persistence - whether the weather

well, after leaving williamsburg i headed south on highway 60. south/east. when i left the winds and rain were just starting up there. eventually i made it to the hampton roads bridge-tunnel, that was awesome. many of the bridges that cross the bay or rivers down here are part tunnel part bridge. the bridges are low to the water and the tunnels span just enough space to allow for water traffic to pass safely.

honestly, i dont understand how things like this are built? how does someone build a tunnel underwater - do they part the water way to lay a foundation or something, is the tunnel resting on the floor of the bay or suspended somehow? i thought about these things and the pressure that must be on the tunnel as i went through it. something that didnt help my thoughts was the worsening storm and the violent waves that were crashing into the bridge from the bay. i was a bit scared, thinking the few minutes i was in the tunnel that at any moment pressure would break a seam and water would start pouring in, cars and trucks would swerve and crash creating a wall which we couldnt get through. running would do no good as the seams split wider and more water came cascading in. drowned in the tunnel of man under the chesapeake bay.

but that didnt happen.

i made it through okay, and shortly after crossing i was in norfolk. the visitors center was just on the other side and i stopped there. i parked and sat in the truck for a moment while the winds whipped my little vehicle and it was pounded by rain. i got out and fought against the wind into the visitors center. there were two ladies in there and i really enjoyed talking to them. going to visitors centers are really a fun thing because the ladies (usually it is ladies) there generally have a bunch of random information that they are at the ready to share - really thats why they are there.

the lady that helped me gave me a number of ideas of things to do while i was in town, provided that the weather would let up. and there was no sign of that

the chesapeake bay!

happening. i left there and continued on 60, called ocean view blvd now. i stopped when i saw the ocean and (stupid or not) i got out. i walked, or fought my way, across the street to the beach. the waves were crashing into the shore and the wind was like nothing i had ever felt. i stood facing the water and was fighting for each step forward. i couldnt stand too long facing the wind because the waterlogged sand was being whipped all around and in my face. i took a picture with my back to the water and the camera over my head. then i hightailed back to my truck.

i sat in my truck for awhile planning my next move. i would do this for more or less the next 36 hours. i decided to head into downtown and look for something to do. what i came up with was seeing a movie, it had been awhile since i had been to the theatre and what better time to be there? the closest theatre/only one i could find was also in a large mall. this generally doesnt lend itself well to sneaking in and i agreed with myself beforehand that if there were at least two movies i wanted to see i would pay for one and see the other for free.

but when i got there there werent any good movies. i went to the barnes and noble in the mall and read some of their books and magazines and then went to get my computer to charge it in the mall. while i was charging my computer a lady came up to me and started talking. i took off my headphones and listened to her. she lad lost her power cord for her laptop and asked if she could use mine for a little bit. i told her that they arent all interchangeable, but she took out her computer and my cord worked. she asked if she could run an errand and leave her computer with me. i was amazed, but said yes.

i thought about just walking away with her computer, but i didnt. when she came back (about twenty minutes later) we talked some more. she told me that she had recently gotten the computer as a gift and that today was her birthday. then she showed me some pictures that her daughter had made for her and told me about her daughter. i thought it was nice that she was so trusting and was happy that i didnt actually act on the impulse to steal her computer. i dont know how serious i was about it anyway.

she left shortly after that and i did too. i went back to my truck and decided it was time to find a place to park for the night. i drove up granby street and found a nice street with no large trees or power lines, near some new condos, and parked. luckily it also had internet so i got in the back of my truck, used the internet for a minute then watched a movie and went to bed.

by now it had been raining for at least 12 hours, with heavy winds. there wasnt any flooding yet, but my truck has started to take on water again. i fixed this before i left portland by caulking around all of the bolts and painting the roof of the bed shell. i used an outdoor weatherproofing that is normally for wood, but it seemed to work well for what i was doing. when i was in nebraska/south dakota i hit a heavy hail storm and this dented my truck quite a bit and started to make the weatherproofing flake off. now - after long rain - drips start to form on my roof, inside.

they arent very bad drips, maybe a drip every minute or so - it adds up. luckily they are near the rear of the bed so it isnt that bad. but, also, everything is damp in there from the condensation on the windows and aluminum frame. it isnt miserable and it isnt really uncomfortable, but it is something to be concerned about. especially since there was much more rain planned. i slept until around eight in the morning, but it was still raining outside and i had nowhere to go. so i propped up, grabbed a book and started reading. i sat back there reading for about three hours and then went into the cab where i plugged in my computer and used the internet for another hour or so.

then i decided to head off, i was going to go back downtown towards the mall. there was a wireless cafe that i saw down there and i figured it would be nice to be inside for awhile - or all day. i started driving down granby and went through a large puddle. i was nervous because one of the things i remember from my childhood is: one time me, my mom and my brother (maybe others) were driving after a storm, the windows were down and my mom wanted to get us wet so she drove our taurus station wagon through a large puddle and the car stalled out. this was before cell phones so we walked to a pay phone and called someone to come get us.

i couldnt afford to have my truck stall in a mini lake (which is what had formed over night) so i went through the first one which was long but maybe only 3/4 tire deep - not that bad. i continued on and came to a larger deeper lake and tried to go around it but there wasnt a great way around it and when i go most of the way around it i realized that i was headed towards downtown, towards the bay, towards more flooding most likely. so i got smart and drove right back to where i was parked. it was nice there, the street wasnt flooded at all, and like i said, no large trees or power lines or anything else that could crush my truck.

so i sat there, charging my computer and reading, for another hour or so. the rain

this tree was being uprooted...

and wind was only getting worse. so, like an idiot, i decided i would take a walkabout to see where i could get to and what was around. i made it about a block, a tree was threatened to be uprooted, and i was already soaked. but, i did see a restaurant i could go sit and eat at for awhile. since i didnt have anything on me i walked back to my truck and drove the one and a half blocks to the restaurant. then i sat there for about two hours. and when i was done i drove my truck right back to where it had been.

i used the internet for awhile again and then decided to leave on foot again, while my computer charged, to survey the nearby damage. i figured i could go for about a half hour, i was already soaked and smelled like a wet dog and at least i could get some pictures. i walked a block over to monticello and found that street to be impassable on foot. the water was all the way up to the building, and a couple inches deep by the buildings. i didnt want to wlak through that. in the distance i could see cars submerged over the hood. i wanted to get closer.

i walked about two blocks to get around the impasse and eventually came back out on monticello. there was a building with an awning that i stood under for awhile. i was at an intersection, across from me was a closed gas station that had the pumps submerged about 1/4 of the way. the intersection itself was a lake and to the east and south it was even deeper. this was where the cars were submerged over the hood. i watched someone with a truck pull a car that had stalled in the middle of the intersection through it. then, in the deep part to the east, where i could see two cars that were mostly submerged i watched two more cars try to drive through it. one right after the other.

and each of them stalled out in the middle of the lake. i couldnt beleive it. one the the people just sat in the car. the other person got out and in thigh deep water walked to shore. i asked him if he was okay and then he called someone. i walked on to see if i could get further down monticello but it was futile. i walked a few more blocks but there wasnt a way to walk without going under water. although

the guy that is getting out, in the background, submerged cars.

i was soaked to the bone, i didnt want to go to that next level. so i walked back to the bad intersection. the guy had walked back through the water to his truck, opened the door and water flooded in. then he sat in his car and a truck came to help him.

it was a big truck, and it drove into the deep part of the lake, in front of him, and it was submerged almost up to the hood. they tied the car to the truck and pulled the car to the far side, through the water. the car mustve been floating for a little bit of it, becasue in the very middle it wouldve been almost completely submerged. then i walked back to my truck.

my computer was charged by then so i jumped in back and watched a movie for a couple hours. when i was done with that, now about 19 hours in my truck or within a quarter mile of it, i got back in front and read for awhile while i recharged my computer. i used the internet for a minute but then the power went out. it came back on pretty quick, and then went out again for good. it has been about twenty hours since then and the power is still out there. over 150,000 homes are without power right now.

so, no more internet. but i kept the charge up, read some more, and then around 7:pm i went for another walkabout. directly in front of me, across the street, a tree had come down and was blocking half the street. it was dark, no streetlights, and many cars didnt see the tree and ran right into it/through it. i tried to take some photos of it, but my camera doesnt work so well in the night. i walked back over to monticello but i couldnt make it as far as i had before becasue the sidewalks had been taken over by water. i could see more cars stranded in the intersection. i walked up monticello in the other direction where there were still some lights.

i stopped into one of the few businesses that was open and had a little bite to eat, but while i was in there the power went out and we all got kicked out - they were closing. as i was walking back to my truck it was complete darkness, heavy winds and rain, and huge puddles all around. to cross streets i would have to get into the street 30 feet from the intersection to miss the puddles. luckily i had my flashlight to shine at the oncoming cars so they didnt run me down. i got back in my truck for about an hour while my computer went to complete charge.

i wrote this as an outline to my story sometime last night: " sirens all around, i am sitting in my truck - going on 24 hours now - streets to the south north and east of me are flooded. ironically those are also the directions of major waterways. directly in front of me is a downed tree. the major streets are flooded waist high, cars are nearly completely submerged. i am okay. i have been out in it a few times, to stretch my legs or survey the damage. the rain has slowed down now but the power is still out on all the streets around me. the wind is still very gusty, luckily i am not parked near any large trees. there is still lightning, but no discernable thunder - maybe the sirens drown that out. this isnt supposed to clear up for another 36 hours or so, but i wil try to head further south tomorrow, race to the end of the storm."

then, around nine, i went back in back and watched another movie. afterwards i went to sleep in my damp dank hole. no lights around and nature taking some revenge. i hoped that my truck would hold up and that a car would crash into me in the night or a tree fall on me or something of the sort. i didnt fall asleep easily.

i woke up this morning around 6:30am and it was STILL raining. i sat in my truck again for a few hours. i listened to a "this american life" podcast and just sat there. mostly naked, above the covers. the cold air whipped through the truck and i was happy to at least be inside. periodically i would try to look out the windows but they were all impossible to see through. the leaks hadnt gotten any worse - they even seemed to be a bit better, but the windows and aluminum were thick with condensation, it wasnt a very comfortable place. but, again, it wasnt terribly uncomfortable. i have been in worse. maybe not worse weather, but worse situations.

eventually the rain eased up and i put back on my saoked clothes (i opted not to put on anything dry but socks and underwear, because i would just get soaked again) and went into the front of the truck. i sat there, again, for an hour or so. charging my computer, and then i decided to see how the roads were. they were better. i wanted to find a coffee shop where i could sit and use internet and just be for awhile. i headed downtown to the one i had seen two nights ago. it was closed, most places were closed "due to inclement weather." i found a market and got some fresh hot bread and fruit for lunch. then i kept on looking for a coffee shop, or somewhere.

most of the starbucks were open, but i didnt want to go there. they make you pay for internet and have bad expensive coffee. i drove around, slow, for about an hour. i pulled into all the minimalls i could because i couldnt see so well and drove around their parking lots. eventually i acquiesced. i saw a starbucks and turned into a parking lot across the street. but! that parking lot was for a small independent coffee shop! yes. so, i parked and went in there.

i shouldve figured the scene when i got up here, but i didnt. i walked in and the line was about ten people deep. all of the seats were filled and about ten people were sitting on the floors, another ten people standing, all near outlets. because most places around here didnt have power all these folks were here to charge theri phones and use the internet! i waited in line, periodically stepping out to see if a chair opened up that i could claim. no luck. eventually i got my coffee and just waited for someone to get up. i didnt wait long. but the outlets i was near were two prong, and i needed a three prong!

luckily i had a few hours charge on my computer and over the next two hours i played musical chairs getting closer and closer to a good outlet and once i got one i parked my ass there and have now been here about three hours. it is awesome. i will probably stay here in norfolk another night - the storm is supposed to clear up friday night and it is supposed to be sunny this weekend. then i will head to corth carolina, and the outer banks. hopefully the good weather they predict is for true!