The 2018 Hurricane season officially begins today and the forecast from Colorado State University calls for a slightly above-average outlook with a total of 14 named storms (we’ve already had the first named storm), seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes expected. So let’s talk hurricane preparedness. Putting together a Go Bag or Go Kit is one of the best ways to prepare you and your family for a hurricane, or any event, that requires an evacuation or that requires you to shelter in place for an extended period of time.
Build a “Go Bag or Go Kit”
A Go Bag or Go Kit is usually something you have ready and available to grab and take with you at a moment’s notice in case you need to evacuate out of a storm’s path to go to a designated shelter, but it can also function as way to have all your emergency supplies in one place within your home or business in the event that you shelter in place because you can’t get to a shelter instead of having to run from kitchen to bedroom to utility room, basement or attic gathering up needed items, possibly in the dark.
And keep in mind that your Go Bag or Go Kit can be anything from a backpack for yourself and each family member to a duffel bag, suitcase, or plastic tub.
Here’s what a basic Go Bag or Go Kit should contain:
One gallon of water for each person for at least 3 days – Keep in mind that a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds, so it’s better to have this in a box or tub if possible instead of a backpack. Or, if you’re in a survivalist-mindset, a portable water filtration system.
Non-perishable food – Enough to last each person a minimum of 3 days. Easy carry food items include:
- Canned foods (beans, vegetables, fruits) or, to reduce weight, pouch foods such as tuna fish or chicken.
- Peanut butter.
- Granola bars.
- Crackers.
- Any special diet foods needed.
Food Utensils – Better than your fingers or a stick.
- Manual can opener.
- Eating utensils
- Pots or pans if cooking on gas, sterno, or over a fire.
Medications – Prescription and OTC.
- Prescription (this is a good time to remind everyone to have extra on hand in case you can’t get a needed medication refilled).
- Over the counter. Pain relievers, anti-bacterial creams or sprays, allergy relief, etc.
- First Aid kit (you can put together your own or buy ready-made kits that include the very basics and up to being able to perform minor surgery).
Lamp or Flashlight(s) – Preferably the hand crank type to keep from hauling batteries around.
Radio – Also hand crank so no batteries needed.
Applicable batteries – (in case you don’t have the hand crank versions of the above items) and other power sources fully charged. For example, Cindy and I each have an Anker High Capacity Portable Charger with connecting cords that can fully charge our phones 3 times before running out of power. I keep mine with me in my backpack.
Knife and/or Multi-Tool – More convenient than carrying an entire toolbox.
Rope – If you know how to tie useful knots, even better. But at least have some rope.
Duct Tape – A multitude of uses.
Matches and/or Lighter – Preferably waterproof.
Toiletries – Wipes, toothpaste/toothbrush, toilet paper, personal items, etc.
If you have the room – consider adding large, extra-strength trash bags, and several zip-lock bags in quart and gallon sizes, paper towels, travel packs of tissues, etc.
Important Papers – There are two schools of thought on this; scan them all and have them digitally available or gather the physical papers, place them in sealed, plastic bags and carry them with you. I prefer the belt and suspenders approach, doing both so that, if by chance, you have no access to power for your device and/or your cloud, then you still have the actual documents to provide if needed. What are important papers?
- Copy of your driver’s license and passport.
- Insurance policies (property and health).
- Vehicle registration.
- Home and business property titles.
- Marriage, divorce, adoption papers.
- Tax information.
- Bank account information.
Write down important phone numbers – Most of us have them on our devices, but if your device is damaged or dies from lack of power, do you have those numbers memorized? I sure don’t and even if I did I might not be able to recall them in the hectic midst of evacuating or landing in a designated shelter.
Cash – With the possibility that power will be out, it’s best to have an amount of cash available to you as opposed to relying on your debit or credit card to make purchases or to get cash from an ATM soon after a hurricane makes landfall in your area. I recommend keeping it in a money belt under your clothes or some other unobtrusive place as opposed to your wallet or purse.
And when you’re building your Go Bag or Go Kit, don’t forget your furry family members. You may need a carrier or cage that can be moved easily, pet food, medications, toys, etc.
You can also customize your Go Bag or Go Kit to your own individual needs. If you have young children then perhaps you want toys and/or activity books for them. Maybe you need a special diet food. And throw in a book or magazine for yourself to pass the time.
You should put the Go Bag or Go Kit together a couple of months before hurricane season begins. If you end up not using it by the time the season is over, then use the food and water items and replenish with fresh items, swap out medications and batteries with new ones, and put the Go Bag or Go Kit in an out of the way but easy place to grab. You’ll have peace of mind that, if needed, you’re ready to go.
And if you don’t want to go to the effort of building your own Go Bag, you can purchase ready-filled backpacks like the Earthquake Bag that claims to carry 33% more food than most generic kits and allow you to add options for your pet, car, or office.
The bottom line is to find some way to be prepared this hurricane season in case you have to evacuate in a hurry or shelter in place for a few days. One of the best ways to do that is with a Go Bag or Go Kit.
What did I leave out that YOU would include?
After breakfast at the hotel, Cindy and I drove over to Jeremy and Wendy’s house to pick up Jade and Maxwell for our trip to Seattle and our visit to Underground Seattle. 
So you may remember that back on day two of our 21st wedding anniversary week we had planned to drive up Mt. Rainier, but discovered that coming in from the northern entrance would not gain us access to the mountain, only the national park forest area at the base. We still had a great time.
But I really wanted to take Cindy up Mt. Rainier to see the beauty I had seen, so we were going to try again. 
When we arrived at the entrance it was cold and raining a bit more heavily. The ranger on duty asked me if I had tire chains and when I told her I did not, she said they were still needed at this time of year. She said she’d let us go in without them, but if we went more than 6 miles in that other rangers would turn us around. I figured 6 miles was better than nothing, so off through the rapidly increasing snowfall we went.
Neither Cindy nor I had ever been to the Pacific Ocean. When we were planning this anniversary week in the Pacific Northwest, we wanted to include a visit to part of the West Coast of Washington that would allow us to see and feel the Pacific Ocean for the first time. We ended up deciding to visit Ruby Beach in the 
By the time we were approaching Ruby Beach it was lunchtime, so we stopped at the 
The 10 Most Common Languages – As English speakers, we often tend to think that EVERYONE speaks, or should speak, English as well. That’s just not the case in the real world. 
Clean Sleeping – If you’re like me, you’ve heard of clean eating or eating cleanly (I initially thought it meant I had to take a shower before eating) but perhaps never heard of clean sleeping. 
We left the hotel in Redmond at 5 am for the approximately 2 ½ hour drive. Our usual practice when visiting a large city for the first time is to take one of the city bus tours offered in order to familiarize ourselves with the history, landmarks, and layout of the city first, and then concentrate on the particular places of interest to us. The tour we chose began at the Vancouver Public Library at 9 am and we knew we’d be stopping for some breakfast along the way on the drive so we built in enough time for that and the possibility of delays crossing the border.
The Vancouver Public Library is a city block in size and we, of course, ended up on the wrong (back) side of it when we arrived and parked. But after a couple of calls to the tour bus company, we were able to find out we needed to be on the front side which is marked, I was told, by “The Words Don’t Fit The Picture” sign, which made no sense when she was telling me this over the phone until I saw the “sign” 
I’ll buy 50 copies of Action Comics #1, seal them so they remain in pristine condition, place them in a safe deposit box that I’ve paid the rent on for the next 50 years, and return to my time. When I turn 18 years old I’ll remove one of the copies and sell it for hundreds of thousands of dollars and keep doing the same at the rate of one each year until February 22, 2010, when I become the first person to receive 
We had a good night’s sleep, enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, and then drove from Redmond to Everett for our scheduled 10 am tour of Boeing’s Future of Flight facility at Paine Field, a small international airport next to the assembly building. In the photo to the right, we are about to enter the visitor center where the tour begins and this is the ONLY photo we were permitted to take. Just inside the doors behind us are dozens of lockers that you MUST leave your belongings (aside from medications) in because “
The tour lasts about 90 minutes and was fun and informative. There was an introductory video in a theater at the visitor center before we were loaded onto a bus to drive over to the assembly building. We started on the nearest side (the assembly building is divided in half and two kinds of aircraft are assembled in each half) where the 747 and 767 aircraft are assembled. Our tour guide was full of interesting facts about the aircraft, the facility, and the people who put these massive mechanical marvels together. While Ransom E. Olds originated the assembly-line process and Henry Ford put it into mass practice, Boeing has put it into practice on a monumental scale and continues refining it to this day.
We then visited the farthest side where the 777 and 787 aircraft are assembled and were fortunate enough to see a massive overhead crane in the ceiling moving a part of a plane into place. Afterward, we took a quick ride on the bus past a line of completed aircraft parked on the edge of the airport taxiway. Boeing test pilots take each finished aircraft on two different flights and then test pilots from the purchasing entity (Delta, American, etc.) also take each plane on two different flights. If any issues are discovered they are corrected and tested twice again before the aircraft sale is considered final. And Boeing does not deliver aircraft; each purchasing entity is responsible for flying their own aircraft away from the assembly plant upon completion.
Amber and Abby dropped Cindy and I off at the Orlando International Airport at 5:30 am for our 7:15 am flight. I had just flown in from Austin the day before in time to have dinner with Cindy, Amber, Abby, Ann, and Heather at Chuy’s, so while I would not have wanted to miss getting to see them, I was tired right from the beginning of the trip. As is my usual custom (though not my choice), I had not slept much the night before, and I had not slept much the night before my flight to Austin, so I was going on little sleep over the previous 2 nights. Thank goodness we were able to book a non-stop flight so I might have the chance to doze a bit during the flight.
Speaking of the Borg regeneration alcove, here is 1 of 1 standing inside an empty regeneration alcove. As she never lets me forget, “Resistance is futile.”
As much as I enjoyed the exhibit at the museum, here’s my favorite part of that day; hanging out with my youngest grandchildren, Jade and Maxwell!