Dear Florence

From Cassandra

Dear Florence,

When first learning of your existence, we took caution. As time went on, the severity of your strength put a bit of a threat on those of us on the east coast. Here at Stevenson Ridge, we feared for our bride and groom getting married over the weekend; we feared for those staying in our cabins this weekend. We prepared for the worst-case scenario, but the wedding must go on!

We Virginians took all expected precautions to prepare for your arrival, stocking up on the necessities. We heard early word from our Inn Coordinator Madeliza that Wal-Mart was out of water days before you were expected to hit. Luckily our little mama let us in on a secret: if you go to the baby section in Walmart you will find “baby water,” branded to be different but essentially the same.

Our historian, Chris, was visiting his university in western New York. He filled his car with bottled water from the north to bring back with him to the south.

Our snack queen, head coordinator here at Stevenson Ridge, Elizabeth, told us that her household would be full of all the best snacks. Choices seemed unlimited, from a new fall favorite, pumpkin seed BARKTHINS (sold at your local Target) to the good-old’ staple of oatmeal cream pies and Nutterbutters. Spending a few days locked inside with no power is a perfect excuse to revisit some old favorites.

As for me, enjoying the comfort of a nice bottle of red wine, plenty of candles, and good company was all I needed to get me through. I’m sure I was not the only one.

We hope everyone stayed safe during the storm!