Fire Update Friday 9:00 AM

Wow. Although the fires are definitely well on their way to being contained and extinguished, our area of Fallbrook is still under evacuation. What this means is that I'm still camped out at my brother's house, since my attempts to talk my way past the roadblock yesterday were unsuccessful. (How did mom do it??) My parents are absolutely staying at home until travel in and out of Fallbrook is uninhibited; if they leave now, they won't be allowed back in.

I'm posting a portion of the map provided by the San Diego County Emergency Department that we’ve been watching. It shows the part of Fallbrook they opened last night (green shaded area) and the approximately location of our home, which is solidly within the closed part of town, and within the burn area (purple shaded area.) You can go to their website to see a full version of the map.

At the same time that I know I should be grateful for a home to go to, I'm anxious to be there now. I had grand delusions of sleeping in my own bed last night. I’m weary of the waiting, and a bit exasperated because since mom and dad are living there, I know it’s safe to go back. But, arghh! …they won’t let me in! Thankfully I got an infusion of clean clothes yesterday.

On another note, I booked a plane ticket weeks ago to visit friends in the Bay Area this weekend. It would seem this might just be the perfect opportunity to get out of town and relax with some friends when some relaxation might be just the thing I need. The kink in this plan is that the brakes on my car started acting up last Sunday, and they are now to the point that I really don’t think I should drive it anymore, so getting myself to the airport may be the challenge to completing my travel plans.

For those keeping track of the grand delusions about sleeping in my own bed, and wondering why I’m so anxious now to fly 400 miles to sleep at someone else’s home: if it’s not my bed, it may as well be theirs, right? Did I mention that these friends almost never sit down to dinner without a glass of wine? Or that we've been friends so long... being at their home is almost as good as being at my own? I am thankful once again for the offers of help and hospitality I've received this week. I am truly blessed with wonderful friends.