Note to self: never tell the Universe you’re bored.

I slept through the downpour last night, lightening bursts and all. We woke up this morning to the news that 22” of rain had fallen in the Clear Creek area over the last 24 hours, with more coming. The flood has arrived. Our picnic area is completely underwater and the leisurely but powerful flow of the Kemah channel has quickened its pace. Watching a piece of wood swirling by, I’d say the current was about 8 knots, maybe more. The water was swirling and crashing at the end of the now completely submerged wooden dock and was so much higher up the berm David and I decided nothing would do but get to shore to move the cars to higher ground. They are old and creaky, but they’re all we’ve got!

Yesterday David brought the dinghy to the boat; no particular reason except we are trying to get out of that storage unit at the end of this month and the water level made it easier to get it to the boat. Turns out to have been a very fortuitous decision, as dinghy is the only way to reach shore today. We suited up in our foulie tops (Helly Hansen brand is great, proved by the deluge this morning) and Tevas, and David found the oars and oar locks. Then he bailed her out, in we got, and off we went to shore. It was like any of 1,000 other dinghy rides I’ve had, easy-peasy (of course I wasn't rowing!). Until we got to the edge of the marina and discovered that wading through 2 feet of water was the only way to reach shore (the whole marina is ringed with floating docks). So wade we did, then slogged through the most recent downpour, squished into the drivers’ seats, and took ourselves to higher ground. Here’s hoping it’s high enough to preserve our vehicles.

It rained like stink the whole walk back, so by the time we reached Raven we looked like a couple of drowned rats (dry under my foulie top). Stripped off, dried, back in dry clothes, and with a cup of hot coffee nearby, I am feeling better.

So we are okay for the moment. Depends on the vagaries of Harvey. Right now it is just sitting here flooding us. We do have Plan B, but that will happen only if we see the top of our pilings (the water level has risen about 6 feet so far). Meanwhile...waiting.

Kemah channel flood