None of the stations had generators to power the pumps for the first few days. We waited in a car line in another city for 35 minutes earlier in the week. Ugh.
We fought bored with a walk around our deserted town. No power, no cars, no people at Dunkin Donuts...that's a first.
At last, Monday arrived and we were off to LaGuardia for our flight to Florida. Can you tell we are happy? So long, New Jersey!
Let the party begin! Olivia is on the hunt for lizards....and the lizards know it!
Sandy hit south Florida before it came to New Jersey, but on a smaller scale, so the beach washed out into the ocean a little bit. It made for a beautiful, shallow beach entry with the fish swimming close to the shore.
Jordon's sister, Amanda and husband, James, live in Delray Beach as well. Jordan and Cindy were down for a visit too!
James played with the kids all day and taught Zach to surf (in the calm water).
Oh no, he's buried!
Working hard on their castle.
Jen and Dave...happy to be on the beach!
Jen, Amanda, and Cindy Loth
Olivia and Jordan
Amanda and James
Delray Beach
Bathing suits beat out thermals any day!
Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who gets buried in the sand.
Zach "surfing"
An ice cream treat from Doc's
On to the Animal Safari the next day......lions, rhinos and ostriches, oh my!
After the drive through, with the kids driving our rental car :-), we walked around the park. What a great find! More animals, games and rides....and it was not crowded on a November weekday!
Petting Zoo
Bird house...he and Jordan spent a lot of time here, waiting on the parakeets to land on their finger. It was a no-go, but we did see a bird injured and was being beaten up by another bird. It was traumatic to all of us:-(
Giraffe feeding time! They love their lettuce.
A ride over the pond
Putt putt, but Olivia didn't want to play
Power sail boats
Paddle boats
More rides
The putt putt course was quite fun
Two peas in a pod
Swimming and lizard capturing at Aunt Kim's pool. Jordan spent the day and evening with us while Cindy met up with some old friends from Florida. All of the kids were exhausted from their adventure of a day:-)
Olivia and Zach swimming in the heated pool...as Kim and I read and relaxed. Dave had a marketing conference to attend in Sarasota, but was back for more fun later in the week.
They found the "turderken"
At the Delray playground, she's on the hunt to "lasso" a lizard. We met more displaced New Jersey'ites at the park.
Ben & Jerry's was calling our name. Aunt Kim is officially on vacation with us.
BBQ & beer and we are set
Dave's back to enjoy some vacation time as well. It's official, we are all happy and relaxed.
A windy day on the beach, but they still built a fort.
Kim stayed behind as we visited the animal sanctuary across the street. Good choice, Kim.
Oh, so happy to be in Florida. I love these kids!
