Batten down the hatches for hurricane Bill

Thursday we took are Chicago friends to Newport for a day at the beach. As we drove closer to Newport, a thick fog developed making visibility extremely limited. It was eerie. I've never seen the weather like this here in RI. The waves were pretty big which the kids loved. They body surfed for 3 hours with very few breaks as the lifeguards stood noticeably on alert. We overheard one say that they had never seen the weather change so drastically. They announced that swimmers could go no further than waist deep and began walking the edge of the water with keen eyes. I did not envy their jobs that day. As a mother, this was very nerve racking but the dads were with the kids at all times. Today this particular beach is closed due to Bill.

On the news I saw that Newport boaters were securing their boats to moorings or taking them out of the water. One boater said that RI'ers typically don't worry too much until the hurricane is about 100 miles out. Bill is predicted to pass within 200 miles of Nantucket. It is currently 442 miles from Providence and we are under a severe tropical storm warning. It will interesting to see how the weather develops tonight. Currently, it's sunny (hot) and a bit windy.

Our neighbors have been out on their sailboat for the past week. I hope they've found a place to batten down the hatch until this storm passes.

I've never experienced this type of weather. Being from the Midwest, I saw a lot of tornadoes and funnel clouds. I guess it's nature's way of reminding all of us, no matter where we live, that we have no control over the elements. I'm glad we aren't on the Cape this weekend and that my friends are heading back home...inland.