How are you guys in Houston or Galveston area coping with Hurricane Ike?|149046

I hear Hurricane Ike is hitting Galveston at this moment, and that it will be catastrophic. I hope you keep safe.

Thanks for the good wishes!

I live near Med Center, I boarded up the back windows, locked all the doors, made sure the cats had plenty of food, extra kitty litter and five bowls of water, and got out. (Wanted to take the cats, but I can_t...I_m at the in-laws house and they have a cat so they said my cats weren_t welcome... and I didn_t have the heart to leave them out in the storm!!)

Our place will be fine, I would have stayed, but we wanted the kids up here at Grandmas. In the Woodlands all the power lines are underground, so there is an excellent chance we won_t loose power here. Med Center will probably loose power at some point.

The low-lying areas along the coast and Galveston are going to get scrubbed. The storm surge will be coming in at high tide, at about 4AM, and they say about 20% of the people in the mandatory evacuation zones decided to _ride it out_. A lot of them are going to die. The storm surge will hit them in the middle of the night, and there just isnt_ going to be any help coming for them. The EMS is already shutting down and preparing to ride out the storm. You know you are in a pickle when the Coast Guard has left the area you decided to stay in.

We are talking about a 20 foot storm surge, and that_s NOT including the waves...waves will be higher. The water won_t be going away either...as soon as the storm passes (that will take a couple of hours) and the tide drops, then all the water that the storm drops on the whole area will start to drain down to the bay. They will have high water for hours, and it is going to be in the dark. If anyone is haiving a _hurricane party_ and getting drunk...well 20 feet of water with 100 mph winds, driving rain, at 4AM and you are passed out drunk.... the math does not work out well....

The key to a hurricane is that it either hits where you are, or someplace else. The key is to be someplace else. Even though this looks like it will be a direct hit on Houston, the storm surge will be limited to the areas near the coast, and the wind damage will be... well it will be interesting.

IT will be _only_ a cat 2 when it hits, so when it gets into Houston itself it will be _only_ a cat 1. Cat 1 and Tropical storm winds arent_ that bad if you have a well built house. They aren_t fun, but buildings don_t colapse on you, unless you are in a mobile home. The damage comes from wind blown objects...lawn furniture, etc. I am most worried that my neighbors trampoline will wind up in my sunroom.

The big problem is we haven_t had an ice storm or a wind storm in a while to clear out the dead tree branches...so all of those will be coming down and messing up the powerlines. After Alicia hit some areas were without power and water for weeks.

You will see lots of scary and tragic pictures out of Galveston and the Bay area (Clear Lake, Seabrook, and the Boardwalk, etc.). Most of the rest of the city will probably be up and running by the middle of next week, at the latest. I will have to be back to check on the cats on Sunday, (the house will STINK) and expect to be back to work on Monday or Tuesday.

I live near Clear Lake and we received some damage to our roof and ceiling and our fence. I_ve seen alot of trees and fences down in our neighborhoods. Some people nearby still don_t have power. My prayers go out to the people who were affected especially in Galveston!

Most of Houston isn_t evacuating because of what happened in hurricane Rita (more people killed from evacuating than from the storm), though i hear that people in some southern parts of Houston have been evacuated. I_m not actually in Houston, but a lot of my family is there. My grandparents, aunts and cousins live there, but they are in the woodlands and i here it_s not as bad there... But they_re going to have to worry about trees. A lot are going to be knocked down, and some of those areas have a lot of trees. THere_s also a tornado watch all night tonight...

Power could be out in certain areas for two to three weeks, which could cause a LOT of problems.

From what i hear, there_s lots of flooding in Galveston, and the storm is beginning to make landfall there. I don_t know as much about that area though...

I wish the best of luck to all you guys in the area_s hit hard by the hurricane.

I live on the west side of Houston, and the roof was damaged on the apartment building I live in - rain water got in, and the ceiling collapsed in my friend_s 3rd floor unit (I_m on the 2nd floor). Shingles and tree limbs all over. We are very fortunate, we got power back yesterday evening. I still don_t have water.

My Mom_s house in Livingston got a lot of damage - large window shattered, roof collapsed, carpet _ furniture soaked, TV destroyed. They don_t have power or water.

But I know there are places that got hit a lot worse, such as Galveston.

As far as coping, we have bottled water, food supply, tanks with some gas if not full, and each other to talk to. Thanks for your concern, I hope everyone else stayed safe too.

Galveston did not do well. The east part of Houston and Downtown did not do well either. Luckily I live in a part of town where the electricity did not go out. HEB (the local grocery store) was open yesterday. It looked like a bread line. Everyone in line had at least 1 bottle of alcohol. The part of town I am on was not heavily damaged. I am a little bored and tired because I am stuck at home. At least the TV and the internet work.

I just got power back an hour ago. It was out since Friday night/ Saturday morning. On Saturday about 95% (1.5 million) of Houston had no power and most of the people who did lived in the Galleria area. Today I think it went down to 80%. Most of the people I know still don_t have power. Yesterday my power was on for about an hour then it went out for the rest of the night. Then it came back on today. I have 7 leaks in my room, 1/4 of my fence fell down, trees down everywhere, school cancelled till Thursday. Galveston just looks terrible. And you know the weird thing. If a catagory 2 hurricane did this to Houston what would Rita have done.

God Bless Southeast Texas

People have written false answers here, HOUSTON has not evacuated. As many of our residents had flown, more than 95 percent stayed here. The hurricane has left parts of the Houston area on a lock down. My mother and I, who live in north Houston, are the only ones in our family (as well as close friends)who have electricity and water. There are long lines to the gas stations, maybe a mile or so long, where you can only fill up to $10 at a time. Many schools are closed until Thursday, and colleges too (in exception to The University of Houston which reopened today), but will probably push back the date because there are 2 million places (customers) without lights from Centerpoint Energy alone. This storm really sucks...the grocery stores that are open have long lines just to GET IN THEM. There is really nothing to do but stay home or travel to a close relatives house to escape boredom and discomfort, as the wireless signals for all companies suck down here, even the landlines.

Thank you for your concern. We seem to have come out better than expected. By that I mean that those who took the mayor_s warnings and directives left before the storm came. Those who chose not to are alive, as the death toll is considerably low. In Cypress (NW Houston suburb) some of us have power and some do not. Lots of trees down, fences down and a lot of roof damage. Gas is in short supply, as is food, but most we prepared and are not without anything. Neighbors are helping each other and we are all so very thankful that we came out with the damage that we encountered. At this time, m heart goes to those in Galveston and the other coastal cities whose homes were destroyed. God bless ~

What is more important now is that we all get out and be the Houstonians that we are and come together as a community like we always do. This is the time to step up to the plate and take care of each other. I live in Katy and all I want to do is get out and help where I can. This has been a devastating punch to our gut, please remember the folks in areas such as Orange County, Beaumont, Bridge City that don_t get the news coverage that Houston and Galveston get. Houston please get out and volunteer if you can do that magic that we always do when the time calls for it. I am proud of my city and the way we come together when the need arises. Let_s get out there a make a difference folks...it_s been a tough blow..but we are TOUGHER...FEMA is fine but what we do best is come together and help our fellow Texans. Let_s all thank God that the death toll is very low considering the size of this storm.

South East Houston/Harris County was under a mandatory evacuation. I_m in Northwest Harris County and it_s pretty hectic... The electricity has been out for at least 4 hours. On the radio I heard electricity would not be up and running for 18 days to several weeks. When I couldn_t go to sleep, I sat in my garage and witnessed a tree falling on my neighbor��s driveway and many transformer explosions lit the sky. Two fences in my back yard are down in sections, exposing other back yards to my sight. Water is over filling the ditches and it_s reaching up to peoples homes. The streets are also covered in leaves and branches... go figure. I saw a few police cars around. I guess they were checking for people who violate the curfew?

It_s not so bad compared to Katrina and Rita, but Houston hasn_t been hit this hard since 2001.

I live in West Houston, i_m scared out of my mind since my mom is like, if you wake up and hear something like a train come in the bath tub cuz its a tornado... haha
but its really windy right now the power isnt out yet its not storming yet but yeah.
there was no school today but were going back on monday if everythings alright.
we taped up our windows today and moved all the benchs and pots and stuff in our backyard in the garage.

i have a beach house in galveston that been in my family since my mom was a kid so it_s kinda sad and hard for me and her...
but yeah

I live out here in Humble, just a few miles outside of Houston. As I write its 10:30 pm and were expected to get hit around midnight-ish. Were doing just fine. We_ve been through this before, and here it comes again. Houston and all the surrounding areas are going to be just fine. Houstonians have always been strong people, that come together, and defeat all the negative of a natural disaster. It_s true: dont mess with Texas, even if you are a hurricane! lol.

we filled the bathtubs with water and our power went out friday night 11pm central. we got power back yesterday (sunday) morning at maybe 10:45 am? out air conditioning was out too, so we slep on the floor on the first floor of our house saturday night. we took showers by pouring water from the tub on us in the shower. ooh cold...our neighborhood still has no power (mostly) only the newer homes have power at the moment. lots of districts are closed for the rest of the week. (in houston)

I am currently working at the Incident Command Post here at Reliant Center. All is going as planned contrary to what the media has been trying to spew at times. They are doing their best to try and blame FEMA for everything which in turn they can blame Bush. Pods are being set up all over the city and hopefully by the end of this shift there will be over 30. They are there for food, water and ice for the residents affected. This is not a handout so if your not affected don_t come here thinking that.

Yeah i live in Houston (harris county) and were pretty close to galveston. nothing serious yet, but its goning to hit here at around 1:00 am. yikes! its gusting pretty bad but no rain or anthing like that yet,so im pretty sure most of us are prepared(i know i am prehaps TOO prepared)lol but im just having fun on my computer for a few hours until my power goes out soon. everyone in galveston, i hope has left and the ones who haven_t.......well......pray. =)

holding out

I_m in the richmond, rosenberg area and all we are getting is wind. It was a beautiful sunset this evening. Was even bbqing and have a _party_ with some friends of mine. At least we are all prepared for the worst if it happens, if not, another party tomorrow.

Yes I am well prepared and so are my friends/family.

I live between Houston and Galveston. I evacuated 3 days early and it took me 5 hours to get to Austin (a 2 1/2 hour trip). I will be going back home tomorrow. My apartment is fine, but almost everyone is still without power. I have several friends who has very extensive damage to their homes.

I live way down south from Houston, but I really hope everyone that decided to stay there is safe. I_m praying for their safety and to give them strength.
I called my grandma to check if my aunt and uncle got out of Katy, which is very near Houston. I still haven_t heard if they came down with us, or if they went else where. I_m pretty sure they evacuated though.
Be safe everyone.

West of Galveston is almost completely underwater.
Even though it is _just_ a category 2, the storm surge is what is so dangerous. so many areas in southeast texas are going to be water. as a resident that lives in southeast texas, flooding and tornadoes are my main concern.

yup, all of us in houston are doin fine right now, just alot of wind, the hurricane hasn_t even made landfall yet, the worst will come at midnight, and i think we_re about to lose power cuz the lights just faltered as i was typing this answer lol

There will be a lot of property damage along the coast but this is just a cat-2 storm. The worst effect for most people in Houston will be lost trees/limbs and some power outages. Just stay inside and don;t go out doing stupid things and everyone will be fine.

I_m in Houston right now.. actually lieng on a sofa w/ my dog waiting for the hurricane to comee. still hasn_t yet just mild winds and nope i haven_t evacuated. galveston is already under water!! ): ): ): but yeah i hope everyone is safe!!

Im in Southwest Houston and the lights are flickering. We are pretty prepared but the news crew keep making things seem as if we are not. It just started raining and the wind is picking up. For all those in Houston and surronding areas we are praying. God Bless.

a friend of my daughters lives there and is telling her a lot of ppl decided to stay behind and now the coastguard is trying to get them out...although their helicopters only carry 5 ppl at a time..its terrible there..hope things turn out ok...with little or no loss of life

It_s just about to hit Galveston but it_s been flooding all day with huge surges. Houston is next but I think everyone who stayed is well prepared. The worst is that it is expected to hit in the middle of the night.
Thanks!

i live in sugar land and it was bad!!!! galveston island was all under water and the winds were sooo strong that it seemed like someone was screaming! it was scary.........but it_s all over now im just praying for everyone- i was at a better place then others...: )

I live in Katy, Texas which is to the left of Houston. Right now, its pretty calm cept for some high winds. I saw a projected path of Hurricane Ike on Google Earth and the projected path goes straight through my School. :p

i live in houston. i am pretty scared but i have faith in God. it is very windy and the power turned off for about a couple of seconds a while ago.

I dont have power, but im running my computer and my internet router off my car with one of those adapters so at least i have something to do, because it is really boring right now.

Part of Galveston is under water. Galveston and Houston have evacuated.

Its getting worse wind is getting stronger by the hour. Instead of being scared of kind of excited cuz this is my first Hurricane experience.

i have a home at the end of the island where the san luis pass is....anyone know how it is over there? how high are the flood waters?

What is traffic like in the morning from DC to Baltimore?|159663

I_m desperate to find work and see plenty of jobs in Baltimore. I_ve lived in DC my whole life but always worked within the city. I know the Beltway is a horrible horrible traffic nightmare, but can I get a rough estimate of how long it_d take to get from NW DC to Baltimore during the morning commute?

Shooting up I-295 can get you from NW DC to Baltimore in 40-50 minutes even in rush hour, without ever using the DC or Baltimore beltways.

50 to 97 also works, maybe 45-55 mins

95 works too, but i avoid it, too many accidents and speed traps.

its not an hour heading north, even in bad traffic. it can take you as long to drive from NW DC to arlington.

You may want to consider driving to BWI, or other areas in Anne Arundel County, and taking the light rail into Baltimore City.

BTW, I_d like to know what kind of jobs your talking about. When I look at accounting jobs, I see Washington has about 10 times that of Baltimore.

What to do and which hotel is best to spend Christmas in Vegas?|140158

Taking my teenaged daughter. We_ll be 2 chicks looking for good food, shows and shopping. We also want to go to church.

I agree with the other two that answered. The MGM Grand is a great place to stay. Not only that, they have a ton of shopping there, if that_s your thing? But their pool is amazing and love the night life there! I booked a holiday vacation with them, and I do believe right now, there is a _holiday Spree_ special deal, as I get e-mails from them on promotions/specials all the time. I_m almost positive you can get a holiday deal right now, try
http://www.vegas.cc/
. I believe I got the best deal there. Oh and when you_re their, you have to go to _Emeril_s_ for dinner one night, it_s so worth it!!!

There are wedding chapels all over Vegas, but I_m not sure that_s what you_re looking for on a Sunday (wink). So call the front desk when you_re their and they will find you a church.


Have fun!!!

I love the MGM grand!!!

And the shopping is great!

MGM grand. WOW...this is a perfect spot with the Wizar of Oz as the theme! Perfect pool and it is conveniently located.

One of the circus de sole shows would be fun. I suggest staying away from Cesar_s palace. The cost of rent per square foot is the most expensive in all the world. For this reason they have tremendous pressure to do sales. Primm Valley has an outlet mall that is by the state line. This would be the best shopping anywhere around Vegas.

The buffets at almost all the hotels on the strip would be good enough to keep you full for the rest of the day.
During the day the Guineas museum, Elvis museum, exhibit at Mandalay Bay would be lots of fun. The rides on top of the stratosphere are scary.

Hello Darling, I_m just wondering, _2 Chicks_? Now there_s many things for a daughter and mother to do. I_m wondering if you aren_t lying to everybody.

MGM is a lot of fun, but Mandalay Bay is a nice place to stay.

Coming from experience....If you are looking for a fun place for shows and most importantly shopping, stay at ceasars palace, the home of the forum shops. Best shopping in all of Vegas.

go to www.vegas.com and click on _more_ in the menu bar. You will find shopping and places of worship. You will also find information on shows and restaurants. This is the best site to search for Vegas info.

Just check on any of the large hotel/casinos on the strip ... teens will not care for downtown so stick with the strip. You might consider Planet Hollywood .... might be better for a teen to enjoy herself. Just remember you must be 21 to stop walking in a casino. Can pass through but must not stop in the gambling area.

A really good show to go see is the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. It is about $50 each but it includes a dinner served with no eating utensils and a really great show. A lot of energy in this one and great for any age.

Have fun.

About how long does it take to play 18 holes at Waikoloa Kings course on the Big Island of Hawaii?|151549

It_s more than 7000 yards and I_m trying to create a relaxed vacation schedule. I play pretty fast and will go out in a group of three.

Call the club pro during business hours and ask. He will be able to give you all the answers you need. Fore!!

Where can we stay in Florida that has beach chairs/umbrellas/cabanas and beverage service on the beach?|124592

My boyfriend and I are planning a long weekend at a Florida beach in late September. Looking for a hotel/resort on the Gulf side (prettier beaches) where we can sit under an umbrella on the beach and have someone deliver tropical drinks to us (or at least have an outside bar we could walk up to). We_d like to keep it around $150/night. It doesn_t sound that difficult, but we haven_t had much luck finding a location that fits the bill. Any suggestions?

Try Dolphin Beach. About $140 a night


http://www.dolphinbeach.com/


Good luck!

Look up the site _thebeachloversbeach.com_ this give prices of most of the motels - condos in Panama City Beach area.
The _Holiday Inn Sunspree_ has a full service bar right off the beach.

www.beachdirect.com

this is a great resource for finding a perfect place!
from Clearwater Beach south to Mad Beach... lots of wonderful places will make for great relaxing weekend

you could also try findin _Liz_ard Barret at Barret_s beach bungalows... she is an agent, and knows ALL the hot spots!
Have a fantastic time while you_re here!

Try Summerhouse Condos in Panama City, that will be off season, great place and tiki bar service on beach