Welcome to Philadelphia; please use caution.

Covering 1,341 miles in two days gave Mom and Dad and I plenty of time to listen to weather reports and take calls from concerned friends and family. As we got closer to the city, we were in the same flow of traffic as utility trucks, going against the flow of cars fleeing the coast. The reminders made it a little eerie, but Philadelphia was not being evacuated and we knew we could stand some rain and wind. We are Kansans, after all.

Thankfully, we reached our destination (my new home) long before the rain did and were able to unload the car and enjoy a ceremonial cheesesteak outside.

Oh, my.

Kelsey's boyfriend, Jim, was scheduled to fly in Saturday afternoon but got notice Friday that his flight was canceled. My mom proposed that he fly into Pittsburgh and we could pick him up there, and Jim was able to re-route his flight. During the family planning meeting, I offered to stay at home, board up the windows and go down with the ship if that's what it came to, and Mom selflessly said she would stay too. On Saturday morning, just before the rain started, Kelsey and my dad joyfully set out to drive 10 more hours across Pennsylvania and back. Fortunately they were driving away from the storm for half of the trip.

Meanwhile, I drove blindly around Philly with my mom. We accidentally ended up in New Jersey once and had to pay a bridge toll to get back (coincidentally you don't have to pay to drive into Camden), but we did manage to get to IKEA, Trader Joe's, a delicious Vietnamese restaurant and a movie theatre. I learned some valuable lessons about driving here -- be aggressive and avoid bridges, for example -- and I do think I'm getting my bearings a little. Just need to get lost a few times.

The storm picked up around the time we reunited for dinner in Plymouth Meeting, Penn., where my parents were staying. Kelsey, Jim and I took ours to go and had a wild drive home. I love storms and was excited to experience rain after this drought, but driving Kelsey's little VW Rabbit through flood water was a bit tense. I know that many people were much worse off than we were during this hurricane -- I count it as a huge blessing that that drive was the scariest thing I went through. We had a nice, strong row house (with electricity) to come home to.

The rain died down enough Sunday morning that we were able to join the crowds of people surveying the aftermath. It was still pretty windy...

Parts of Philly received a lot of flooding, and one really clear indication was the Schuylkill River, which runs through the center of the city. The water was well past its banks. Jim lived in Hattiesburg, Miss., during Katrina, so he was a little less than impressed with Irene.

Last night we went to one of my favorite churches, Broad Street Ministry. When I have visited in the past, I've been overwhelmed by the community there. People from different backgrounds and economic situations, many homeless and many with homes, meeting together in a beautiful old Presbyterian church in the urban arts district. There is no doubt that God is in that room. Last night there was a heightened sense of thanksgiving for having survived the storm and for having this church service go on as planned. The timing seems bad to move into a new city just before a natural disaster, but I feel blessed to have gotten here in time to band together with my new neighbors. I have experienced something catastrophic, and that has bonded me to this city already.

That said, I am trying to remain calm and courageous about the adventure ahead. Saying goodbye to my parents was reminiscent of when they left me in my Corbin dorm room freshman year. I am so excited to be here, but my life here is still such a mystery. Having visited Kelsey four times, I know some restaurants and museums, but now I have to think about finding a job and a bank and a grocery store. And what will I do for a dentist and a hair cut? Kelsey will help with those things, but I also am looking forward to venturing out on my own and getting lost if I need to.

Thank you for sharing this with me.

With love.