Brandi
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Registered: 8-29-2003
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Cracked, Emergency, Marty, Part 4
(Revision, I forgot a day!)
Sunday, September 21
We awake to another hot day. We're feeling very lethargic after everything we've been through. We are having a difficult time finding any real
ambition. We lounge around all morning, alternating between just relaxing and floating in the warm Sea of Cortez.
Mid-morning we say our good-byes and thank-you's to John and Heather. We also bid our good-byes to Gene and wish him luck with the plane (it's still
be guarded by 2 uniformed officers).
We spend the rest of the day just lounging around and doin' a whole lot of nothin'.
Monday, September 22
Today we find the ambition we were lacking yesterday. Mike decides it's time to clean out the shed. He pulls EVERYTHING out. He has stuff scattered
behind both trailers, looking like a bad garage sale. Mike Child pulls up about 1:35 and asks us (as he's looking around with a doubtful look on his
face) if we can be ready to go in 2 hours. "Why, what's goin' on" we ask. "Got a weather system coming in, something close to a hurricane" he
replies. We tell him that there's no problem, we'll be ready. We start frantically putting things away, when, 20 minutes later, Mike pulls back up
and shouts "JUST KIDDING." He went and checked on the weather and informed us that whatever it is that is coming, we'd still be ok to fly out early
the next morning. "See you tomorrow" he shouts as he drives off.
We breathe a sigh of relief and go back to work at a slower pace. Much slower on my part. When I believed I was going to be climbing back into an
airplane, I realized I wasn't ready, nor prepared to do so and starting drinking Pacifico's as quick as I could.
It's still hot. Very hot as a matter of fact. Not a cloud in the sky. But later that afternoon, a much needed breeze starts to blow. Minutes
later, it turned into a full blown wind. But with us both working hard, we didn't mind. The wind doesn't last long and we head down for a swim.
Still no clouds in sight. We get cleaned up and head to the cantina for our last night's dinner.
After dinner, we head back, finish putting things away and enjoy a peaceful evening sitting on the beach, talking. We head off to bed, confident
we've accomplished all we wanted to and ready to leave the next day, with not much left to do in the morning.
4:00 a.m. Tuesday morning
I awake to the trailer shaking like nothing I've ever felt before. I try desperately to think of what we left outside. Holy crud....the
hammock....John's cot....the old, but really good coleman lantern. We scramble to find our clothes and go to open the trailer door and it practically
gets ripped out of our hands. The coleman is no where in sight. The hammock and cot have flown up onto the patio, laying against the picnic table,
and they are soaked and seem incapable of going anywhere at the moment. We dash back into the trailer to find the keys to lock the bathroom door and
the shed. By the time it's time to go back in the trailer, it's blowing so hard we can barely open the door.
I lay in bed, awake, listening to mother nature, and realize, there's no way we'll be going home today.
Tuesday, September 23
I awake around 7:00 and the storm is still going strong. I look out the windows towards the sea and feel like I'm looking at Huntington Beach. The
waves are crashing, one after the other upon the beach and it's unbelievable. I grab my camera and take the first of many pictures I'd take that day.
There's not much to do when the rain is coming down in torrents outside. I breakout my homework and then decide to start writing about this chain of
events. Every now and then I'd glance out the window, grab my camera, run outside and take more pictures.
As it's getting closer to noon, the tide is coming in and the water is creeping higher and higher upon the beach. On some of the bigger waves, it was
actually coming all the way up the beach and running between the houses. When the tide reached it's highest, the waves were not only going between
the houses, but through them too. "Through" meaning they were going around and between my two trailers. I had never seen anything like it. I was
actually afraid the the sea and the back bay were going to meet and there'd be no land left to stand on.
We patiently wait for a break in the rain. The hood on the blazer was left open all night, so it's too wet to even start & the buggy? Forget about
it. The rain pours on.
Early afternoon we get a break in the rain. Luck is on our side and the buggy starts. We climb in, head towards the cantina to hopefully spend the
rest of the afternoon with other unfortunate stranded people. Not four houses down, the rain starts again, but we trudge on. If it weren't for the
puddles, we might have made it. But we're soaked and covered with mud. Discouraged, we turn the buggy around and head back to our trailers. While
Mike runs towards the sea to wash off, I dry off and assess our party supplies.
A little while later, I tell Mike that we should be dressed and ready to head to Rancho Grande should we get a break in the rain. Armed (with a heavy
blanket) and ready to go, we wait. Finally, the rain lets up and we hop in the buggy and high-tail it to the ranch, all the while dodging huge
puddles. It's slow going, but we arrive, wet, but happy. I ask if the phone is working. I really need to call Etta and let her know what's going
on. I get through to her and tell her what's happening and inquire of our boys. She informs me that they are o.k., not to worry and stay safe. I
tell her I don't know when we'll be able to leave.
As we're getting ready to leave the ranch, Mike Child pulls up on his quad and informs us that the only way we'll be able to leave tomorrow is if the
rain lets up and the runway dries up a bit.
We hop back in the buggy and head towards home. We take a different route this time, the wrong route - for it's nothing but puddles and wash-outs and
are once again covered in mud by the time we get back. This time I join Mike washing off in the sea. It's sprinkling and cold, but the sea is warm
and feels invigorating.
I fix us some soup for dinner. We grab a couple of beers and head over to our smaller trailer for a change in scenery. We pass the evening talking,
speculating and mostly missing our children. We fall asleep early with the hopes we'll be leaving sometime tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 24
6:00 a.m. - An important event, that I missed, has woken me up. My son Michael started kindergarten this year and yesterday was picture day. I
stumble out of bed, with tears flowing down my face, feeling like the worst mother on earth. I grab a water and decide to take a walk. The tide is
extremely low this morning and I think to myself, this would be a good time to see if the storm has washed anything up. Well, it was a little
difficult to go on any kind of search, for I was to busy berating myself and with those tears flowing again, I wasn't too intent on looking for
anything. The sun is trying to break through and this cheers me up. Maybe I'll be home in time to kiss my kids good-night.
Today, at least for now, the rain has stopped. We keep our eyes peeled to the mountains behind us, looking for any kind of sign that this storm has
passed. Clouds. Always clouds. Mike Child shows up again mid-morning and informs us that the runway at Rancho Grande is just too wet. "We'll shoot
for 11:00 tomorrow" he says. With heavy hearts, we begin to "dig out" our front porch.
As the clouds come and go, we start to speculate. Should we try driving the blazer home? No, yes, no yes. Expired tags, no doors, funky paint job -
we'll never make it across the border. OK - drive it to the border, park it and walk across. No. The blazer probably won't make it that far anyway.
We toss ideas back and forth all morning.
Tony shows up and fills our water barrels. He informs us that he has heard on the news "3 more days of rain." I begin to wonder "Just how much more
of this we can we take?" It's one thing to anticipate your upcoming vacation, but to feel "I just want to go home", well, that was a new one for us.
Once again, we head to the cantina for dinner. We tell Antonio of what we're thinking of doing. He tells us, no way, that cars too old and are you
crazy? He then asks Mike to follow him outside. "You can take my new peek-up" he says. Just like that. We're flabbergasted. How gracious. I
start to cry. I tell Antonio all I want is to see my children. He nods his head, he knows. We tell Antonio thank you, and all depending upon what
the weather does tonight, is what action we will take tomorrow.
By the end of the night, we have everything cleaned up once again and put away. We're packed and ready to go. Mode of travel at this point doesn't
matter, getting home does. We go to bed, once again glancing back over the mountains and praying for the best.
3:30 a.m. - "You've got to be kidding me" I say aloud. It's raining again. My tears put me back to sleep.
To be continued....
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Bajabus
Senior Nomad
Posts: 892
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Elias Calles B.C.S. or NC USA
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Mood: My friends..it's good.
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Oh boy....this is a wonderful story thank you for sharing it and keep it coming
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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Capt. George
Super Nomad
Posts: 2129
Registered: 8-21-2003
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GREAT
Brandi, being of my generation allows me to make only one comment, COOOOL !!
Thanks....Capt. George
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jeans
Super Nomad
Posts: 1059
Registered: 9-16-2002
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Mood: Encantada
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Brandi....
You write a very good story...we're right there with you! Keep 'em coming!
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Heather
Nomad
Posts: 370
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: National City, CA
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Great story, Brandi. I was wondering about your kids as I started reading and how they did with the hurricane. You should be glad that they didn't
have to go through it with you! I bet they would have been scared and wanting to go home more than you, (for awhile at least), then they'd probably
hit the beach and have a great time! Saludos, Heather
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Natalie Ann
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2819
Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
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Better than chocolate!
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
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Mood: In love!
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Brandi,
I am getting lazy about giving accolades to the other regular writers but your story is just great! 
I have an unexpected opening in my WiW system, so consider yourself #202. 
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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jeans
Super Nomad
Posts: 1059
Registered: 9-16-2002
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Mood: Encantada
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Neal Johns
Brandi,
I am getting lazy about giving accolades to the other regular writers but your story is just great!
I have an unexpected opening in my WiW system, so consider yourself #202.
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Careful Neal, or there will be TWO unexpected openings.....
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