Friday, October 14, 2016

Back to Back Storms Prevents Weekend Away

The purple x is where we are
Due to a series of 3 storms, the last expected to make landfall tomorrow, the tail end of Typhoon Songda on Vancouver Island and the lower mainland (Vancouver area) we made a decision on Wednesday afternoon and canceled our weekend away to Gabriola Island  The first storm was Wednesday night, mostly just really hard rain that doesn't do anything but flooding.  Yesterday and today lots of rain and winds gusting 30-50 km but tomorrow we get hit with up to 100 km an hour winds (63 mph) with driving rain.  Instead of being stuck on a tiny island without power far from home with possible ferry cancellations we would rather be stuck here at home, tucked in warm and cozy with a full fridge, lots of candles and blankets,  our natural gas fireplace, natural gas hot water tank and natural gas BBQ, all of which work fine when the power goes out.  The only thing that might disrupt natural gas would be a big earthquake.


We also figured that there was no way we were going to have fun stuck inside the entire weekend as this kind of weather is not our usual fall/winter rains.  I really didn't want to leave Mom either as if her power goes out she has no heat.  At least this way she can come over and we can eat/drink and stay warm if it gets really nasty tomorrow.

As I type this Buddy is snuggled down beside me after being forced to go outside to do his duty and coming back soaking wet.  He is not impressed at all.

Anyway, we had to pay an $86 cancellation penalty which could have been a lot more(entire booking) but the resort was able to find someone else to stay in our cabin at the last minute(crazy people who didn't look at the forecast) at a slightly lower rate so we paid the difference.  I get that it is a small business but it would have been a lot nicer had they said we could apply that to a future booking.  They weren't that great about the whole thing and it left a bad taste in our mouth, likely we will not end up going to this resort whenever we do finally make it to Gabriola Island.   Either way, canceling was the right thing to do although quite disappointing after looking forward to our weekend away for so long.  We are so booked up with work there was simply no way we could take the chance of being stuck there as hubby has to be in Victoria Tuesday and Wednesday for business.

Before we made the decision to cancel our weekend I had purchased a large amount of alcohol to take - so we have a full liquor cabinet including a bottle of Metaxa which is Greek Brandy which we will try out this weekend, power or not.  It is really early for eggnog but I bought some at a discount (.99 cents) yesterday so likely the brandy might be used to spike the eggnog.   If we have power there will be movies and more research on our trip to Greece.

The fridge is full, the candles, flashlights, emergency cell phone chargers are at the ready and we have lots of liquor - hopefully we shall get out of this weekend unscathed!

22 comments:

  1. Sounds like the right move & a nice snuggly weekend. There was a tornado in the town where we have our vacation house (Oregon coast) & there has been a lot of damage to the area. Fingers crossed everything is okay with our place.

    Bundle up, stay safe & dry!!

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    1. Yikes - I saw tornado warnings for Washington state but not Oregon. I have cousins in Portland and hopefully they weathered the weekend ok.

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  2. Well, I am disappointed FOR you but you do roll with the punches and with your attitude, you will have a wonderful weekend no matter what!!
    Yeah, I would look at other places since that one didn't even try to meet you halfway!

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    1. Yeah, there are so many great places to go, we would rather go with a more understanding operator. It will happen but likely next year now.

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  3. It's amazing how Mama Natura can thwart your plans. Sad that the resort was so hard nosed about the penalty. The weekend will be wild...

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    1. I think you guys likely had much wilder winds than we did, I don't think it got beyond 50 km at our house, maybe down by Holmes Point in Comox.

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  4. Enjoying the calm between the storms here myself. We didn't lose power in the first round. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

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    1. I hope you guys weathered it ok, not sure where you are from as I could not tell from your profile but welcome!

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  5. I think you have made the right decision to cancel your trip for now and what fun snuggling down at home with a bottle of Metaxa. I've always lived Metaxa but something I discovered when on Samos is that they produce their own Samos brandy which is delicious. Anyway I hope you have a lovely weekend safe and warm at home researching and visualising your Greek adventures.

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    1. I look forward to trying out different Greek liqours, I do like Boutari wine but hate Retsina. Only for those with extremely hard constitutions.

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  6. I'm sure it was a difficult decision to make but the wise one under the circumstances. Sounds like your alternate plans will be fun as well as safe.

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  7. They say three is a charm, but I'm not sure with these storms. Holding tight for tonight. - Margy

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  8. Storm or no storm I like the sounds of your weekend plans :) I love the coziness of candles and socks and afghans and brandy! I'm sure you'll have a lovely weekend!

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    1. Thanks Jane, it was nice and relaxing. I cooked supper way early Saturday in the slow cooker thinking we would be losing power so we ended up eating at 3pm like really really old people.

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  9. Sorry to see your buddy all upset about getting soggy wet. Hope your weekend is safe. Waiting for the update on the blog.

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    1. It was seriously difficult to get Buddy to go out as he got soaked every single time. Eventually we had to go out with the umbrella or he refused. #spoileddog

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  10. I am sorry about your trip being cancelled but hey, you have enough liquor to last for a few storms. ;p Be easy with the Metaxa, I have had a few incidents with it.

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    1. Hubby made a really good dent in the vodka. The Metaxa was tasted - very tasty indeed :)

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  11. I'm sorry your trip was cancelled, but wise choice knowing the potential to be stranded. I hope a reschedule works soon, but that you also were able to have the down time you both were craving even if at home.

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    1. Unfortunately no reschedule as our work schedule has to be hashed out months in advance (which is why I already booked our holidays next year lol) but it was nice to have a nice quiet weekend at home.

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