We have been to Duck in the Outer Banks, NC and Myrtle Beach (Garden City area) in SC. Outer Banks wasn't for us as there isn't much to do there except for the beach, lighthouses to visit and Kitty Hawk with the Wrights' Brothers Museum. The museum is very small. The Outer Banks are relaxing and peaceful. Myrtle Beach has a lot to do that my family enjoys. There is a huge mall, a boardwalk with little shops and restaurants, movies, miniature golf, golf, theater, water sports, and the beach. In summary, Outer Banks for a peaceful-type vacation, Myrtle Beach for a more active-type vacation.

Hi Sandy, I'm impressed to hear your doing some research on windows before spending your money. A lot of people jump on the first great sales pitch they think they're getting a deal on. I applaud your approach. My only recommendation to you when searching out information on these forums is be careful what you read. There are a lot of posters on these forums who tend to steer people in the wrong direction. There are a core of good people who really try to get you the information and help your looking for. You'll understand what I'm saying as the search unfolds and answers come your way. With your location at an altitude higher than us bottom feeders below, you'll most definitely need to get a window manufactured at a higher altitude or set up with proper capillary tubes to even the gas pressure inside your Insulated Glass Units (IGU). Most of the glass is made in a lower altitude and barometric pressure across the nation. If this product is shipped to a higher altitude the barometric pressure change can cause severe bowing of the glass and even breakage. Just make sure your getting a product made for your altitude. I'd assume your local distributors already have this covered, but this will head off potential issues down the road. The glass is an important part of your window. With the high winds it would be good to go with some type of impact glass. Something with a laminate glass on the exterior side of the IGU would fit your situation. The laminate glass is similar to the windshield on your vehicle. It won't shatter or break into sharp shards if broken. Most projectiles will stay embedded in the glass with out breaching the room with flying debris. This glass will also give you a much more quieter home as it will block out more sound. If Oberon reads this he'll be able to explain this in more detail as he is the "GOD" of the glass industry, and a great person on top of that. The exterior construction of the new window frame should be something that won't dent or break. Most of the vinyl's out there today are pretty resilient to flying debris. The clad units are better with an exterior side that is extruded verses one that is rolled or capped over wood. The extruded material is much stronger than the other. Marvin and Eagle are two examples of a good extruded product worth consideration. They both also offer Kynar Finishes which is probably one of the best exterior finishes on the market today. You can pick from a rainbow of colors where vinyl limits you to only a couple choices. The most important thing in all of this search is finding a good qualified installer to put the windows in properly. This will make it all pay off in the end when it's completed. Installation is the key to any window replacement no matter how much money your going to spend. The best window on the market is junk if not installed properly. In your case I would highly recommend a "Full Frame Replacement" and not an "Insert". You'll benefit more by replacing the entire window and using the nail fin to secure the new window. This will allow a more securely fastened window which will stop air and water infiltration much better than an insert replacement. Also make sure the installers use a "Low Expansion Foam" to insulate and seal the windows in place (as long as it is acceptable by the window manufacturer). This will add another line of defense and security to the new window. Hopefully this will get you going in the right direction. Good Luck!!!

Never leave heat off if there's a risk of freezing (unless of course house completely prepared by draining all water etc). In fact, I've heard one should be cautious about how close to freezing, because pipes may be in less-heated areas (i.e. outside walls). I would not go below 50F. I would also say it can take more than a few hours to get a house back to desired temperature, depending on specifics of the heating system; I've personally seen and felt where the house's air has been brought up to temperature overall but you can still feel the cold on walls, floors, furniture - the thermal mass inside the house may take considerably longer to even out the temperature.

It took me a while to find this, and I had to do some odd searches to finally find it! Anyway, I did want to respond... IdaClaire - yes, I am somewhat of a compulsive story-teller, and when I was in First Grade, I won first place in the UL story-telling contest. I had to look up David Sedaris, but he does sound inspirational. I've always wanted to write in the style of James Thurber, which I think is somewhat similar. Anyway, I have to thank for this comment because it has gotten me back on the short story collection I was working on. I had started to write my autobiography, not because I think my life is special, but several friends have asked me to do this, including Dolores Deluxe, who is an actress and also an author. I met her in San Francisco in 1974 when I was living in a theatrical commune where she was rehearsing a play that some of my roommates at the time were in. Our commune was in a storefront on Valencia street that had been a dance studio before, and so it had one cavernous room with 8' high mirrors and ballet bars. I recently saw Dolores again at one of her book signings, and then we had lunch near her bungalow in Venice on the beach. I have her autobiography and thought that I should try to write something similar, but that really didn't work for me, but when I read your post, I got the idea that all I need to do is get a collection of short anecdotes - something that would be much easier for me to do. I've decided that they do not need to be sequential, and I can try to make sense or order out of them after I've finished writing them. BTW, when I was at Rice, I took Larry McMurtry's creative writing class and got an A in it. I was told that some of my writings were Kafkaesque, which I did agree with, but those were especially the ones I wrote in high school and college. They tended to be a bit surreal. 3katz4me, you would have to fly your cats to Palm Springs, which is Cathedral City adjacent. I just had my pool resurfaced, and it has new equipment as well, and the heater works well, although I certainly don't need that in the summer. In September the water temperature was 85° without using the heater. I'm going there this week-end to do some more work on the house.