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| Venice, Florida |
I was so very fortunate. I got power back in less than 24 hours. By the time I retuned from Miami, the house was 72 degrees, internet, water, and cell phone back. I have a full tank of gas. My gardeners came and picked up the entire yard yesterday except for the downed tree which my HOA will pay for since the tree is from the preserves and not my property. At least Florida really does know how to respond to hurricanes.
So many still have no water, electricity, gas, internet, or cell phone and many have serious damage and flooded homes. When we were checking into the hotel, two darling little girls came to say hi to the pups. The older one turned to me and said, "I hope we have a home." I spoke to a 90 year old woman who evacuated to her sons's after her condo flooded with Hurricane Helene. Then she had to evacuate with her son two weeks later for Hurricane Milton and his home in Punta Gorda flooded. They were in our hotel in Miami and she was then flying to her daughter's in Colorado. We commented that we felt like refugees.
So incredibly sad and traumatic for everyone. There are distribution sites for water, gas, food, oxygen, and supplies for those affected. Lots of lost and missing pets too. It is all so upsetting and sobering and heart wrenching.
I am so looking forward to doing something normal today like watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the New Orleans Saints. And temperatures are better this week in the eighties. I am even putting out my Halloween decorations today. Life goes on. The one thing about these crises is that they do make you enjoy life even more when it does return to normal.
I spent hours yesterday touching base with neighbors and friends, most of whom stayed despite a CAT 5 hurricane and mandatory evacuation. Not my choice. I was here for Ian, but we were not under an evacuation order. Ian made a hard right turn and headed south 6 hours before impact so people could not evacuate. Milton was predicted for days to hit Tampa Bay and once again made a 90 degree turn at the last minute and headed south. We were ground zero. There is something to the legend that Indian burial grounds protect Tampa - not a direct hit in 103 years. Nature has a mind of her own for sure.
Thank you for your support and your great ideas on Virginia relocation spots. I have added them to my list. I even heard from the lovely couple who built my home here and they have invited me to visit and stay with them at their historic home on the Rappahannock in Virginia when I visit up North. So many great options. The world is my oyster.
Have a great Sunday. I am so thankful that my pups and I are all safe as are my neighbors and friends and our homes. So many others were not so fortunate. Stay Strong Florida. Day by Day. We got this.
#Florida Strong
All of this is so sobering and is tragic for so many. I follow a cooking page from a farm in TN on the border with NC. They are still reeling from Helene. It's another case of the woman I follow being relatively unscathed, but her town has been destroyed by flood waters. So scary. I applaud your decision to move to VA. What a fun new chapter that will be for you and all of us who follow you!
ReplyDeleteYour resilience and optimism is an inspiration to all of us who follow
ReplyDeleteyour musings and shopping tips.
Rappahannock sounds like a perfect place for a stop over. Lovely place indeed.
Enjoy a well deserved normal Sunday.
K
Beth, I understand your reasoning completely. I've lived in Naples for the past nine years, but was already up north at our home at the Jersey Shore during Milton. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, when a rogue tornado that spun out during the hurricane caused roof damage and demolished our pool screen, we decided to always spend the month of September away from Florida. The aftermath seems to always seems to be extended power outages at the very least. I would have been back in Naples the beginning of this month if I had not accepted an invitation from a friend, who is another blog reader of yours, to see Ina Garten this past Wednesday in Philadelphia! Talk about "Be(ing) Ready When the Luck Happens!" We were at the theater when Milton's eye passed over Sarasota! Luckily, my Naples home didn't suffer any damage from Milton. We live in the E evacuation zone and put up the shutters on the windows and lanai when we leave for extended periods, but not having electricity for an extended time after the hurricane is unsettling and damaging. Our system runs 24/7 throughout the year and is necessary to keep mold and mildew from forming. During the aftermath, the electricity was out three days. It came back on yesterday. We were blessed this time, but these increasingly dangerous weather events are taking a toll on me. I'll be on my way south tomorrow, but I am also thinking about what the future holds.
ReplyDeleteBeth, I'm from Virginia & my former husband was from D.C. All my mother's family live in Virginia. I've lived in Florida on the east central coast for 50 years now & wouldn't live anywhere else. All places have their problems from time to time. The great thing about Floridians is their resilience and adaptiveness to weather these stressful storms and then enjoy paradise the rest of the time. I hope you rethink your decision to move. You have sounded like you truly enjoyed the Florida lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteand the excellent leadership to get things moving after the storms. I live in Naples and Ave Maria and the storm damaged our condo building in Naples - but in Ave Maria, we were blessed with no damage or outages.
DeleteLike everyone, I have seen the pictures and stories on the news about how thoroughly devastating this was, but in spite of this it seems as though the officials in FL are dealing quite well with a disaster of this magnitude.
ReplyDeleteI live in Upstate SC and was scheduled to have a 6 hour back surgery on Sept. 26. The week before, my surgery got postponed bc my neurosurgeon went on paternity leave. I was pretty upset because I had waited months for this surgery. But then I thought… everything seems to happen to me for a reason. Little did I know the reason was Helene arriving on the 26th and the hospital being without power. Plus I would have been discharged home to no power or water. I am not complaining though because we were among the fortunate with no damage.
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