ONE month ago...

the guys were making castles in the sand -

the girls were riding bikes


and beach life was perfect in Ocean City.

But if you're watching the Weather Channel today, Ocean City is like a ghost town; only 300 people on the island (because they didn't want to go) and businesses that look like this:




That's right, IRENE is pounding on Ocean City


So here's the scoop - On Thursday with the threat of Irene making her presence in Ocean City and knowing our jet skis and Mom and Dad's boat may not be as secure as we would like AND us wanting to take precautions with windows, doors and the house, Ronnie and I headed to the Eastern Shore with our trailer full of plywood and all the necessary tools. We had already heard there wasn't any plywood to be found on the island and the clock was ticking. If we didn't get in by midnight, we wouldn't be allowed in. The mandatory evacuation was starting at midnight.

We hit the bay bridge around 8:30 -



and honestly, I've never seen so much traffic coming at us. Boats, cars, trucks, RV's, and it seemed really weird to see the OC buses way out there, full of people. Eery. These signs weren't very comforting either....



And this was our 'Welcome' sign -


Once we arrived, it seemed like a normal night at the beach. Less cars/people but still very normal. We picked up a pizza and decided to get some sleep and start our work in the morning.


Before sunrise, we were up. Look how calm the bay looked...


I guess this would be the 'calm before the storm'...

Luckily I had coffee but no food. Once I headed out, it was very difficult to find something open.



Even Hooters was deserted...

I ended up at Dunkin Donuts and was told they were only selling donuts and drinks. Geez.

While I was out, I had to sneak up and check out the beach -




So peaceful....

Ronnie took care of everything he could -





and even had a little fun -



we took one last look and said a prayer. Hopefully all will be well when we get there Friday night.

And on our way out we saw officers going door to door - checking to see who was still here and making notes....

This is what Coastal Highway looked like -







We tried to go down to the inlet but NOPE!, wouldn't let us through -

We did park on a side street and run up to the boardwalk....pretty empty, too.

And the cars have been removed from the Ferris Wheel -

This kinda caught my eye =)

Then we headed out -


and without local identification, no one gets onto the island -

Traffic was a little heavy with these departing signs...



The further we went, the less we saw however this was a scene more than 30 miles away, IRENE is a really big storm -


We must have seen 20 of these trucks heading down to stage...


We arrived home safe and sound and today, we're experiencing just the 'outskirts' of Irene here at home. But, we are tuned into the Weather channel, trying to stay up to date with what's happening in Ocean City praying everything will be ok.

With so many states/cities being impacted, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Irene's path.....