September 21, 2017 – Middle Keys – Larry Shaffer: Hurricanes

Hurricane Irma crushed the City of Marathon in the Florida Keys. Hurricane Maria caused many of us to fear it would turn toward us. Well, Hurricane Maria. walked itself up the Eastern Seaboard. We missed Hurricane Maria. Having two storms within the same month was a scary proposition.

We decided to escape to Clermont, Florida. That is close to Orlando. There wasn’t much to do except to watch TV and eat. I managed to lose 3 pounds. My family did the same thing. After some number of days; it was time to pack up and go home.

Besides packing, we had pets to deal with. Two birds, one dog, and two cats. The two cats hate the pet carrier and loud noises. Once we got going, traffic was light. We still worried about what we would find at our home.

We got home and the exterior was undamaged, but one soffit had blown off. We have an elevator without power. The outside freezer had it door blown off. The compound seems to be in good shape, except for debris from trees and other plant life. And just to make us happy, we have a small termite problem.

We were very lucky. All over town there are good buildings and some very bad. Services are slowly coming online. The Post Office Boxes are available if you have any. Publix is good. They are running low on several kinds of goods. I was lucky to find everything that I wanted.

Cable is out. Now I must find something to do. I get some TV from our family hotspots. A hotspot is a cell phone setup to provide TV and internet. The AT&T store can help you. AT&T put up cell phone towers.

We are building a hurricane kit for next time.