Irma's arrived in SC 9'17

The first bands from Irma have arrived.

    As predicted she is delivering heavy bands of rains and of strong gusts of wind

But what is more unnerving is the storm surge that she is bringing in right at high tide.

I (CC) was scheduled to start work at noon today in HBSP (... right at high tide),  but to get to work I have to drive across a  causeway between the fresh and saltwater marshes.

By the time I arrived, the tidal surge had raised the level of the saltwater marsh to even with the level of the top of the causeway.  Sure enough, twenty minutes after I settled in at the rangers office,  the Park's ranger on duty burst into the office to say that the tidal surge had spilled over the causeway and was blocking that exit.

She told us to grab our gear and follow her out of the park across the one-lane Carriage Road that was built in the 1930s.  

That evacuation route might be even scarier than getting stuck in the park overnight. 

On one side of that very narrow road is Mullet Pond.

On the other is an equally scary unnamed swap.

Both are filled with some of the largest alligators in SC. 

 It is not an evacuation road you want to make a wrong turn on.

Condition of MP Homes on Sept 10 17 :Before Irma

Irma's impact on the Master's Place homes was negligible.  Only minor cleanup of leaf litter was needed after the storm.  

Never-the-less, people worry about the condition of their homes when they are not there to see what is going on. I (CC) took photos documenting the condition of the east end portions of Master's Place homes  early on Monday morning, Sept 10th, before Irma could be felt, and again on Tuesday morning September 11th right after she had passed; then the third set on September 12th (Wednesday morning) after the Amazing Blades cleanup crews had gone through. They say a photo is worth a thousand words so, here are the before pictures. 

Conditions on Sept. 10 Before Irma

108-4 front

108-4 east side

Units 108-2, 108-3, 108-4 front

Units 108 4,108-3, 108-2 rear

Units 1081,108-2,108-3 front

Units 108-3, 108-2 rear

Units 108-1, 108-2 front

Units 108-1 rear

Units 113-3/4 and 141-1 front

Units 113 3/4 rear

Units 141-1, 141-2, 141-3 front

Units 141-1, 141-2 rear

unit 141-3 front

Units 141-3, 141-4 front

Units 141-3,141-4, 141-5 rear

Units 141-5, 141-6 front

Units 141-4, 141-5-141-6 rear

Unit 141-6 rear east side

See next  two posts for:
Conditions  of units on the morning of September 12th after Irma passed
and
Conditions  of units on Sept 13th after the cleanup

Update on Irma Forecast for SC: 8'17

Since then the models have shown it shifting so that it will move inland, with the major coastal impact to South Carolina occurring near the Georgia South Carolina border. Accordingly, our South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has issued a mandatory evacuation for barrier islands of Beaufort County, Colleton County, and Jasper County. 

The rest of the coastline looks relatively safe. We are now planning on riding the hurricane out at home, but are still watching the models and path of the storm, and have everything ready to go in case we have to leave suddenly. 

Just because we won't take a direct hit, doesn't mean that we are out of the woods we won't see some damage. As of this morning, winds for this area are expected to get up to 40MPH with rainfall between 2" to 4". Those winds are about what we had last year with Matthew. We could have done just fine without boarding up last year. But remember, the current estimates for this area are being made based on the models which currently project the storm's path to take Irma inland through Columbia. If the high off our coast shifts east, the storm could move a lot closer to us, and get a lot stronger. We will probably have to wait until Irma makes landfall in Florida to really know if the current projected storm path holds true, or if it changes to our disadvantage.

Storm surge is a different matter. Pretty sure there is going to be significant tidal damage to all the ocean facing properties and barrier islands, I don't think the tidal surge will reach our units, but I wouldn't be surprised if it reaches the properties at the end of our street.

Since Irma will drop a lot of rainfall inland. We will also see a lot of delayed flooding along the midlands and low country river communities (just like we did last year). The Waccamaw is already at flood stage (from last months rains)so getting around on the country roads and even on portions of Hywy 17 will definitely be a challenge for awhile.

I also suspect that we might not be able to get in or out of the plantation not only due to flooded streets but because of broken trees limbs. It took the POA almost a full year to get the vegetative debris from Matthew cleaned up, now we might have to start all over. As far as structural damage to our places from falling trees, I don't think we need to worry about tree damage in the front of our units since the HOA removed the trees in our front yards. If a tree snaps in back. and falls on our unit, I don't think have the windows boarded will help much, so we will just hope that doesn't happen.

Aaaaack! Hurricaine Irma Forecast: 8:17

Irma is being projected to hit us dead on as a Cat 4 or Cat 5 Hurricaine.

That's is total devastation level, so we are preparing to evacuate. 

Burger King: 8'17

Bruce makes a better burger than any we've ever had eating out.

Truly gourmet!

Solar eclipse party at HBSP: 8 '17

The day of the long anticipated solar eclipse has finally arrived.  

Cece is celebrating it at South Carolina's Huntington Beach State Park, 

along with several thousand people who flocked to the park to watch the event. Every parking spot and empty piece of grass was taken, and the beach was packed with people wearing funny looking glasses.

As the sunlight faded and the temperature began to drop,  a strange hush fell over the park.

The ibis and stork flew into the trees to roost,  the forest birds stopped calling, and most importantly all human sounds ceased.  

It didn't get entirely pitch black and night like, but it was dark enough to start the tree frogs croaking for a few seconds. Then as the sun began to emerge from the other side of the eclipse, a roar went out from the beach and the entire park erupted in people clapping and cheering.

It was quite a party! 

Mom says 'Don't foget to take your vitamins': 7'17

Bruce had a very nasty leg cramp last night.

CC's Rx: Chicken Matza ball soup, 

and plenty of vitamins and mineral supplements.

Visiting with the neighbors at Gios:7'17

Visiting with the neighbours this evening,

  followed by dinner at Gio's Italian Restaurant

Huntington Beach State Park:7"17

South Carolina's Huntington Beach State Park is a beautiful park, and only 8 miles north of our front door. SC's HBSP was one of the main instigators behind out moving to move here. We used to walk the beach at SoCal's HBSP about once a week and thought of it as "OUR BEACH", and we were volunteering two days a week as docent's in Newport Back Bay, so estuaries were important to us. One day we were looking for a new place to vacation and put a ruler down east to west. It started at HBSP West) and landed on HBSP East ... We hadn't known SC's HBSP even existed. (Turns out the same Huntington family owned both lands). Of course, we had to check it out. When we got here, we were astounded at how beautiful and pristine the estuary and the beach is, and how much wildlife it supports. It started us seriously considering South Carolina as a future home.

The three and a half miles of pristine beach is the most popular attraction in HBSP. In the winter you can have it almost to yourself. On Summers days you can expect it to be more crowded.

But there are other draws as well. The jetty at the North end of the park is a popular fishing place.

HBSP's Freshwater Mullet Lagoon is filled with wildlife.

Both Mullet and Mallard Lagoons are home to Alligators which are a protected species in South Carolina; They are very popular with HBSP visitors. Other popular forms of local wildlife include mink and sea turtles.

HPSP is home to dozens of hundreds of bird species) In the freshwater lagoons alone you can see egret, heron, eagles, swallow tail kite, and osprey. It is also on the flight path of dozens of exotic migratory birds like spoonbill, American stork, and ibis. The maritime forest and woodland/water edge have owls, hawks, and dozens of small colourful birds including the painted bunting. Shorebirds abound ( and nest) on the beach and dunes. This place is a bird watcher's paradise.

There are several short hiking trails within HBSP. 

A Board Walk over the salt water marsh leads to Oak Creek.

A shelter on the Oak Creek Board Walk provides another great place for bird watching.

The Sandpiper trail leads through the maritime forest.

A shaded 4-mile bike trail through the front forest of the park connects to a much longer trail that runs the length of the Waccamaw Neck (22 miles).

Atalayas the former winter home of Anna and Archer Huntington. Archer designed the building in the style of a Moorish castle in Spain of the same name. The building is on the National Register of Historic places and can be toured by the public.

A campground supports 133 RV sites, and 6 tent sites,

(Plus primitive camping for up to 100 individuals in non-profit groups.)

The ranger station and gift shop also house the camper registration where CC works.

For more information go to:

http://southcarolinaparks.com/huntingtonbeach/introduction.aspx

Happy Birthday, Mom: 7'17

Happy Birthday, Mom.  

We all really miss you.

"I thought sushi would be easy": 7/1/17

Rear Left to right: Tuna Nori Roll,  Salmon Roll, Seaweed Salad, SpicyTuna Roll
Front Left to right, store-bought pickled ginger, lime-sesame cucumber slices

Bruce and I have decided to spend one day a week jointly shopping and cooking a meal we don't normally make at home. Usually, this involves a complicated recipe, or the use of some hard to get ingredients or specialised equipment.

 This week, Bruce suggested we make sushi.

We have all the specialised equipment, and most of the seasoning ingredients, all we needed was a small amount of very fresh sashimi-quality tuna and salmon,  a daikon radish, and some sesame oil ( we'd normally have sesame oil but had run out).

No problem finding the tuna and salmon (South Carolina has wonderful fresh seafood), but we had to go to three grocery stores to find even a small bottle of sesame oil.  When I asked a produce clerk at Lowes Food  (store # 4) if they had any daikon radish, she responded, "Is that a real radish?". Ergo, lots of other fresh veggies in our sushi rolls but no radish.

Then there was the matter of preparing the rolls so that they not only tasted as good as what you get in a restaurant but held together and looked good.  Our rolls came out looking and tasting great, but as Bruce said, "I thought sushi would be a lot easier to make".

Jacob's Lentil Minestrone: 6 '17

We had a wonderful meal at a local Italian restaurant earlier this week.  Bruce liked their Minestrone soup so much that he asked me to try to re-create the dish.  We spent most of Saturday testing out my interpretation.  I  can honestly say, I think that my version came out better than the original.  So here's the recipe for Jacobs' Minestrone:

Jacobs  Lentil Minestrone Soup 

Ingredients:

·         (3)  tbsp olive oil

·         (1)  cup minced white or red onion ( about 1 small onion)

·         (1/2)  cup chopped summer squash ( zucchini and/ or yellow  crookneck squash)

·         (1/2)  cup Italian cut fresh or frozen beans (we couldn’t find the flat beans so we used fresh green beans cut to ½ inch

·         (1/4)  cup minced celery

·         (4)  tsp minced garlic ( about 4 cloves)

·         (4 )cups vegetable broth ( we used Swanson's)

·         (1) 15 oz can Great Northern white beans

·         (1) 15 oz can white navy beans

·         (1/2) cup dry  lentils

·         (1) 14 oz can diced tomatoes ( we used 3 large fresh Roma tomatoes diced)

·         (1/2) Cup diced or shredded carrots ( we used shredded)

·         (2) tbsp minced parsley

·         ( 1 ½) tsp fresh or dried oregano

·         ( 1 ½) tsp salt

·         (1/2) tsp ground black pepper

·         (1/2 ) tsp basil ( we used about 8  tsp fresh half in cooking half just before serving)

·         (1/2 ) tsp fresh or dried thyme (we used about ¼ tsp dry in cooking and ¼ tsp fresh f just before serving

·         (3 ) cups hot water

·         (4) cups  fresh baby spinach

·         (1/2) cup shell  or small tube pasta

Directions

·         Heat three tablespoons oil in large soup pot

·         Saute onions garlic celery zucchini in oil until onions begin to turn translucent

·         Add vegetable broth to pot plus tomatoes, drained beans, lentils, carrots hot water and herbs

·         Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer until lentils are a-dente (approximately.  20 to 30 minutes

·         Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook and additional twenty minutes, or until pasta shells are cooked to taste.)

·         Add remaining herbs just before serving

·         Makes about (8) 1 ½ cup servings

RIP, Stinky Inky.

RIP, Stinky Inky.

We will miss you .