We were out of power 18 days. We had a generator and often traveled over an hour to fill the 6 5 gal gas cans so we could go 4 to 5 days without running out. Hubby back wired the generator so we had power thru the whole house.
My Dad was 79 and we made him come stay with us (told him he was "helping me out") as we couldn't get gas to him as well as us. Our Daughter in Law was 7 months pregnant and had a 4 year old also and had them come stay with us too. Our son is in the Nat'l Guard and he was deployed out to help others. Hubby is a truck driver and was on the road.
However we were lucky. We had gas furnace, water heater and stove so we could run it all with the generator. We had DISH so we could watch TV. But I would only let them do all of this once it was getting cold, lol.
We played a lot of cards and learned about each other. All in all it was a learning experience and we were the lucky ones.
We washed clothes one day and had laundry lines strung all over the back deck and trees...looked like a hobo town.