A quick search of my photo archives turned up this photo of "water". At this point it's the best I can do without firing up the external hard drive for pictures of the dam in town.
I didn't know what was in store for me the last time I posted saying "see you in a week." I returned without any interesting images from Hot Springs as my camera decided to misbehave.
On the return trip I stopped for the night in the very small town of Litchfield, south of Springfield, Illinois. This Hampton Inn was a big surprise and a jewel worth mentioning. Litchfield is just off the interstate and lies smack in the middle of millions of acres of corn and soybean fields, so it's not exactly the place you'd expect to find a hotel room that rivals some of the best rooms I've ever occupied. It was beautifully decorated, spotlessly clean and even smelled fabulous. They feature a bed that rivals Westin's "Heavenly Bed".
It's a good thing that the folks at Hampton pampered me on that Thursday night because as I snuggled in luxury sheets the farmer and the farmers son were dealing with some of the worst thunderstorms to hit northern Illinois in many years. On Friday morning I pulled into the driveway feeling all refreshed, which was a good thing because I walked in to find the power had been out and the battery back up pump had been overwhelmed by the deluge of water. Unfortunately the farmer slept through it all or he'd have fired up the generator. Water, water, everywhere..... filling the basement up to 3 inches.
The farmer's son is spearheading the demolition and clean up. I'm on his team and therefore posts might be spotty for awhile. Thanks Betty Western for your concern and the assurances that I do actually have a fan base!
I ask for some good thoughts at this point, but NOT for my family. A flooded basement is merely an inconvenience in our lives. I ask for your thoughts to be directed to the people of Honduras and Guatemala, who are victims of the latest hurricane. They are the ones that have been put in harms way by water. The wonderful people we met on our travels in Guatemala now face a more insidious danger - mudslides or lahars. These terrible events bury entire villages.
In the photo above our tour guide in Grand Cayman (last February) points out the areas damaged from the last big hurricane that tore across the island. I'm assured that Cayman was a lush tropical paradise but the hurricane had reduced it to looking like a scrubby little sandbar.
5 comments:
Ah ha, she's back! Well nice to hear from you again although bad news about the basement flooding.
Seems just about everywhere this year is getting some disastrous weather conditions.
Soooooo good to have you back in the blogosphere!
Isn't Litchfield just a couple of hours from your home? I'm not sure I get why you stopped for the night there (unless you secretly knew of the mishaps at the farm and wanted to pamper yourself before you waded in).
Yes Pablo, it is just a couple of hours but at my age I simply couldn't complete the 12 hour drive. I was starting to hit the wall about an hour before I stopped so for safety's sake a night's rest was in order. And even though there was no hint of terrible storms that lay just to the north, on some level my psyche knew I'd need some pampering!
I haven't visited as much as I'd like to lately and am so sorry to hear about the water in the basement. We had that happen a few years back and not a happy memory!
My thoughts go with those who are battling the aftermath of the storms. Sometimes those things can seem so far displaced, but they can hit 'home' at any time. We all need that compassion.
I'm glad you had some down time where you felt taken care of. Sounds like heaven!
What a surprise to come home to! My goodness! I'm glad that you were able to get some relaxing and R&R in!!!!
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