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This is a video about our experiences during Hurricane Earl when it passed by the Outer Banks in early September. If you watched the sensationalist media in the days leading up, you’d think we were about to be hit by the storm of the century, but it really wasn’t that bad. The eye stayed safely offshore while we were only buffeted by the outer edge of the spiral as the whole thing moved north. My grandfather kept an eye on the news and sort of scoffed at the mandatory evacuations for all tourists. So we stayed put and tried to get some video footage before, during, and after the storm for the sake of comparison. I hope this’ll give you the impression of what being in a Category 2 hurricane is like.
With this video, I’m trying something new. I didn’t spend nearly the same amount of time or effort on it that I typically spend on other Postcard Valet episodes. Take a look at it; let me know what you think. Tomorrow, I’d like to ask our subscribers some specific questions about it (and similar videos) with respect to our website.
Enjoyed your take on Earl. The video was more simple than most of the others you have posted but still very good. The sound was very low and, even with all of the sound ports open on my laptop, it was hard to hear. I was in Southern Shores on Wednesday before the storm and when it clicked to a cat 4 over the night I decided to move up to Elizabeth City for the night on Thursday. I am a city gal and in an unfamiliar house on the ocean for a week and all I could think about were the films of Andrew going through Florida a few years back. I was in a nor’easter in Nags Head one year with 70 mph gusts and knew I was no match if Earl came by as a cat 4. Moved down to Rodanthe the day after the storm and saw, for the first time, traditinal shaped starfish about the size of silver dollars floating in the edge of the waters. The nor’easter I was in had thrown the larger skinny-legged starfish up on shore during the storm but I had never seen the traditional starfish on the Banks before. Thanks for sharing your experience. I was suprised to find you had been on the Banks — must have seemed pretty mundane after all of your travels — but think you must have seen the same Banks magic I see down there when I go. It’s one of the few places within my reach that satisfies my soul 🙂 My two favorite videos of yours (so far) are the tribute to your little hedgehog friend and that great sticky note art one. I am trapped in a cubible for eight hours a day and my co-workers and I are hording sticky notes to try our hand at creating something fantastic soon.
Impressive, I had goose bumps watching it, it’s so exciting, what a chance to be in a middle of such event!
This video is so natural, the wind, the rain, window that you can see to the outside, the kitty-cat. Very comforting actually.
Through your speaking I could hear the wind in the background, what a nice capture!
Brenda,
Thank you for pointing out the sound issues with the Earl video. I edited the whole thing with earbud headphones, and in my rush to get it online, never really checked it with anything else. Turns out I used the recording from the wrong mic. Switch it; it’s much louder now. Hope the sounds of the surf behind us (which also increased in volume) isn’t too distracting.
Yeah, I those nor’easters can really pound the Outer Banks. Even if they don’t threaten the houses, they still rearrange the beaches drastically. I’m continually amazed at how much sand gets moved around in a storm!
As for the Outer Banks being mundane… never! I’ve been coming here since I was too young to walk; probably one of my favorite places anywhere. (My father’s parents lived in Elizabeth City, my mother’s in Hertford.) This is “home.”
Great video. I miss those storms that rage and can feel the “energy” created from that storm in your production. I would have been out getting my face mashed down onto the bottom of the ocean floor…trying to bodysurf & ride waves without breathing in too much salt water and sand.