Labor Day weekend started out nicely. We went food shopping and then out to dinner and a concert. Sunday we woke with nothing on the agenda. I had been longing to go the the outlets in San Marcos and surprisingly Frank agreed to come along.
Sunday was really hot. We shopped a few stores looking for lamps and then decided to head home. Grabbed a bite on the way. I guided Frank over to the tollway so he could see where the F1 track was being built. The air was a bit hazy and I thought it was a dust storm from all the wind. Couldn't see much at the track, so we headed on home. (It was actually smoke from the Bastrop fire, which eventually got very close to the track.)
I got a call from a friend and while we were talking, a few other calls came in. I don't know how to use the call waiting feature and hate to interrupt the person to whom I'm talking, so I let it go. After we hang up, I let the dogs out and smell smoke. I turn on the TV to see what if anything is going on. There is a fire in Bastrop, which is pretty far away. Frank joins me just as the power goes out. I run in to turn off all my computer stuff. Decide to read the paper. Out of the blue, I ask Frank if we had to evacuate, what would he take? I'd take the dogs and the computers, and the home owner's insurance papers. (The calls were actually reverse 911 calls telling us to evacuate.)
I see the neighbors behind us packing up their cars. I look out the front and other neighbors are packing up their cars. Frank goes out back and the neighbors tell us we have to leave. I look towards the smoke and it looks like it is coming from the golf course, which is right behind us. Frank says, "looks like you get to put your plan into action." (Looking back, I wish my plan had involved packing a bag with clean underwear and toiletries.)
I grab the dogs and through them into the car. Grab harnesses and extra leashes. Run back into the house and umplug my hard drives and throw them into the back of the car. Run back and get my desktop and laptop. Get the insurance papers and my purse. I'm ready to go. Where is Frank? He comes down with his laptop in a bag. Let's go. (Didn't think to grab power cords so we could actually use the stuff we were bringing.)
We head down Quinlan and get in line with the other hundreds of people who are evacuating. I see nothing until we get to the elementary school near the entrace. You could see the flames shooting up in the air and people are stopping to watch. Not us. We keep on going.
Finally out on 620 and traffic is still slow. No one is allowed to go into Steiner. See many fire trucks rush by. Very impressed with the 1st responders.
We are almost out of gas, so we stop in Rudy's. People are actually in line to get their cars washed. Really? Gassed up, we head down 620 trying to figure out what to do. Decide to go to Chipotle to have dinner. They have a patio so the dogs sit with us. Williamson county sheriffs eating dinner too. I thought there was a fire in Cedar Park?
Now where do we go. I know there is a La Quinta in Cedar Park, but I'm sure 183 is closed because of that fire. We head to the La Quinta in the Arboretum and they have a room. So here we are checking into a La Quinta with two dogs and there is no dog show to go to.
It's Sunday night and I'm sure most places are closed. We have nothing. Frank goes out for supplies and returns with toothbrushes, tooth paste, shaving cream, and razors. Shave? You are going to shave? We are refugees. Refugees don't shave! No hair product though....
Monday, we wait until the 10 am press briefing to see if we can go home. Not today. So, we go out to buy clothes and food. Spend our time reading Facebook and Twitter posts while we take turns going into Target. Lots of information about what is happening. One Steiner resident tweets, "Another night at the Westin." The Westin? Brother. Turns out they had to evacuate Steiner because the fire was near the only way out. The fire is not near our house. The power and gas are shut off to the entire subdivison. Got our refugee clothes, grab lunch at the CPK, and go back to the hotel.
See tweets about people needed to get back into Steiner Ranch to get their pets. If we had stayed out longer on Sunday, that would have been us. Although, I would have hiked into the woods to get my dogs out.
All cleaned up. A friend invites us to dinner. It was weird to see that the rest of Austin was just going about their business as usual. Heidi took a picture of us in our refugee clothes. (Also remember to put on some shoes when you evacuate. I still had on my slippers.)
Refugees
Tuesday, they said we could return home. Stopped at the store to get some food as ours would all have to be thrown out and I wasn't sure if we would be able to leave once we got home. There was a line a few miles long waiting to get into Steiner. We make it home without seeing any signs of the fire. House is fine. Throw out all the food in the fridge. Hook all my computer stuff back up and everthing is as we had never left.
So I'm feeling a little like Forest Gump. Every where we go, we get involved in major disasters. In CA, we had earthquakes; in FL we had hurricanes, and now fire in TX. We also lost a Labor Day weekend to a hurricane in 2005. This time we spent two nights in a La Quinta with two dogs just like we were at a dog show, only there was no dog show. Maggie and Shane woke up each morning ready to go to the show, but we spent the day in the hotel instead. They are glad to be back home.
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