While Hurricane Sandy slammed the East Coast, we were high and dry in the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. Our media exposure was limited and while we’d heard there was a big “superstorm” back east, it took us a few days before we understood the impact the storm would have on our route.
Recalculating route… Recalculating route…
Our plan had been to start heading north just east of New Orleans, visit some friends in Atlanta, spend some time in the Smoky Mountains and then head into West Virginia to visit cousins. Because of a miscommunication, it turned out our friends in Atlanta would be out of town about the time we estimated we’d get there. And then along came Sandy and dumped several feet of mid-October snow on our cousins in West Virginia. Much of the region had no power, a lot of damage from fallen trees, and plenty of work to do. Our cousins sent word that they wouldn’t be able to host us under the circumstances and we began to wonder if we would be able to find any campgrounds or even hotels that were operating normally along the remainder of our route.
The wisest decision, all things considered, was to avoid the whole area affected by Sandy as much as possible. We’d stay as far south as possible until we reached the Atlantic coast around Jacksonville, FL before heading north. The new header picture shows our adjusted route.
*Note: This post is intended simply as an update to explain our change in plans. We were thankful to be safely out of range of the storm when it hit and to have the opportunity to change our plans to keep our family safe. This was little more than a minor inconvenience for us. Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones or experienced other significant losses as a result of the storm.