My kids and I were without power and phone for three days, but we still had hot water and the gas range still worked; so we were pretty comfortable. It helped that we were to go to a nearby building with an emergency generator to recharge batteries etc. My wife was visiting her parents in AZ all week, now how's that for planning?

Our summer house on Long Island --which is actually ours, as opposed to where we live in NJ-- is another story. Neighbors assure me we survived pretty well; we're a half mile from the bay, and flood waters reached within a couple hundred feet of our house. Hey, a couple hundred feet is plenty, huh? But there is still no power, and no trains running, so it will be a while before I have a chance to go check it out. Bottom line: I am, tentatively, very relieved.