The Hurricane Aftermath Report from the Jet Set Chick......

So far, it's all good news!

I got in touch with my special "correspondent" Jim R yesterday morning. He rode out the hurricane in Houston. The only problem he had was a ton of leaves and pine needles in his yard that he had to clean up by today (trash pickup was still scheduled for the normal time). The only thing out was his cable. His parents didn't have power, but other than that they were ok, too.

Apparently his double-paned windows really paid off during the hurricane. His dogs spent the entire night munching on their rawhide bones and sleeping. He didn't hear a thing, and even peeked out his window to see if there was anything going on outside because it was so quiet in his home. He saw the branches whipping around violently in the wind, so he knew it hit. His friends and neighbors with single-pane windows were kept up by the howling and the chattering of the glass in the window frames.

My good buddy Paul also got good news from his brother and sister-in-law. They don't have a car, and his brother has severe diabetes, but they both came through just fine after riding out the storm.

And now from yours truly on the travel front......

After checking with www.continental.com that my flights weren't cancelled, I boarded the plane in Orlando. There was some turbulence over on the Florida side of the trip, but nothing out of the ordinary. The weird thing was seeing the remnants of Rita as we flew over the Gulf. I have never before seen clouds in rows. It reminded me of soldiers in formation. There were little puffs lined up and almost equally spaced apart. I was able on occasion to see the coast below once we got to what looked like the Louisiana bayous. Nothing out of the ordinary there, as far as I could tell.

The most striking thing was the abscence of traffic on the roads on the approach to Houston. It was just before sunset when we arrived, and it was strange to see only a handful of cars on the debris-free highways and streets. A few of the homes under construction looked a little messier than normal. Pool owners have new collections of the local flora mixed in with dirt at the bottom of their personal swimming holes. (Pool cleaners in East Texas are going to make a killing in the next few weeks....)

Bush Intercontinental looked to be in perfect condition. There were no missing windows, the runways were in excellent condition and well lit, and even though it seemed quiet and subdued, the airport was running along just fine. Continental Express had cancelled all their flights. About 1/4 of the stores and restaurants were still closed. Starbucks junkies were not happy in Terminal E.

The gate agent for my flight back home to Phoenix warned us that the jetway lights might not be working and told us to grip the handrails as we left the terminal for the plane. They worked just fine when I went through, however.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, except for the very loud flight attendant ("I'm not a stewardess!!" she said about, oh, ten times during a two hour flight) sitting across from me in the emergency exit row. If there was anyone on board the plane who didn't know that the weird, hyper woman in the aqua poncho wasn't a flight attendant flying at a deep discount off the stated fare, that was a person who conked out right after we pulled away from the gate. I guess the days of flying as a quiet, tastefully attired non-rev are over....

There is one thing that went very right on the plane......we got into Sky Harbor 15 minutes early. Way to go, Continental!!