ANDOVER — Pulling suitcases and clutching teddy bears and video games, families flocked to River Road area hotels yesterday looking for the power and warmth they couldn't get at home.
Lori DeLuca and her family checked into Springhill Suites because they had no running water and no electricity in Pelham, N.H. A handful of their neighbors soon followed, bringing along their children, laptop computers, toys and luggage.
They all recalled the stormy night before, with electricity going out around 11 p.m., and pre-dawn crashes and booms outside as ice-covered limbs and branches fell to the ground.
"It's just been crazy," said Bruce Herrling of Pelham, who checked into Springhill Suites with his wife, Lisa, and three children, ages 3 to 8. The family dined at nearby Chili's last night and planned to pass the time by taking dips in the hotel pool.
But the family couldn't take along their two cats and dog so Bruce ventured back home last night to feed the pets.
The temperature dipped to 52 degrees in George and Claire Joynson's Andover home yesterday afternoon. With no fireplace or auxiliary heat source, the coupled decided to check into a hotel just five miles away from home. They booked a room until Monday morning.
"We thought we better not take a chance and have a warm place to stay," George said.
The DeLucas and Herrlings also booked through the weekend, although they hope not to have to stay that long. DeLuca said the timing of the storm couldn't have been any worse.
"It's not an expense any of us wanted right before Christmas," she said.
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland
Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
