Taking a Walk with Sandy

Oh Sandy.

Waterfront areas got it the worst with disastrous flooding. A family friend completely lost their house near Far Rockaway - the water just swept it away into the ocean. 

I live in a very elevated area, far removed from any bodies of water. The biggest problem we faced was the wind - boy was it fierce! At times, it sounded like a low flying airplane or massive truck rumbling down Broadway. 

We did not lose power (unless something happened while I was asleep), but our lights flickered occasionally throughout the evening. There are major power outages all around the tri-state area; I hope everyone is okay.

I had to walk downtown to an appointment earlier today as the MTA still has all service suspended. 

The brunt of the storm has now passed, but it left behind some nasty souvenirs. 

Sandy ruthlessly snapped off limbs of many trees along the streets of my neighborhood:

And whipped up fall leaves into wet piles making a mess in the streets:

After a scary incident with a partial crane collapse on 57th street, I've been wary of the tall cranes situated around my neighborhood.

Looks secure, though. I notice they hung an American flag on it. How cool! I'm sure it waved ferociously during the storm. 

Most stores have been closed and boarded up since yesterday:

Many have reinforced their windows with tape, hoping to hold back strong winds from blowing them in:

However, major grocery stores and some restaurants are still open, catering to the home-bound neighborhood. 

Seems like today is the day to go grocery shopping! Well, I guess if there's nothing else to do...

The checkout line was insanely long. (They are notoriously long at Fairway, but today was way worse).

The only positive thing I will say about Sandy (other than having 3 days off) is that she made everything smell quite nice. Fall leaves mixed with lots of fresh air from the wind, along with the rain which cleans the grime from the streets - the neighborhood smells like a fresh fall mist :-).

I hope everyone is doing okay and staying safe. 

Please email me your pictures! I will post them below.