Yesterday, the fires had consumed 75,000 acres, today it’s 170,000, when last I heard.  I just got a phone call from Drue Mordecai, Sales Manager at the Lodge, and he doesn’t expect we will be back in for 4 – 6 weeks.  The winds will be picking up again tomorrow night and I am nervous about being only 20 miles from a major fire.

I wrote that we have no good options going North, but the way South is open.  I am going to take it, sooner, rather than later.  Scott is looking for a hotel for us as I write this.  It will be for 4-6 weeks, and it will be by the ocean, where there is a hope of being able to breathe, at least when the wind is blowing onshore.  That’s the best thing about where we are and I will be sorry to leave.

We had an amazing dinner tonight.  It was free for evacuees.  I saw a flyer for it at our local Harvest Market, when I went there for oregano oil.  It was an old time church upper thing, with 4 kinds of pasta, chili, corn and regular bread, salads and desserts.  They loaded up three containers for us and we ended up eating about half of them,  No matter.  I’ll take the leftovers with me.

Before I go, I am sorry to report two more houses lost, Arlene & Jerry Phelan’s, Dan Solomon & Lynn Cangemi’s.

Anne Seymour offers:  I am wondering about your friends who say that they cannot see their homes. Tell them to use Google Earth. You can put in any address and see a live photo of the home (or remains).

I’ll start driving in the wee hours tonight and end up in the Holiday Inn Salinas.  It’s a bit dodgy but best I could do on short notice in a tough market.  We’ll move in to Scalbergs on Monday, having sorted out Elvon’s needs.  Then, when they come back, we have the HI Express Marina State Beach booked until the end of November.  By then we should be able to move back to the Lodge.  I wanted all this stuff booked before all the other homeless people get the same idea.

Now for a few hours of sleep or meditation, before we hit the road to beat the traffic.