What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? *Goodbyes* 12/17 p.114

[mrsksomeday]

I am the electronics "geek" for the house and the "pack mule" for most excursions too. Eh.....its a living. Lucklily they were fairly generous with the orders and the timing, so I could help with the moving and setting up in Norfolk (VA Beach more likely). Plus I wouldn't want to have Carissa suffer without Internet and HDTV, she can get a little grumpy! Just kidding...she is quite capable...she just gets a smidgen frustrated with all the cables and connectors.

Hi Chuck, I love TR's with the he said/she said theme, I hope you post more!! As you can tell we love Carissa!!

 

[torsie24]

Count me in!!! LOVE your toes!!!

Hope you weren't tornado magnets!

 

[carissanboys]

Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome for Chuck. Hopefully he'll check in tonight and see your replies.

There used to be one right on the Oceanic base but a few years ago they built a nice new big one just down the street so it is not officially on the base but close enough.

Cool! See - I knew you'd know!

YAY!! A chapter on the Education of Hand Dryers! KAR! Thanks for mentioning that you saw them at Green airport. i know i saw them somewhere and couldnt figure out where. now i know!

Hi Chuck, I love TR's with the he said/she said theme, I hope you post more!! As you can tell we love Carissa!!

Awwww - thanks Tracy!

Count me in!!! LOVE your toes!!!

Hope you weren't tornado magnets!

A new installment will be up shortly.

 

[liznboys]

Aw, Oreo is so cute!
That looks like the stack of DVD's we take!
Too funny about the hand dryer.


Hi Chuck!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Just wanted to say a quick HI to Chuck! Nice to have the hubby's perspective...I think! LOL!

He's a step ahead of Jeff..he only posts on my PTR using my screen name. Maybe Chuck can convince him to get his own...from one electronics "geek" to another!

 

[carissanboys]

So, we were in Virginia and the weather started to turn on us. Around the time we began to get hungry and thought about stopping for dinner, the rain was coming down pretty good.

Who can guess where we stopped to eat??? If you know me at all (or have read my other TR), you'll know the answer!

We always eat at Cracker Barrel when we're traveling. We stopped at one in Emporia, Virginia. We were seated immediately, but it took a while for our server to get to us. He was a nice guy, but things definitely took longer than normal for this meal. I think we were there for a total of an hour, which is pretty long for us. The restaurant wasn't very busy and we're fast eaters!

I took a couple of pictures while we waited for our food.

Owen took this next one for me. I really wanted a picture, but was kind of embarrassed to take one.

Finally our food arrived! Chuck and I both got one of their new skillets. I didn't get a picture of Chuck's, but I got the Chicken Mushroom Skillet - it was super yummy.

With our bellies once again full, it was time to get back on the road! We crossed over the border into North Carolina. Hi Liz!!

The weather was getting worse. I think Stitch was getting a little worried.

So was I!

Here is a short video I took when we were driving through the worst of the weather. It wasn't super bad - I only saw lightning once and it was mainly pouring rain. But, there was something very eery about the sky. Not sure how well you can hear me on the video.



And then shortly after the rain stopped and it looked like this:

I tried to take this next one because of the pretty blossoms, but it came out blurry.

We drove for a little while enjoying the signage in North Carolina (the next installment will have more about those). Then up ahead we noticed what we always dread seeing on our trip - traffic stopped.

We were right at the exit for Hope Mills so we decided to get off and see if we could find a way around. Immediately after exiting, we noticed lots of tree limbs all over the place, but it was only in a localized area. Once we got past a certain point, there was no damage. We immediately thought - tornado.

This is a picture I took when we got off the exit. I got a lot of reflection from the windshield so you probably can't make it out very well.

Owen said he saw a couple of cars pushed up against a tree, but I'm not sure if that's true (seems totally plausible though!). We decided to just get back on 95.

There was lots of debris covering the on ramp and along 95. We were pretty sure we were seeing the path of a tornado. At one point you could see where it had been across the highway - then a bunch of trees along the median were damaged - and finally where it had crossed back over to our side. I decided to call my parents and see if they could tell me anything (I never thought to turn on the radio!).

They were able to find out that a tornado had indeed touched down repeatedly on that stretch of 95 and hit Hope Mills.

I took this video shortly after talking to my parents the first time (they had more details when they called back later):



We eventually passed by this tractor trailer truck that had been turned over by the tornado (sorry the pictures aren't great - combination of a moving vehicle and me being in awe):

We found out later the driver was fine - thankfully no one was killed by the tornado.

Can you see the small, orange light above? That was on the other side of 95 and was a fire. It was actually pretty large, but it's far away. That's how we could tell the tornado had started over there and crossed over.

We thought once we got past the truck that traffic would pick up again. But, it turns out there was another area where the tornado had touched down and they had to remove many huge trees from the road. When we got there they were all on the side of the road and again - it was just a truly amazing site to see. And even more amazing that no one had been hurt or killed!

We felt very lucky to have missed the tornado. And with all of the adrenaline rushing through my body, my migraine went away!

Here's a link I posted in my PTR about the tornado:

http://chatham.mync.com/site/Chatha...-mills-residents-deal-with-tornado-aftermath/

Oh - and the reason for the title of this installment? On our last trip we encountered a pretty bad storm on our arrival day while we were at Magic Kingdom. I overheard a CM mention a tornado watch for the area and it totally freaked me out. There's just something about us and tornadoes!

Up Next - What Did Pedro Call Me???

 

[Charleston Princess]

Wow!!! That is super scary about the tornado! They are my WORST fear -- I just hate them or even the thought of them. Anytime we are under a tornado watch I just freak out, and if the sirens go off in our area, I almost throw up from fear. That tractor trailer on its side is unbelievable!

Cracker Barrel is a great place to eat -- in retrospect it was probably a good thing you were there so that you weren't on the road when the tornado kept crossing over.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Scary stuff! So glad that you guys missed the tornadoes!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

HOLY MOLY!! How scary! It really is a blessing that Cracker Barrel was running slow that night. You may have been right in the middle of that.

I totally understand what you mean about the sky not being right. I have been in two tornado situations and both times the sky just looked "wrong". The color was just not normal and you can almost feel that something isn't quite right.

I'm so glad that you and Chuck and the boys made it through safely! Now on to WDW!!

 

[carissanboys]

Aw, Oreo is so cute!
That looks like the stack of DVD's we take!
Too funny about the hand dryer.


Hi Chuck!

She is a cute kitty. She sure missed her boys! She loves to sneak into Owen and Connor's room and sleep with them at night. She felt like she'd lost weight during her time at the kennel. That doesn't surprise me because she tends to go on a hunger strike when we're gone.

Just wanted to say a quick HI to Chuck! Nice to have the hubby's perspective...I think! LOL!

He's a step ahead of Jeff..he only posts on my PTR using my screen name. Maybe Chuck can convince him to get his own...from one electronics "geek" to another!

Wow!!! That is super scary about the tornado! They are my WORST fear -- I just hate them or even the thought of them. Anytime we are under a tornado watch I just freak out, and if the sirens go off in our area, I almost throw up from fear. That tractor trailer on its side is unbelievable!

Cracker Barrel is a great place to eat -- in retrospect it was probably a good thing you were there so that you weren't on the road when the tornado kept crossing over.

Last year we had a tornado touch down in the area and for the first time ever I heard the siren go off here on base. Totally freaked me out. I turned on the TV and saw that there was a tornado, but I don't think anyone was hurt. I've had nightmares about them before!

Yes - we said that a few times about how our server was watching out for us. We probably missed the tornado by about an hour or so.

Scary stuff! So glad that you guys missed the tornadoes!

Me too!

 

[jcc0621]

Wow! I would have been terrified. How were the kids with it?

 

[MeMom]

Glad you guys missed all that mess and were safely tucked away inside the Cracker Barrel enjoying a good meal.

I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of happy times and good weather pictures coming up!

 

[carissanboys]

HOLY MOLY!! How scary! It really is a blessing that Cracker Barrel was running slow that night. You may have been right in the middle of that.

I totally understand what you mean about the sky not being right. I have been in two tornado situations and both times the sky just looked "wrong". The color was just not normal and you can almost feel that something isn't quite right.

I'm so glad that you and Chuck and the boys made it through safely! Now on to WDW!!

I know! We still haven't gotten to our hotel that first night!

Wow! I would have been terrified. How were the kids with it?

The boys were watching a movie when we were going through the bad weather and were pretty much oblivious. By the time we told them that we were seeing the after effects of a tornado, they realized the danger was gone and I think they were in awe like me looking at the damage.

Glad you guys missed all that mess and were safely tucked away inside the Cracker Barrel enjoying a good meal.

I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of happy times and good weather pictures coming up!

I can't wait until we get to Disney World!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Last year we had a tornado touch down in the area and for the first time ever I heard the siren go off here on base. Totally freaked me out. I turned on the TV and saw that there was a tornado, but I don't think anyone was hurt. I've had nightmares about them before!

The sound of the siren is nightmarish in and of itself! I have horrible dreams about tornadoes.

Thank goodness you stopped for dinner!

 

[liznboys]

Wow, that is scary!! That tipped truck says it all. I'm so glad your timing was what it was!

 

[k_reile]

I am the electronics "geek" for the house and the "pack mule" for most excursions too. Eh.....its a living. Lucklily they were fairly generous with the orders and the timing, so I could help with the moving and setting up in Norfolk (VA Beach more likely). Plus I wouldn't want to have Carissa suffer without Internet and HDTV, she can get a little grumpy! Just kidding...she is quite capable...she just gets a smidgen frustrated with all the cables and connectors.

I'd be grumpy with out my DVR...what did we ever do before DVR...had crappy VCR's i guess!

 

[k_reile]

Glad you safely missed the tornadoes. I love cracker barrel. I always get the grilled cheese on the sourdough bread with tomato and bacon. MMMM....I don't get to go often even though there is one in the next town bc DH is not a big fan....he'd rather have a steak meal somewhere. I think I love it bc my great uncle used to own a resturant called the Bean Pot in Crossville, TN and it is like an individually owned cracker barrel. We used to go visit alot when I was younger and I remember he had a piano that could play itself. Thought that was soo cool!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wow! I was thinking the same thing everyone else said... Good thing that waiter took so long at Cracker Barrel! I'm glad you guys weren't caught in the middle of the tornado! Scary!

 

[moparop]

Yikes! How scary to see all that tornado destruction on your drive. I definitely would have been freaking out. Good thing you guys like Cracker Barrel, if you had been a fast food eater, you would have been really in the thick of it.

Hoping the roads clear up soon so there is smooth sailing!

 

[Goofster57]

Welcome Aboard Chuck.......
Get it "Aboard"...
just a little Navel humor...
OK very little....

Nice update Carissa,
Glad you guys missed the Tornado.

You embarrassed to take a picture of the chair cover???? I find that hard to believe.