Wow, so after four very LONG days, we finally have our power back. We lost it during Hurricane Irene too, but this time, with 20 and 30 degree temperatures at night, staying at home in the cold and dark just didn't work well. After spending one night of having my husband and I and Little Lewie try to snuggle together in our queen bed, we realized that it just wasn't going to work. For one, my husband was pushed off the bed by Little Lewie, and so he was forced to make his way to the couch. Then, when Little Lewie woke up at 5 in the morning coughing and shivering, I just knew we had to do something.
Something. Even I could feel the chill in my bones.
The next morning, Halloween morning to be exact, we went to Friendly's in the next town over (one of the few places with power in the area) and started making phone calls to hotels. We had tried the night before but with no luck.
Every hotel in the area (and probably in Connecticut) was booked. This time, our second call--a call to the Omni Hotel in New Haven--was the charm. Sure it was an expensive hotel--$200 per night--but we had no friends or family to stay with since they were out of power too! We also found out that our entire town (98%) was without power, and they had cancelled trick-or-treating activities.
We made reservations to stay at the hotel for two days, and then went home eagerly to pack our bags. To us, heat and a nice hot shower just couldn't come fast enough. We reserved a room with double beds; the agreed arrangement was that Little Lewie and my mom would sleep in one bed and my husband and I would sleep in the other.
While my mom, Lew, and I felt displaced from this experience, Little Lewie loved it and probably had the best Halloween ever. Once at the hotel, we dressed him up in his little vampire costume, and brought him with us to my place of work. (My college was open and running, but my husband's college was closed due to no power.) After he had fun entertaining everyone at my work, we did a little trick-or-treating in New Haven. (This part of Connecticut felt like it hadn't even been hit by the storm.) He would very carefully select a piece of candy and then ask if he could go into the person's house to "see" it. After trick-or-treating, Lewie got to enjoy riding up and down the elevator of the Omni Hotel over and over again, scaring unsuspecting passengers with his very grown-up growl. (Yes, he took his role as vampire very seriously.)
Now our power is back, and Little Lewie had a make-up Halloween party at his pre-school yesterday--another chance to wear his costume! The experience definitely cost us some money, but all in all, I feel blessed. For one, we were very lucky to be able to stay at a hotel and still be able to celebrate Halloween. (I was even able to show my mom a few nice restaurants in New Haven--an experience she never would have had otherwise.) And two, we are back home safely and soundly to our happy, warm house. I'll never take our home or electricity for granted again!
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| My little vampire sitting at my desk at work. |
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| Little Lewie at the hotel. (I couldn't peel him away from the elevator even to take a picture!) |
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| Captivated by the elevator. |
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| Getting ready to scare his little friends at his pre-school Halloween party. |
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| Posing in our yard. |
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| This picture speaks for itself. |
And for the grand finale, a short video clip of his roaring/growling in action:
(Very scary and only for the brave of heart!)
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