No Ike here

We came bopping back down 183 quite early this morning, got here about 10:30. Went through heavy rains around Victoria, and it's been raining a bit down here but nothing tropical or torrential. I talked to Mike the Pilot and he was out of electricity where he was. That would make him one of about three million ... what a misery to contemplate. At least the storm knocked the top off the heat for the moment. The pup was very happy to pee on familiar ground and smell the wind off the bay. The happiest contrast is the quiet here ... no traffic noises in the distance and even fewer people than usual are here. My 85-y-o neighbor stayed but abandoned his trailer for a room with a friend. He gets to be smug, I guess. Things still fell off-balance, and we have to take down a bunch of window coverings, and there's been a hatch of those vicious little marsh mosquitoes about half again the size of a gnat. Pix of blown-out windows in downtown Houston offices were pretty scary.