Starting this post off with the headlines....in case you didn't get the memo...my area was heavily impacted by Hurricane Matthew...for the first time in six years....we actually had a mandatory evacuation order by our governor ...and for good reason. But if you're going to evacuate for a hurricane, you may as well make the best of it and have yourself a little vacation! And that we did!
Even the fire department left! (to protect the fleet):
And in case you're wondering, this is what a hurricane looks like on your iPhone radar/weather alert:
Yup, never think it will happen to you, but it really did!
We were one of the VERY fortunate ones...not only did we not lose power, not even for a second...and almost everybody else in my county did....some are still waiting to have power restored!...but the damage was very minimal...a few tiles from our roof...the awning off our play yard set collapsed, and the trees that toppled over, toppled INTO the forest, as opposed to on our roof. The amount of trees down in is heartbreaking...as are some of the stories of people's homes and finances being greatly impacted (some homes destroyed). When we first evacuated, Matthew was a category 4...by the time it reached us, it was a category 2, with the eye passing right over Hilton Head Island, but thankfully starting to disorganize...I think that saved us from a lot worse destruction.
And when you are given permission to finally return home (which it turns out is not the second the Hurricane is done), you start seeing many many vehicles, all over, that you normally don't see on a daily basis....National Guard, Tree Removal services, Electricians, and Disaster Relief Trucks...they were everywhere. Every Major Insurance Company even set up camp for a few days at Home Depot Parking lot (since many people go there after a hurricane to help get their homes back in order)...to assist people with questions, etc.
But then there was us...we had a hurricane evacuation plan, that we never thought we'd ever have to use, because thankfully, hurricanes have been pretty rare in my area (we "stick" more westward, than Charleston and NC.....they are more east which makes them more vulnerable)....would you like to hear our plan? It's pretty complicated...here goes: hook up the camper and head west! Yup, that was our brilliant plan...and it worked....in fact, better than I ever could have expected!
My hurricane evacuation kitchen:
We are VERY grateful our beloved woodland home retreat was safe...and that we discovered this amazing state park in Georgia....we never would have thought of looking in that direction for relatively nearby campgrounds...we will be back...many times...not just for hurricane evacuations:)
(btw, we had really strong winds, even 130 miles west of the coast, which damaged our awning...and this started in advance of the hurricane being due east of us!)
Hurricane Matthew may be the big news of October, but we also had a couple of homeschool field trips:
SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design):
ok, so I never put a whole lot of thought into this local college...until the tour...WOW, this college truly cares about its students, and really has an amazing program in place! And they have additional campuses, where for the same tuition, you can transfer: Atlanta, Hong Kong, and France!
After, we and our homeschool friends took a little side trip to Savannah's infamous Forsyth Park, for a picnic. The girls have grown a tad since our first homeschool field trip there back in 2011:
The day before the hurricane evacuation order, we were on our almost annual trip to our local pumpkin patch with the homeschoolers. It's a nice pumpkin patch for the area (pumpkins really don't grow by us), but I definitely miss the pumpkin farms and apple orchards of WI.
and sadly...the girls feel they have outgrown this, so this was probably our last year going...sniff sniff....But, maybe that means we can start hitting the Savannah Ghost tours! (maybe:0) (2010 to 2016 comparison photos to this very pumpkin farm...it still doesn't feel like we've been down here all that long...but when you see how much the girls have grown in six years...it really puts "time" in perspective:
But we are thrilled to visit the little pumpkin patch at my parents' church...all proceeds go to Children's Advocacy:
And exactly one week prior to the hurricane, we were at a doggy festival/fundraiser, in the very location that was hardest hit by the hurricane, our beloved Sea Pines....Brie won the cake walk...twice....that means we went home with TWO cakes :O:
And then last night, we attended our second annual Oktoberfest at the home of some good friends:
Prost!
We were so very fortunate, and have much to be grateful for.
My love and prayers are with all the people who have been impacted by Hurricane Matthew
💙. It's funny, although I only live a few miles from the coast line, it never fails, every time I visit, I notice as I'm leaving that my breathing is incredibly free and deep...I'm not conscious of holding my breath (sometimes I catch myself)....but Grandmother Atlantic always helps me to breathe like I've never breathed before ... grateful 
😳) makes everything better! 
