Isn't it Ironic?

You can't escape Irene, not even in Southwest Va. Yesterday we spent a good part of the day and night speaking with family and friends from our hometown and watched this mega storm move up the coast. Steve and I even swapped a few old 'storm stories' of our own. So this morning we decided to take a break from all the storm stuff and go to the Nelson Co. farmers market as planned. When we left home it was just a little breezy with a sunny mix. But the closer we got to Rockfish Valley the lower the clouds draped over the mountain tops. We got down to the valley after
rounding a good mix of switchbacks and well...there it was! We had to turn around and go back but I'm glad we did. I took this picture which speaks for itself. Hurricane Camille - Aug. 20th, 1969, 114 deaths and 37 people remain missing. We stood there for a minute, reading the story, compelled to pause for a moment and to acknowledge the tragedy and to honor those who perished. We both thought how ironic it was to come across this historical marker after trying to escape all the hurricane hype. Though
only a kid I remember Camille. I remember how my grandfather, brother and cousin baled water for hours from our basement in a desparate attempt to save the furnace. But had no idea of the devastation it brought to Rockfish Valley and people of Nellysford. The bands of rain were so fierce and hit so fast no one could out run the 25 inches of rain that fell in 5 hours. I can't even begin to imagine that much rain! Who would ever think any hurricane could be that deadly so far inland? We stood there for a couple minutes and then decided to press on. We went to the farmer's market and later watched Irene's outer rain bands come over the mountains while sitting on the porch of Devil's Backbone Brewery, a micro-brew pub at the base of Wintergreen. They had a Summerfest concert planned for today but unfortunately the the clouds won out and the only bands playing the rest of the day were Irene's. We still had a great time at the Backbone. It's a pretty friendly place. We spoke with some locals about Camille and swapped a few storm stories with them. Turns out we never did out run Irene..we drove right into it. But it all turned out good. As soon as we came out of the valley and got cell service back we had gotten a few calls, and I gladly returned each one. I know I'll be watching coverage of Irene tonight..only now it'll be with a slightly different point of view.