I should have learned how to swim

Just an update on us as it relates the the Flooding here in Cedar Rapids. We live a long way from the flooded area, but Stacey works in the heart of it. On Wednesday when they upped the prediction of how high the river would go, I went down there to help clean out the basement and 1st floor of the building. It's one thing to see pictures of the devestation, it's another to be standing there helplessly watching it happen. Thousands of people, a few of whom I work with or are friends of mine have lost everything they own. Many did not have and could not get flood insurance because their homes were not in the 100 year flood plain. Well, the floods surpassed the 500 year flood plain and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. The floods of 1993 crested at 19.5 feet. The record here was set in 1852 at 20 feet. The pictures below show the river on Friday at 32 feet. 12 feet above the last record and nearly 13 feet above the worst flood this area had seen in a century. It's very sad.


Here are some photos courtesy of the local paper:




An aerial shot of downtown. I380 is the yellow line. The yellow circle is the area that Stacey's office is in.




I380 is the yellow line, the circle with the arrow is Stacey's office.





This is Quaker, the largest cereal production facility in the world. If you're a fan of Cap'n Crunch, you might see a lull in availability.



This is another shot looking North. The yellow lines are where bridges used to be that are now under water. These bridges may not open for quite a long time.


Stacey will be able to work from out of her office for the time being, but I'm sure will be heavily involved in the clean up end of things. Y'all will have to forgive us if we can't make some of the events we planned on this summer. Our livelihood depends on her business, so bet your ass I'll be there helping too.

We did manage do get a weekend in Wisconsin once the water forced us out of downtown. More on that later.