Back from the Rancho, which is solidly battened down. Long council this morning about staying vs. going. Finally the group consensus was reached that though there's little danger of floods or storm surges where we are, there's every chance that the power, once out, could be out for days. No brewing of caffeine, no flushing of toilets? And the possibility, however slight, that the house could be damaged, which would make us very wet, while uncaffeinated and stinky. Also the possibility that anyone who didn't come in this afternoon might not be able to come in until Tuesday or so, depending on how they clear the roads. So we headed in.

Made it in about two hours ago of an absolutely trouble-free drive in light-to-heavy rain. Not so much in the way of traffic, know what I mean? Manhattan's relatively deserted because the subways, buses, and commuter rail lines are all shut down already. No one's ever seen anything like this. Worth coming in for, actually. Some stores were open when we got here, either Mom-and-Pops where Mom and Pop live in the neighborhood (or are planning to sleep under the counters) or bigger stores where the employees drove or took cabs. I went out for a walk and by now many are closing. Strolled down to look at the river -- calm and gray, dark clouds rolling in. The Carnival Glory was heading out to sea, an hour ahead of schedule and fast. Their plan must be to be way east on the Atlantic by the time, around midnight, the real excitement starts.

Some boarded-up windows in my neighborhood, not that many. I'm going out to dinner at some friends' place two blocks away, will stop by the river to check out high tide. Shouldn't be anything unusual, just high tide after rain, which is pretty high. But tomorrow morning around 8 and tomorrow evening, same time, will be during- and post-hurricane high tide under a full moon. Oh, Mama.

Will keep you posted.