SEQUIM — Kim Mathisen and Crissy Michel were going to be in Sequim at the end of August anyway to celebrate the 75th birthday of Mathisen’s mother, Joan Burke.
But because they live in Harvey, La. — just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans — their vacation started a little early because of Hurricane Katrina.
And now it looks like they’re going to be here longer — a lot longer — than they expected.
They have fared better than many. Though their house has a tree on its garage, it appears not to have flooded.
All of Michel’s large family evacuated safely. Their dogs are in a kennel in the city but came through the storm OK.
Mathisen has family on the Peninsula and around Seattle to help the pair, and their daughter, Gabrielle, get situated on the other side of the country from their beloved home.
“For the first week, we were lost,” Michel said.
“Nobody knew what to do.”
Local relief agencies have stepped in and started working on their behalf, although it’s taken some time — no one up here was expecting hurricane evacuees, Michel said.