We were lucky never to have experienced water inside our home and truly didn't believe this storm would be any different. The power went out about 11 AM on the 18th and the tide started rising around 12:00PM. We tried to wait it out at home, but decided to leave when the water came to the top step of the house. We did not want to be trapped in a one-story house. In the last 15 minutes before we left the house, we went around and picked up precious items that can't be replaced. Even though we didn't believe it would come in the house, we wanted to protect some of photo albums and tax papers just in case. We put as much in plastic garbage bags as we could and put them on top of anything tall in the house. Then Warren and I waded hip deep in water to get to Old Blue (an old F100 that we have or I should say had).

Old Blue took us to my daughter's house on Odd Road. Water was also surrounding her house. I wondered then if we made a mistake by leaving. Warren dropped me off and he and my son-in-law went back to our house to get our new generator. It was too heavy for Warren and I to get it out on the first trip. We figured my daughter should use it because she has children and needed to keep her food cold. Warren said, by that time, the water was so deep in front of our house that they couldn't see the lines on the road and had to guess about the road's edge. They got the generator out of the garage just as it was about to go under. They dropped the generator off at my daughter's house and then took Old Blue down Little Florida Road to get my Mom on Poquoson Ave. Warren said they had to push trees out of the way that were floating by in front of Old Blue. Water was lapping at my Mom's front and back door. She refused to leave her house because she had to wade chest high in water to get to Old Blue. It would also be hard for her to climb inside of Old Blue. My Mom is 88 years old and under 5 feet tall. She's also stubborn. This was all happening in the worst part of the storm. Old Blue was a champ though. They drove her back to Odd Road and we all waited out the storm. We discovered the next day that her clutch gave out from being in salt water.

Of course there was no power or phones. Even cell phones didn't work. But the generator worked great. The next morning my first stop was to check on my Mom. I was so relieved when I found she was OK that I broke down. She sustained water wicking up from the bottom of her house in one bedroom and in front of her bathroom. She also lost her heating/AC system, freezers and food in her garage, and both her cars. Her rental house next door had water inside and her renters lost all their personal property on the first floor.

Then it was time for us to go home and assess our damages. We certainly didn't expect to find what we did. Watermarks show we had 6-8 inches of water in the house. Our wall-to-wall carpeting was sopping wet and all our furniture had water damage. Our furniture was brand new - just had it delivered two weeks before Isabel. Everything we own is damaged, has water stains, or is warped 6-8 inches up. We lost all our appliances including the heating/AC system.

The first day after the storm, we tried to vacuum the water out of the carpets to no avail. We dumped at least 300 gallons of water from the vacuum. The next day the carpet was just as wet as the day before. So Warren took a knife and cut it all up and we hauled it to the road. We also lost Warren's baby, his 1989 BMW 525i. He jacked up the engine in preparation for Isabel so it wouldn't get wet, but he left the back tires on the ground. The water was at least 3 feet in the garage and the back seat of the BMW (where the computer is located) was under water. So the insurance company totaled it. But he's going to keep it and fix it up.

The next day was spent getting registered with FEMA plus calling flood insurance and car insurance for both my Mom's 2 properties and ours. My platter is full.

I immediately hired a contractor to tear down inside the house as we were instructed to do by the flood insurance adjustor. This has to be done because of toxic mold. They removed all the sheet rock inside the house 4 feet high and all the floors down to the joist. Mold had grown 2 feet high on the sheet rock in just 2 weeks. What a mess. You wouldn't believe how water travels in a house and the nooks and crannies it gets into. Water was in all my lower kitchen cabinets. As I was cleaning out the house, I would lift up something in a bottom cabinet that looked dry and water would come pouring out. All the insulation was sopping wet and falling from under the house. We are still finding water in our things.

After the storm, we stayed with my daughter for about a week and then we moved all our "stuff" to our garage. We lived in the garage with no heat for about 2 weeks. Thank God for heating blankets. We are now living in a FEMA trailer. It's in front of the house in our U-shaped driveway. We feel very fortunate.

We'll be in the rebuilding mode for quite some time. And of course we're both very exhausted from this whole ordeal.

Warren and I have a lot to be thankful for. We have each other and our family who are very supportive.

There are so many people to thank - too many to name here. But we want to mention the names of a few we consider real heroes and thank them for their efforts. Our kind and generous son and daughter-in-law, Terry and Lynn Miller, drove from Lynchburg 2 days after the storm to bring a generator, water, ice, food, batteries and other supplies to family and friends that were donated by his neighbors and the Lynchburg Walmart. Our son, Chris Barnes and sons-in law Brian Boyett and Bob Redman and friends, Greg, Eric, Chris and Tim moved our furniture to make room for repairs. A true humanitarian and friend, Danny Edwards (owner of Danny's Auto Glass), took time away from his own problems to bring a backhoe to haul our debris to the road. My ex-sister-in-law and special friend, Jo Leeson, did our laundry. Ron and Betty Miller of Seaford provided us a delicious home cooked meal. Dominion Virginia Power and Verison personnel made our life bearable as quickly as they could. FEMA gave us a place to live while our home is being repaired. But our most heartfelt thanks goes to our daughter and son-in-law Tracey and Bob Redman. They provided us a shelter from the storm and a roof over our heads for a week. Tracey cooked countless meals and delivered many of them while we were working in our house. She's still cooking our meals 4 weeks after the storm. Bob literally worked until he dropped to help us with anything we needed. The selfless efforts of all these people can never be repaid. We love you all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Linda Barnes