The never-ending storm

Today is my third full day in Daytona Beach, FL. My Mom and I are taking my sister, Andrea, back to college at Embry-Riddle, where she'll be a sophomore! I haven't seen an ounce of sunshine since we got here. We arrived in Orlando by plane on the outer edge of Tropical Storm Fay. It was a pretty bumpy ride at the end, but we managed to get in. Then we drove northeast to Daytona, right into Fay, where we're staying at an oceanfront hotel called the Bahama House. The streets were pretty much deserted and some stores were all closed and boarded up.

We had to stay inside for the remainder of Wednesday, as the wind pounded our window overlooking the churning surf. Wind and rain has been pouring nonstop ever since, and today is Friday. I guess Fay is a pretty historic storm. For three days it sat stationary over Daytona Beach and central Florida, dumping up to 30 inches of rain in many places! Fay has worn out its welcome. It just won't move and every day looks the same.

Yesterday we went out on the beach during high tide. I felt like I was on the Weather Channel with my little green raincoat in the tropical storm winds and rain. We also tried to get out and about in town, but a lot of stores are closed, like Bed, Bath and Beyond, which had sandbags in front of its doors. We stopped at Embry-Riddle for Andrea and the university closed because of the storminess after we had been there for 5 minutes.

I love Andrea's school. It really makes me want to be back in college. The whole campus looks a lot different than when I visited last February. The place was water-logged and not very glamorous this time around. In February it was sunny and balmy, with lots of palm trees and green grass and super smart-looking students walking around. Tomorrow we are supposed to move Andrea into her dorm, and it's supposed to be gushing rain again, of course. FAY, FAY, GO AWAY!!