Vacation on the River- the timeline

Finally, after 2 weeks I found some time to post "the story".

Little did I know, when I posted the first blurb about the river rising , that it was going to continue to rise and we really did end up having to get out of there! I guess I should be careful what I joke about next time:) My mom and I were actually "joking" all week about how the river looked high- haha, turns out the joke was on us.

The A-Frame Cabin where we stayed

We arrived to the cabin on the Delaware River on Monday August 22 for a wedding on Saturday the 27th. By the end of the week we started hearing reports of how hurricane Irene was leaving some pretty large footprints in her wake. We heard it was going to hit Baltimore pretty bad. Our friends who were planning on coming to the cabin for the weekend were not sure they were going to make it.

Our friend's wedding guest list decreased by 25 (out of 70) because of the storm as well). We were glad we were not anywhere near Baltimore. Baltimore never really got hit- funny how things work out.

Saturday August 27- 6ishPM- the rain started

Sunday - still raining

• 2PM- Dave and I went grocery shopping in the town (not much was open)
• 3PM- we returned to the cabin- power goes out
• 3-7PM- enjoy the daylight- power is still out- still raining; start looking for candles and flashlights; Dave and Dad go to the neighbors to see about an update (we have no working phones) and get some more candles. Dave brings our car to higher ground- just in case
• 7:30PM start a fire in the fireplace to make sure we have some additional light as it gets dark
• 8PM- start dinner- in the dark; we are still joking about the river looking high
• Feed girls by the light of the fireplace- can't see how much is ending up on the floor
• 10PM- girls in bed; we eat dinner (it takes a while to cook in the dark!)
• 10:30- we decide we should start packing things together- just in case.
• 11:30PM- the neighbors are evacuating- we need to leave; Dad and Dave bring a load up to our car 
• 12:00AM- the next load is mom, me, and the babies (my dad is driving)- as we pull onto the driveway we go through over a foot of water. I roll the window down and yell for Dave- we have to leave the rest of our stuff and he hops on the back of the Jeep.
• 1:00AM- we are on higher ground 1/4 mile from the house. There are 16 other people there from the cabins next to us. We all try to get some sleep in the cars parked in a small meadow where we think we are safe.
• 3:30AM- I see lights coming in from the main road. A car pulls in and I get out to see what's going on. It's the man that lives at the top of the road. He said he received an automated emergency call from the police dept saying that there are evacuation orders- the Reservoir may burst. We still think we are on high enough ground. As I am chatting with him and the owner of the cabins next door, we hear a siren and lights flashing. Moments later a fire truck comes down the little road where we are all posted. We have to evacuate. He says this spot will likely be under water in an hour; in addition, the bridges may be covered (our only exit) any time.
• 4:00AM- we evacuate. Dave and I are leading the pack to Walton (since we knew where it was)- we approach the bridge with trepidation- its dry. It's 30 minutes to Walton.
• 4:30AM- we arrive at the Red Cross Shelter (aka Walton High School); I go in and check it out and ultimately decide its better to let the girls continue to sleep in the car.
• 7:30AM- after a few more hours of upright sleeping in the Equinox, the whole Treiber clan is awake. My parents had been in the shelter the entire morning- wide awake.
• 8:30AM- we decide to trek back to the cabin... we can't get there- it's an island in the middle of 4 feet (or more?) of water.
• 9:00AM- I call the owner of the cabin to let him know the details- he is glad we are safe.
• 9:30AM-12:00PM- we start driving hoping to find a hotel as soon as possible to we can all get some real sleep. We don't find one until 2.5 hours- we end up staying in Scranton, PA.
• Next day- we arrive back in Baltimore safe and sound

Looking down the driveway to the cabin the next day 

Getting out of there! River is almost parallel to highway

In the words of my mother- it was "an adventure of a lifetime!" and hopefully one we don't go through again:)

We will be heading back up there in October to get the remaining of our belongings (as the $300 cost to ship them back is a little hefty)- so at least we will have a one more chance to enjoy!