Whew! I was caught outside putting a few extra wood screws into a fence that I thought didn't look sturdy enough when that first feeder band rolled over us. It was just the trailing edge of the storm and it was gone almost as soon as it arrived, a thin pinwheel warning of what was to come. The local news channel said that they measured a wind gust on the beach (we are 2.95 miles from the beach by my map) that was 70 miles per hour. I know exactly which gust they were talking about, it blinded me when I was trying to drive in a screw.

Still, I stayed outside a bit longer, long enough for the whole feeder band to pass. I watched carefully how our defenses held, just to make sure all was well before we bunkered down for the storm. I'll venture out again this evening if I get a dry spell, long enough to grill some tenderloin steaks that mom picked up from the Mediterranean Market on Las Olas Blvd. They have a great selection of organically grown meats, duck, fish, etc; their lobster is quite reasonable.

Hmmm... Perhaps I am thinking a bit too much about dinner.

Everyone is in good spirits because it appears the storm will make landfall quite a bit North. Mostly we are hoping that the power does not go out. Young Daniel is irritated because we always have a chore of some sort for him to do instead of allowing him to retreat to his room to play video games. Well, perhaps irritated is too strong a word. He is quick to help out and it is not hard to make him smile, but he certainly does not relish the opportunity to spend his afternoon in preparation for Hurricane Frances. :)

Dad just came in ; he wants to go over to our sailboat (Mom and Dad live on a 48' Coronado) to see how the lines held during that last feederband. Perhaps I'll bring a camera along to try and get some shots of "Fort Lauderdale Before the Storm"

The 5 o'clock update should be out by now. I'll update my maps and charts, see how things are progressing, write a report for you and then head over to the boat.

Oh, by the way. I think it is fair to remind you that this website is hosted here in my house, not at my commercial facility. We have a Frame Relay T1 line here in our home; if you can't get the website... well... You know what happened. :)

Posted by Michael at September 3, 2004 04:59 PM