Hurricane Rita in Houston, September 23-24, 2005: Survival!

Rayzor and Sewall Halls at Rice University, where many spent the night riding out the storm

With food, ice, cooler, champagne, sleeping bags, movies, and cats, we braced for the worst in Jim's office

Clyde the Cat owned the fourth floor of Sewall Hall, keeping watch and looking out for us

We spent good time with our friends downstairs in the Rice Art Gallery, who were sleeping next to a new exhibit

We met the French Canadian artist who created the exhibit, which opened the night before the storm to a crowd of 14.  Good timing!

The exhibit consists of 24 motor driven umbrellas that open and close slowly in rhythm.  Harmonics attached to bellows create music.

Lights below the umbrellas project kaleidoscopic patterns onto a sheet of cloth on the ceiling.  It more than helped pass the time.

The main entrance to Rice, the morning after

Rumors of looting, and indications of a security lapse traced to an unlocked gate (right), proved unfounded

Our morning running path (with an EMS truck visible on the far right)

Our other morning path, also littered but with the live oak trees intact, thankfully.
We lost power and time but nothing else.  Next time we should be as lucky.