One year ago today, the state of Rhode Island witnessed its worst flood in more than two hundred years...and {cv} and I had a front row seat. The Woonasquatucket River {say that three times fast!} overflowed its banks--into the first floor of our apartment building. Thankfully, we live a few floors up, but it didn't stop the devastation elsewhere in our neighborhood. We lost power for two full days--and came to realllllllly appreciate things like charging cellphones and taking a warm shower.
The craziest part of this debacle? Our wedding was only ten days away! Even with our sixteen month engagement, there were last minute things to be done...thankfully, I had lots of love and support outside of waterlogged Rhode Island. I'm just thankful we hadn't planned a wedding in a cool loft space in Providence for that same timeframe, because goodness knows, things would have been dicey.
Have you ever been without power for a few days?
Or did you have any crises leading up to your wedding or another big occasion?
I'm sure these pictures won't really make you want to book your next trip to the Ocean State, but maybe my guest post on Southern Sophisticate might ;) I chose a few of my favorite nautical gift ideas for the sailor in your life!
Though the flood isn't necessarily one of my favorite memories, {cv} and I still joke about our primitive life in those two power-less days ;) I have to admit that I'm very happy to see the sun shining today, especially in light of this anniversary and last week's events!
Hope you have a sunny Wednesday! xoxo {av}
Oh girl, my heart goes out to you! I understand where you are coming from. I live in South Texas and we are ravaged by hurricanes every year. We've flooded so many times. It's horrible (and HOT) without power.
ReplyDeletexxxx
www.brittanyhavican.blogspot.com
OMG I remember that!!! They closed down URI for almost a week! Funny thing is, we didn't see too much damage--temporary flooding--those pictures are insane!
ReplyDeleteBless your heart! I would have been a total wreck 10 days before my wedding. I have had to deal with several hurricane evacuation in my lifetime and a few flash floods in the lowcountry. I barely remember Hugo, but I know we were out of power for a few days.
ReplyDeletemine was not nearly as bad as flooding. the week before we were supposed to leave for my wedding (in jamaica) I sliced my thumb while cutting an onion. of course, it was on my ring finger. it made for a very interesting wedding manicure and photos. needless to say we didn't get any close-ups of my hand but that is ok. it is a funny story to tell. everyone kept joking, "are you trying to avoid getting married?"
ReplyDeletehttp://lachapstickfanatique.blogspot.com
yikes that would have been nerve-racking for sure!!! my 'crisis' was that my groom got his front tooth knocked out after our rehearsal dinner. (read here: http://traveling-anchor.blogspot.com/2010/05/happily-ever-after.html) - sort of crisis-y but we can laugh now! definitely also relied on the support and help of family too!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, that sounds nerve-wracking! So glad that everything worked out smoothly. Also, I ADORE your Hunter rainboots! I've never seen them in that color before, but I love it!
ReplyDeleteMy hometown has flooded twice in the past 5 years and we didn't lose power but we certainly had a lot of friends staying with us. Really makes you take a step back and appreciate what you have!
ReplyDeleteOh my!! I remember this like if it was yesterday. I was shocked when I'd gotten out of my internship at the Kent County Court & passed Warwick Mall, I was only able to see the roof top of the cars parked there.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I remember this but it's crazy to see it first hand knowing you lived through it! I love your pictures and your hunter boots! I'm e-mailing you about something, just to give you a heads up :) Happy Wednesday! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI don't remember hearing about this. Could be because I'm in another Country but wow that is incredible. It's crazy how situations like this put things in perspective and we come to appreciate things like warm water, power etc.
ReplyDeletethat is crazy. without power for 2 days! wow.
ReplyDeletewe just experienced our first flash flood. a storm drain broke and for 2 days the town was under 4 feet of water. Lucky i live aways from from the mess. it was crazy to see the power of mother nature.
Yikes! I would have freaked if that happened 10 days before my wedding! Thankfully you have great friends & family! I lived without electricity and all that jazz during Hurricane Hugo..don't remember too much because I was pretty young.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness...I've never experienced a flood and I can only imagine how awful it must be. I lost power in the dead of summer for 5 days a few years ago, while living in a tallrise apartment (23rd floor)- and with a new puppy/no elevators- HORRIBLE!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my damn. That is one flood. We've been without power for a day or two at a time, but mostly because of ice, thunder, or snow storms. Last years Snomageddon in DC worked a number, but nothing as bad as the damage I can imagine from that flood.
ReplyDeleteOh my! I've never seen so much water everywhere! I can't imagine how stressful that must have been! Eeks!
ReplyDeleteThose pictures are so crazy! No power for two days is tough!
ReplyDeleteI have two similar experience, one this year when a water pipe burst in our apartment complex and we were without water for three days - i.e. like no water to brush teeth other than bottled water.
The other was when I was travelling in South East Asia and there was a huge flood - I have pics similar to yours and we were also out of power for over 24 hours - I remember thinking it was so weird though because locals were still like eating in restaurants and sitting in the chairs even though they were knee deep in water haha
xoxo
Jenna
ahmy gosh. i would have cried a lot. bc that helps. but still. ugh! how annoying! glad you two were on the 2nd floor. xoxo jcd
ReplyDeletewhoa that's crazy! It makes for a good story/ memories now but I bet at the time it was pretty stressful!
ReplyDeleteYes! there are always hurricanes in houston, once it was on my 14th birthday. The second one I was the only one of my friends with power so it was a party! glad your apt was okay!
ReplyDeletexoxo em
oh my gosh! Nashville had a horrible flood last May 1st as well... my heart goes out to you and your city!!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, I had no idea how bad that floor really was-that's crazy! We'd have pretty frequent water contamination scares, but I've never been without power for too long-thank goodness, or I'd go crazy! No power means no internet!
ReplyDeleteWow, talk about a date to remember! Last time it badly flooded here, I was in second grade (one of the two years I lived in St. Louis as a kid). J was living in another part of the state, St. Joseph, MO which was also affected by the flood. It was fun to swap stories and share mutual memories of that time even though we were many years from meeting each other :)
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a good day, {av}!
I don't know how you guys did it for three days with no power! That is terrible!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember hearing about RI in particular but I'm guessing this happened the same time that parts of SE Conn flooded! I saw a picture of my old house with water standing in the back yard (and in the house too I'm guessing!) Thank goodness you guys survived it, especially so close to your wedding. I'd have been a total stress case!
ReplyDelete