Hurricane Irene and memories of our East Coast tour

"A Room with a View: The Boat in Our Backyard at the Otway House, NC"
From my bicycle touring sketchbook

On May 11th I created this small watercolor sketch while staying at the Otway House in North Carolina. The following day we rode our tandem bicycle to the Ocracoke Island Ferry in the Outer Banks. There are no bridges to Ocracoke. A few days ago I read that the island had been evacuated. Yesterday I learned that Hurricane Irene hit mainland at Morehead City, NC, a mere 10 miles from the Otway House where we stayed. I hope that beautiful B&B and this fishing boat parked behind it still exist after nature's fury. The news reports have Bob and I recalling the places we visited on our extended bike tour, documented daily if you take that link. It's difficult to reconcile the images of the hurricane hitting these areas with our memories of hot, mostly dry weather, all the way from Key West into New York State where we got rained on during the last days of our ride to Portland, ME.

I keep thinking about my sons; Jason lives north of NYC in the Hudson River Valley, and Jeff and family live in North Danville, VT. I am scouring news reports to see how they are faring. I see online that my Vermont family can use an emergency shelter at St. Johnsbury Academy, but they are situated on high ground and expect to weather the storm at home. I see my brother Dave's town, Brattleboro, is under water and residents are being advised to get to the highest point in their residence. I have a very large family in my home state of Vermont and New England.

The sketch was done using my tiny Koi field watercolor set of pan paints and brush with water in the handle as I sat on the wrap around porch that evening. I like the line work that seems to go so well with a fishing boat.