Update: 10:15 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 23

The boss called from Orlando this morning and it looks like plans are changing. We're being called home to be on stand-by for Hurricane Jeanne.

That came as a big surprise to us because the Comfort Inn where we're staying doesn't have Cable TV, so we haven't been able to keep up with the news back home.

The guys hate to be leaving with so much work that needs to be done. Maybe half of the 2,500 customers here still don't have power. Well at least the three crews that came over from Georgia will be staying on awhile longer.

Still, it's good to look back and see where we've helped to make a difference. Like that line we rebuilt to the industrial park that got the Gerber children's wear plant back on. That got a lot of people back to work.

We plan to leave around noon, but first we're going to finish getting power to this traffic signal on Highway 84 and Kendall Avenue. It's an important intersection because of the school, which already has power.

We still haven't gotten used to how small this town is. Evergreen makes Opp, where we were before, look like New York City. Here the 911, police, fire and electric department are all in the same little building.

And I can't tell you how many times a day we're reminded how good we have it in Orlando. Here you could put the entire contents of their supply warehouse in one pickup truck. Back home we have three warehouses with forklifts and bridge cranes and something like 28,000 different items in stock!

We'll try and check in later. It should take a good 10 - 10 ½ hours to get back to Orlando driving these big trucks. The cooler weather has been great. Hope it's not too hot back home.

Update: 9:55 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 22

It's strange to say it after two hurricanes came through Central Florida, but we should consider ourselves pretty lucky.

There's so much damage here in this part of Alabama. There's so much to do it's hard to know where to get started. It makes you appreciate what we have at home as far as organization, dedication and manpower.

For example, we're having problems getting materials to work with. We just barely had enough wire to get this last line we worked on built. Or there are times when you have plenty of wire, but no insulators.

We get spoiled back home and it takes coming here to realize just how good we have it.

That being said, this is definitely the experience of a lifetime. We all feel fortunate to be here and to help out, and glad to be able to see a different part of the South. We get to see big rolling hills - not mountains exactly, but it's big for us.

There's no doubt we're happy to be here and will stay as long as they have work for us to do.

Update: 3:35 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 22

That was a long delay - sorry for being away from the updates so long. When you're where we are, it's hard to find time to get your thoughts together. And when you do, it's even harder to find service so you can send them in to the Web log!!

Anyway, Evergreen is torn up pretty bad. There are areas around here with huge trees that have crashed down, poles down and wires all tangled up and no one has even had time to get to them yet. It reminds me of parts of Orlando that were hit hard after Charley. It's that kind of a mess.

For anyone worried about us working in the swamp yesterday, breathe easy. We ended up getting to the edge of a swamp, but worked right on the side of the road instead. So we were able to stay clean (relatively speaking) and out of the muck. Needless to say, we were happy.

What we weren't too happy about was not having any rooms last night at the motel. Luckily, we got that cleared up and got two rooms for five guys. We're crammed in there pretty tight, but we have air conditioning and hot showers so we're living pretty good for this area of Alabama.

We've seen some other out-of-town and out-of-state crews working here. Because of all the work though, we haven't had much time to talk with them. A little bit at supper, but that's it.

Back to work now. We'll touch base soon!

Update: 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 22

Note : The OUC Hurricane Ivan Restoration crew is currently working in a remote area of Alabama without wireless service.

Update: 4:40 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 21

We're about to head into the swamp country, so this might be our last communication for a little bit. It's good to keep working up here, and being in a different area makes it a little more exciting, too.

Let's just hope we don't run into too many nasty critters while were poking around in the muck ....

Update: 8:20 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 21

With Opp restored, we're back on the road - but not heading to Orlando. Actually, we're heading further west.

We've been sent to the city of Evergreen, about 40 miles west of Opp. They have a bunch of lines down that we're going to work on. Sounds easy, right?

Well, the lines are down in the middle of a swamp. How about that for a Tuesday morning job?

We've worked that kind of a mess before, and it really is a mess. You've got to really get down in there and fight to get the wires and to work the equipment and everything. It's very time consuming.

And when you're done you look like you've been working in a swamp, trust me.

Right now, we're looking for a diesel place to fuel up before we go too far into the middle of nowhere. If we don't find one, we might give you our GPS coordinates and ask for a tow!

Update: 8:35 p.m., Monday, Sept. 20

Our hard work has paid off and Opp is back on.

Everyone who can get power turned back on has it now. It's a good feeling knowing us being here has helped out. Today was fun because we did a lot of single-home jobs, which means you can meet the folks you're helping.

Like back home, just about everyone was pretty fired up to see us working their house. We got offered food and water and drinks just like before. It's always cool when you can tell someone who has been in the dark for a long time, "OK, flip the switches, you're back!"

They get excited and flip the breakers and when the lights pop on, there's always shouting and carrying on. That's what makes being here for four days worth it.

Update: 1:10 p.m., Monday, Sept. 20

One of the guys on our crew, Orlando Gomez, is getting a little homesick. He's on his first long trip on a job to help another community restore power.

He was saying earlier today that, "it's hard, but I'm having a good time. You always get homesick when you're away, but I'll be here as long as they need us."

Being away from your family for a while can affect you. You miss being home, but you just have to concentrate on what you're doing here. The 11-man crew we sent to Ft. Pierce last week is probably feeling the same way at times.

But, you know, there's just so much work to do that you don't have a lot of time on the job to think of things too much.

On the bright side, it's warmed up pretty well so far today.

Update: 9:10 a.m., Monday, Sept. 20

Well, guess what?

It's cold!

A cold front moved through and it's in the low 60s right now and we're all a little chilly. We don't really have cold-weather gear with us since no one thought the temperatures would drop like they have.

Cross your fingers that it doesn't get any colder. It's kinda funny, though, since when we were working so hard at this back home for "our" hurricanes, we couldn't believe how hot it was. Now we're working in the cold!

Sorry for not making an entry last night - we were all tired after our second long day working after the long drive up here. We think we'll be here through Wednesday, so there will be plenty more time to update you all on how it's going up here and what the work is like.

So stay tuned!

Update: 5:15 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 19

No sitting around watching football today for us in Opp!

We got up at 5 a.m. again and got to work early. We've been having breakfast in a good Southern-style diner that has good food and good people. Everyone here has treated us great and been real appreciative of the work we're doing.

Today was more of the same: Hanging poles, getting rid of downed transformers and trying to get the outskirts turned back on. It's hard work, but not as much as we had to do back home.

Like OUC did when Charley and Frances came, these folks are making sure we get fed a good supper after we work. They've had different restaurants bring in food and make sure we've had enough to eat. Like I said, they've been very good to us here.

We're looking forward to another good meal later tonight.

Update: 10:40 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 18

We just got back to the hotel after a very long day. By the time we got here, most of the city of Opp had power, leaving about 500 customers still out. But they are mostly in the outskirts of town, which means it's a lot harder to get to and fix.

One good thing is that there is hardly any traffic, so it is not too hard to get around. We've been lifting and setting a lot of poles and fixing wires - a lot like what we did back home after Charley and Frances. Not a lot of fun, but it feels good to help people get their power back.

Talk to you tomorrow, we're all tired as can be. Goodnight!

Update: 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 18

Not much time to talk this morning -- we want to get to work. We got up about 5 a.m. and had breakfast and then hit the road to see the damage.

You can definitely tell Ivan was here - there's lots of damage with trees down, poles and wires. It's a small town but there will be a lot of work to do.

Update: 11:15 p.m., Friday, Sept. 17

OUC line crew: Victor, Raymond, Leo, Andrew and Orlando

OUC Hurricane Ivan restoration team:
Victor Mendoza, Raymond O’Neal, Leo Taylor, Andrew Peaden and Orlando Gomez.

What a trip! The reports weren't wrong about traffic - it took us 9.5 hours to make the trip here. If you're doing the math (which we did, trust me) that's about 44 miles per hour, which makes for one very long trip.

We took I-75 to I-10 West. From there we took 81 north to Samson, Alabama. That's where we picked up 52 and took that all the way to Opp.

Our contact here made sure everything was ready when we got here. He stayed up and waited for us and had our hotel rooms ready and everything. So we'll get a good night's sleep and then start working in the morning.

Good night, Orlando!

Update: 12:00 p.m., Friday, Sept. 17

Orlando to Opp, Alabama - 418 miles

Our trucks are gassed up and we're headed south to the Beeline to catch the Florida Turnpike and begin the trip north. We'll take Interstate 75 to I-10 and head west. With the bridge closings near Pensacola traffic is expected to be backed up. FDOT reports today that the number of vehicles traveling westbound on I-10 is two-to-three times the normal average.

The town of Opp, Alabama is located about 58 miles west of Dothan, Alabama or 46 miles north of I-10 via highway 153 through Defuniak Springs, Florida. Opp has a population of some 7000 people, located at the intersection of US Highway 331 & US Highway 84 (just 20 miles from the Florida state line).

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