Many of you know I’m on emergency standby for FEMA disaster call-up and was recently down in New Orleans for Isaac. But on the Sunday before Sandy hit, I was on a plane to Washington, DC, not knowing where the storm would hit. Monday night I rode out the storm in a hotel and watched the driving wind and rain – just like you see on the Weather channel.

Wednesday, we were told “Drive to New York” (5 hours). Where in NY? Don’t know – just get there!

Wednesday afternoon in New Jersey, but with no electricity, gas, and essentials we take for granted, I tried getting into Manhattan. I discovered my smartphone didn’t work – and that meant no GPS. Driving through flooded streets in Hoboken, I got thoroughly lost trying to get to the George Washington bridge – all the tunnels into Manhattan were flooded.

I was concerned. All around me people were standing on the sidewalk in a daze, trying to see the damage of flooding. The intersections were all flooded and I didn’t think my rental car could safely get through – I’d wait for another car to see if it could make it, then follow.

By now the shadows were getting long and with each passing hour simply didn’t know if I’d be stuck sleeping in my car for the night. But helpful people gave directions and I made it over for a quick inspection, then got back to New Jersey.

Now to find a hotel – impossible! Most hotels were evacuated (no power) or were overbooked by displaced people. With spotty cell coverage, I called Leslie. A long story short, she spoke to her brother (who had pastored a church near Princeton University) and I spent the night in the home of an American Airlines pilot (who had the only electricity in the area).

Now after a week of doing inspections from Central Park down to the Battery (lowest point south – the Wall Street area) I’m driving like a NY cabbie! To me, the very narrow residential streets (all one way) down canyons of 10-30 story apartment buildings is a bit different than driving around Ventura County, but people are people and I’ve been given a lot of slack trying to get around.

Then the blizzard hit yesterday! Just what these folks needed…

But that’s for another post. I’m off to work again!