Vacation Turns to Evacuation for Madison Family Fleeing Irene

Madison resident and Patch contributor Elizabth McConnell and her family were on vacation in Virginia when the order came to evacuate. She filed this report today:

We were really looking forward to a family reunion in Chincoteague Island, Va., this weekend, but Mother Nature and Hurricane Irene had other plans. As I write this, we are one of about 15 families that remain on the island near the southern tip of the DelMarVa peninsula ahead of the storm.

As we turned in Thursday night, officials were closing the wildlife refuge on neighboring Assateague Island, where the wild ponies we came to see roam free. This morning the hotel informed us we had to be out by 11 a.m. My husband and I packed up the four kids, said a hasty good-bye to my parents and my sister, and got in the car.

I talked to Justin Miller, the maintenance supervisor at the Comfort Inn where we are staying. Miller was boarding up the hotel's doors against flying debris and vandals before taping up the windows.

"We've never had to do this in 14 years," said Miller, adding that the evacuation of the island was also unique. "Every storm that hits is pretty much tropical storm-strength once it hits land here."

Now, the region is bracing for a Category 3 hurricane, so we're hitting the road. I will keep you posted on our progress.