Ben’s Blog

Dateline: Grand Rapids, MI.  Yesterday we had intense weather - hale wiped out miles of farmer’s fields, rain flooded streets and basements and winds snapped trees like toothpicks.  I left work during one of the lulls in the storm so that I could take Bailey to the vet, but was unable to make it to the vet’s office because the highway was shutdown due to a power line that fell, covering all lanes of traffic.  On the way home I called the office to offer a ride to others who had to walk a fair distance home or to their cars and then headed home to see what damage laid in my yard.  First, there was a tree blocking the entrance to my street but luckily there is another back way into our subdivision.  Luckily everything around my house was OK - jut very very wet.

Holly and I were both home now, both fearing the potential of flooding in our back yard and into our basement.  The creek/drainage ditch in that runs through our back yard goes from an inch of trickling water to a 3 foot deep river with raging current any time we get a fair amount of rain, and with almost 5 inches of rain in 5 hours we were well past a fair amount.  I had to pull my bridge away first because the water was getting close to washing it away, and then we watched, and waited all night.  5 years ago our basement flooded and the damage left behind was unimaginable - the worst is the fear that is left behind that rises every time it rains.  So long as the creek is moving we are OK, but the amount of rain was just too much and soon the water rose to within 15′ from our basement sliding glass door.

The creek that is normally 3-4′ wide was now over 30′ wide, wiping out landscaping and my garden.  The water peaked around 11:30 and then slowly went down - so crisis was averted, but we still spent hours cleaning the basement making sure nothing important was going to get damaged when the rain came.  For the first time in 5 years I was certain the basement was going to flood - the good thing is that I can be reasonably sure that we are safe in the future…if we were going to take on water it would have happened yesterday.

Here is a quick before and after:

Before:

After:

Wow, I am lagging behind when it comes to keeping the blog up to date…so today you get a two-fer.

First post - catching up on last weekend. In a last minute decision I decided to skip going to the cabin in lieu of driving the Upper Peninsula to help Mark bring home his classic Jaguar that has been parked in the barn for the winter. Since I drove it up there late last fall and now home I think I have put more miles on it than Mark has in the last year. This overnight trip also coincided with the 2008 car show in St. Ignace so I was able to check that out at the same time.

This was a quick 28 hour trip - we left Friday afternoon and made it to the campground after a 5 hour or so drive, headed into St. Ignace only to be washed out by rain before the big parade began so we headed back to the camper to drink beer around the campfire while dodging rain drops. We had an unusual mix of people around the campfire so the conversation was lively and entertaining. I drank enough beer to make sleeping on the floor of the camper possible, but woke up feeling like a quadriplegic (no offense to quadriplegics, of course.)

(which one of the above don’t belong? Seriously…I think some people enter their cars just for good parking.)

Once everyone was up and around we headed back to St. Ignace to walk through the car show - I’ve been to the show multiple years and I am always amazed by the dedication people put into this hobby. I would love to own a classic car, but I am not sure I want to have a hobby car that handled with kid gloves and can’t be driven freely or enjoyed like other transportation. Holly will be glad to hear that this is one purchase I am not looking to make. If someone has an extra car laying around however, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down. After a terrible weather forecast and crazy storms in the straits area the weather turned out great and the attendance at the show grew exponentially as the day went on.

Once we made a couple passes up and down main street it was time to head back to the camper, pack up and head to Pickford to pick up the jag. With a little coaxing the car started up and was back on the road in no time. We took advantage of running water while at the house, got cleaned up and then ate at Big D’s in Pickford before getting back on the road. (Side note: if you find yourself in Pickford, MI you should try the worker’s breakfast at Big D’s - you won’t be disappointed, all the food is excellent and fairly priced.)

I took my time heading home - a scenic route for sure but I made it back in 6 hours and early enough to watch the original SNL episode with George Carlin. I even stopped at the scenic park by the bridge since I never stopped there before. All in all, it was a good trip but must have taken a serious toll on me as I fell asleep during the Sunday morning news on CBS after the story on removal of the pistol ban in Washington DC and didn’t wake up until after noon. Don’t worry - I have the DVR set to record the news program so I didn’t miss a thing.