Ike is a bruiser. Texas got the big hit but the rest of the Gulf Coast are struggling from the storm surge and winds that Ike brought along with him as he took aim at Galveston and Houston. Many areas in Louisiana that took a heavy beating from Gustav are getting more from Ike: flooding, wind damage and loss of power.

We were supposed to go to Fort Morgan for our vacation next week but on Thursday we got this message from our realty company, "Due to coastal flooding from Ike, we are no longer honoring reservations from 09/11 through 09/25. Our leasing office is inaccessible and we will have to assess damage to all of our rental properties before we are able to proceed with future reservations." Surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes.

Onward with Plan B. We need to get out of town. Desperate for a change of scenery. So we gave up on the Gulf of Mexico and went inland to Red Creek in Mississippi. Bird watching, rafting and bonfires. Sounds heavenly.

Good luck to everyone dealing with Ike in Texas and the Midwest. The 2008 hurricane season cannot end soon enough.