Checking Hurricane Preparations

2 lawn chairs moved inside off the balcony...check!
1 gallon of water per person per day...check!
1 flashlight with extra batteries...check!
2 cell phones fully charged...check!
Enough packaged food to sustain life for 3 days...check!
1 bathtub filled with water for washing and toilet-flushing...check!
1 refrigerator turned to the coldest setting with resolutions to keep the door shut...check!
1 safe evacuation route leading inland mapped out...well, yes, but!..We loaned our car to our son in Chicago this summer so we have no vehicle to travel that safe evacuation route...oops!  Tim & I will be "sheltering in place" as we ride out the effects of Hurricane Irene. 

The National Hurricane Center's latest projection predicts Hurricane Irene will hit the Virginia coastline around 2 a.m. tomorrow.  Because Washington, D.C. is located within the drainage basin of the Cheaspeake Bay, this area is inland from the coast.  However, Irene may still batter the Washington, D.C. region with high winds, 6-10 inches of rain, and a storm surge.

Washington Sailing Marina

With Tim off from work this afternoon, we decided to bike south along the Potomac River to see what preparations people were making to ride out this storm.  We expected to see lots of people securing their boats at the Washington Sailing Marina, but evidently the owners of these ships have concluded that their boats will simply have to weather the storm.

Potomac River Generating Station

Next on our route was the Potomac River Generating Station which provides electricity for 482,000 homes, including ours.  There we found a line of straw-filled containment booms strung across its water outlet into the Potomac River.  Hopefully, this will moderate the rising tide, minimize damages to the station and prevent a power outage.

Captain's Row

Soon, we came to the city of Alexandria, once a bustling seaport in colonial America.  Today, Old Town Alexandria is a tourist mecca with its 250-year-old cobblestone and brick-paved streets lined with 18th century architecture.  Pictured here is a cobblestoned portion of Prince Street known as Captain's Row which dates back to 1783.  It's hard to tell from this photo, but this street has a 5% incline leading down to the harbor.

Starbucks at King & Union Streets

Old Town Alexandria's main street is King Street where many of those early buildings have been converted to up-scale boutiques and restaurants.  Tourists normally flock to this heart of Old Town Alexandria, but today they were few in number.  Instead we found men were busily sand-bagging the foundation of this Starbucks located at the corner of King and Union streets as well as the nearby Christmas Attic shop.

Christmas Attic in Old Town Alexandria

Emergency notices telling residents how to evacuate this low-lying city were tacked to stop signs.

Virtue Feed & Grain Pub

The Virtue Feed & Grain pub takes its name from its historic building's long-ago life as a feed storehouse.  Its owners were hosting a "hurricane watch party," offering "water" (chicken) wings and $3 shandies, a beer mixed with citrus-flavored soda.  Since we were "driving" our bikes, we bypassed the beer and took a photo of their banner instead.

I wish I would have stopped to take a photo of the mud-flats leading out to these islands just south of the Woodrow Wilson bridge, but alas, I did not.  Later as we passed this spot on our return trip, we were amazed to see how the storm tide had already moved in, completely covering the area. 

Potomac River

That sight motivated us to head for home...

Because, ready or not, Hurricane Irene is headed our way!