Surviving Irma

This was my first….and hopefully….. my last hurricane.   What a week.

First, watching category 5 Irma was terrifying.   But projections were it would turn north and not bother the west coast of Florida that much.  OK, I can deal with that.

Still, it was doing a lot of damage, and what if the projections were wrong?   We decided to catch a plane north.  Every site I tried said, basically, ‘Are you kidding?’      I finally drove to the airport to ask for help evacuating.   Same answer…and the agent checked every airport in Florida for me.  Every airline, every flight sold out.   Maybe, maybe some airlines will add last minute flights, but no way to know that on Wednesday.

Okey dokey….what’s plan B?    How about a nice sturdy hotel?    I called and called and finally found one.    BUT…when we went to check in on Friday, we were turned away.   They had just received a mandatory evacuation order.   Yikes.     Did we have a plan C?

I had listened carefully to our governor, who btw, did a wonderful job keeping us updated and giving us good advice.   He said these things:

1.  If you’ve been told to evacuate, do it.   (We did)
2.  If you go to a shelter, be aware that you need to bring a cot, food, toilet paper and water for an unknown length of time.   (Geez)
3.  It is far preferable to go to a family or friend who lives in a sturdy home.
4.  As a last resort, drive north.  Be aware, the roads will be packed; there may not be gas or motels for you.   BRING:   bedding so you can sleep in your vehicle;  a tarp and bucket you can use as a makeshift outhouse along side the road.  (Puhleeze)

As we drove away from the hotel, we called our friends Jim and Carol.  They asked if we wanted to come there.   We were 1/2 mile from their home by then, so yes, we sure did.  And what a house:   built of reinforced concrete;  hurricane proof windows;  built low to the ground.   AND, no where near water of any kind.   We hunkered down;  actually had fun;  and when the hurricane, by now a category 2, hit,  this house didn’t even shake.

We will be forever grateful;  feel so blessed.

We are back home now, and for some reason, our manufactured home was untouched; we didn’t even lose electricity!   Many homes in our park suffered a lot of damage.   But we, once again, feel so blessed.

Next hurricane?   I plan to be up north.