Hurricane Irene is on its way from North Carolina to the northern part of the United States. It is not assumed to hit Washington, DC directly and has lost a lot of its strength, but high water and strong winds could cause a lot of damage.

When DC was impacted by hurricane Isabel eight years ago, many homes were without power for several days. Just in case that happens again, we have bought some extra water, candles and food that doesn't have to stay refrigerated. All loose items have been removed from the balconies and patios in our apartment building, to prevent things from blowing away. The storm is supposed to be here between 8 pm and midnight.

Yesterday evening we went to Mackey's bar, where there was a Friday evening social with the DC Dutch club. It was a nice group of people, and since the weather was good we were sitting outside. There were even real bitterballen.

This morning I went for my first run since we arrived in DC. I passed the White House, the Washington Monument and many other famous sights. It was drizzling a little bit, but no heavy wind yet.

The apartment complex getting storm proofed yesteday.

Yesterday the movers picked up our belongings. We got up at 6.30 am to prepare the last items, and they arrive at 9.30 am.

When we arrived in the States many years ago we each had two suitcases -- our apartment today consist of 6,000 lbs! The movers were a very professional and friendly crew of three. They packed our items until 1.00 pm. It took until 3:30 pm to move everything in the truck.

Since we'll be staying in a temporary apartment for two months, we packed many items into our car as well. I was relieved to see that it all fits, haha.

Earthquake

While the movers we working we didn't have much to do. When we were sitting in the windowsill we felt a slight moving for 15 seconds or so. First we thought that it was something that the movers did, but it was clearly too strong for that. The internet connection of our phones started slowing down, so it took 30 minutes or so before we heard that it was indeed an earthquake; the first ever I've experienced.

When the moving was done we checked into a local hotel, the Millennium. This is the same place Sasha stayed 5 years ago for her first interviews at Duke, so it seemed fitting to spend our last night in Durham here.

We went out with Esteban and Belen for dinner and had a great evening together.

The truck. The crew is based in Washington, DC and they traveled home last night with our belongings. They had spent a week on the road, mainly in South Carolina.

Packing.

Packing took about 3,5 hours. Our books, all in boxes.

Our boxes in the truck.

Our apartment, all empty. We've had five great years here.

We stayed up late yesterday, and the alarm went early this morning, but we're in good shape for the move.

The movers will be here between 8 am and 10 am. The logistics of packing were a little more complicated because we had to separate the things we'll need in our temporary apartment vs items we can live without for two months.

This was a weekend of packing.

This morning I packed most of the electronics, and the house is starting to look emptier. The internet equipment will be the very last thing to pack, Tuesday morning.

Today I packed up a lot of my belongings at work, including my beloved bookshelf. Next week will be my last week at my current employer.

We went out for drinks last night with my team, that was fun. Today we had lunch together -- North Carolina BBQ, of course. It's sad saying goodbye; it's a great group of people.