By Amy Ettinger, Special to The Washington Post via The Associated Press Hurricane Sandy hit New York City five days into our family vacation. My husband and I were stranded in an Airbnb on the Upper West Side — along with our 4-year-old daughter and my 73-year-old mother — as winds felled trees and the storm surge flooded streets and subway tunnels. My mom, an anxious traveler, panicked while my husband and I ran around town after the storm getting food and water.