Sometime between 2 and 3am I got bored of looking at the storm from the comfort of my apartment and decided to do something about it. I had been drinking for most of the day with my friend Greg and we both thought it might be interesting to walk over to the East River to get a better look at Irene. With out an ounce of caution or hesitation we strapped our boots on and headed East.
We stepped outside with an umbrella and ditched it almost immediately. There was no use in trying to stay dry it literally felt like we were under water. The smell of fresh water grew greater as we walked east along 14th street. The end of 14th was barricaded off by police, we saw the lights and made our way back up north through Stytown.
Being at the river was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had. As we approached the water we could see a line of homeless people underneath the bridge wedged between two pieces of concrete just wide enough to sleep single file on their sides. We got to the edge of the Island and stood in awe at the river. The waves grew as the wind blew and the water level rose steadily. All that seperated us from safety and our untimely demise was a guard rail.
We decided to stay and sat on a bench for atleast half an hour while watching the water level rise to a point where waves could actually make it over the barrier. By now my camera was rendered useless, the batteries dead, the lens covered with moisture but just being there was enough for me.
We made our way back sometime around 4 or 5am soaked still high off the adrenaline from the storm. We walked through Stytown and saw a massive fifty foot tree completely uprooted, lying across the road, directly in our path-it was officially dangerous to be out.
Despite all that Irene threw at us, we made it back soaking wet but completely unscathed (Greg managed to keep his phone dry), tossing around the idea of going back out again….into the storm.
