Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Adieu, Notre Petite Maison

Something that 2008 will always be, in my mind, is the year of Ike.  Hurricane Ike hit us during the second week of September, and the effects still linger.  Sven and I were lucky- no real damage to the house, no long-term loss of power- but the communities and landmarks so dear to us were not so lucky.

On Monday, we decided to drive down to Crystal Beach and see for ourselves what became of Sven's childhood vacation home.  This house was a huge part of his life, and remained so after we met and married.  It was our first home together.  Sven's mother sold it in 2002, but we miss it.  Here it is now:




Even though it wasn't ours anymore when the storm hit, it was still a hard thing to see.  Most of Bolivar Peninsula still has no power; when we went to board the ferry to cross to Galveston the landing was lit by portable lights and generators.  There wasn't a functioning gas station, restaurant, or supermarket that we saw.

Please keep the people of the Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston, Smith Point, High Island, and other communities hit hard by the storm in your thoughts.  I promise more humor and fun in tomorrow's post.

3 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I'm so sorry about your home! I didn't realize how much devastation was caused by Ike. It didn't seem to get the kind of attention Katrina did.

Camille said...

Wow that would be a pretty intense scene to see first hand. I'm sorry. It's hard to see something that meant so much to you destroyed.

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

Thank you so much for your prayers yesterday. It felt so good knowing that so many people were praying. :)
Galveston holds so many memories for me and my family. From the time I was very small, we used to take yearly vacactions there. My husband even proposed to me on the jetty across from Gaidos. My parents ventured down there over Thanksgiving. They were brought to tears by all of the devastation to the homes and obvious loss of life. The ferry ride really hit them hard as they saw the cars piled up on the beach and all of the piles of 'matchsticks'.
I am so glad to hear that your home was spared. So sorry about your first home. I cannot imagine what ran through you mind when you saw that it was gone.
We're looking forward to vacationing there next year with my parents and sharing our favorite beach with our two girls.
I hope that you have a safe and happy new year. :)