SEPTEMBER 2004 ARTICLE
HURRICANE FRANCES EVACUATION!
09/12/04 Well, we just got back last Thursday night from Columbia Georgia,
to our home base in Florida from a one week RV trip in our Camper.
This was another NON-vacation that we were glad we had our camper ready for.
We live on a barrier island on the East Coast of Florida (the Space Coast)
and were forced to evacuate because of hurricane Frances.
We became part of a MASS EXODUS along with 2 & 1/2 Million other people
and we are, as always, glad to be home!
Since we are fairly new here, this was our first REAL hurricane.
We were in a mild panic to get everything battened down here at
Satellite Beach and a boat secured, etc. We had 40 current ebay
auctions going, and knew the power wouldn't last, so we set up
an automatic response email for anyone who tried to email us
while we were away.
Then, since animals aren't allowed at the storm shelters,
we took our cats who don't travel well, to my Dad's condo in
Indian Harbour Beach. We also packed up all our computers and all our
current ebay auction items. We moved all of this and sentimental items,
like pictures, from our place to his because it's equipped
with hurricane shutters on the Ocean Side. It's also on an upper floor
(above storm surge height) and has survived many a storm since 1963.
We did cover one non shuttered window with plywood just to be sure.
Then we put our camera, laptops (so we could keep up with the auctions) and
fresh food into the camper. We made sure everything was secure, turned the
electric off and hopped in the truck cab along with our dog. We made it across the bridge a few
hours later than the 2pm evacuation deadline. Now I wish we had stayed!
What a drive and expense!
The traffic was as slow as we expected and when we stopped at a rest stop near
St. Augustine Florida, it was early evening.
The place looked like a
modern day woodstock. There were people milling about
and campers EVERYWHERE. Doubled up, on the grass,
in the picnic area, in the dog walking area.
Patrol cars were here and there, but letting people jam
in anywhere they could at this point.
The lines were long at the rest rooms,
I was glad we were self contained in our camper and not fighting the crowd.
After a fair night's rest, we started out again towards Georgia.
We would have preferred to travel inland, and boondocked
just ahead of the storm, but we were trying to catch up with
relatives that had a 2 day head start.
They spent their first night in Orlando, but woke up the next
day to find the hurricane following them! They spent a whole day
on the phone looking for the next available 'pet friendly' hotel
and it was in Columbia, Georgia.
We arrived at their hotel late the second day. After catching our breath,
we flopped in front of the TV. We were glued to the Weather channel
for days. When the hurricane stalled a bit,
we learned how to use the remote, to flip back and forth
between a couple of the national news stations that were
running special weather updates, and the weather channel.
It was at least a little comforting to be able to follow what was
going on.
We had parked our rig next
to the building to keep it safe, and were glad we had
our little home away from home. We had emptied the frig
at home right into the camper, so we had tons of food,
and a camper to cook it in. I cooked for the four of us
and enjoyed having all that hot running water and a full
sized sink in the hotel when it came time to do dishes.
It figures that the only hotel room left in Georgia had a
telephone that did NOT work, so we were unable to connect and didn't know
what was going on with our auctions and were unable to answer questions.
We were finally able to send an email from the hotel lobby using a web mail account we have.
When the weather started cleared up, I called every hotline,
the state and county and the red cross to find out when the
causeways would open and if gasoline has been delivered to
the state of Florida. Everyone (including AAA and the state
transportation dept. as well as the news) said there was no
gas anywhere in Florida. There was no way we were going to
make it from the middle of Georgia, next to border of Alabama
all the way to the middle of Florida on the East Coast without
at LEAST 2 fill-ups! We needed some kind of back up, so we spent the good
part of a day looking to buy empty gas cans. It was a few
more days before we heard that one of our new 'hotel neighbors' had
made it back to an area near us. The new was that there
was some gas available in the smaller towns, off the interstate, for our return trip.
On the way back, Route 10 across Florida to Jacksonville was flooded
and during the detour we lost a vent off the top of our RV
because of a broken limb on a narrow side street. : P
There were lots of signs and traffic lights down. ( Pictures from our trek back are here).
When we got back to our home base,
everything was fine, safe and dry.
We lost a tree and 90% of the fence out back. We were lucky!
We also lost what was left in the refrigerator, as expected,
because we turned off all the electric in case
of power surges, as recommended
by the emergency bulletins.
(I keep some general Florida Hurricane Information here .)
We spent the next day moving our belongings back home.
Then we mailed packages out to our ebay winners,
wrapped and weighed items for our customers waiting
for a shipping quote. These 2 tasks used to be a breeze with a
post office only minutes away, but now, this takes a bit longer.
Our Satellite Beach branch will be closed for the next 6 months
for repairs, so we have to leave the island to mail items out.
Lots of other businesses suffered damages as well, including our closest WalMart.
As of September 12th our water was still contaminated but did have electric
about 3 days sooner than our neighbors. We also had phone and cable, and plenty of 'saved'
water. Even though I think they should call the whole State "Hurricane Alley",
I'm not complaining. It could have been a lot worse.
Hope your Frances experience was tolerable as well.
Visit my eBay Store!
I am not currently an eBay 'power seller' because I eBay part-time, but I maintain MORE than the powersellers' minimum of a 98% positive feedback rating based on transactions with other eBay users. You can rest assured that your transaction will go smoothly and that you are dealing with someone who has consistently met the requirements established by eBay. Plus, my lower sales volume means I have time to provide individual attention and you'll get great PERSONAL customer service from me.
CarlyRV
