The next morning…
Driving to Waterworld…
Good morning!
We are headed home, 7am and 40degrees here in north Florida. FREEZING. Found out late yesterday that our house did flood so we have to race home and dry out before the mold sets in. Thank God it’s cold!
Our CBS house is waaaaay out in newtown behind Publix: a perfect shot for the water coming over N Roosevelt out of the bay! My friend Dave walked thru and said it looks like about 4″ washed thru, there’s still 1/2″ of water in my bedroom…. YUCK.
Our house is 4′ off the ground, 2′-3′ higher than our neighbors so they must be devastated, the whole street. Our pool is a swamp. Nice. Other parts of town – the beach neighborhood, Laird, Rose, Johnson – those guys are LOW. My friends in old town seem to have escaped… no flooding on Grinnell by the cemetery, none on Center Street by Truman. No water in a house by Ambrosia at Packer and Virginia. But that’s all I’ve heard about.
Fantasy Fest is officially postponed. For up to the minute info, go to www.keysnews.com – their front page is a good source of accurate info. And some good photos – see the story on “new town flooded”. Great picture of the Sears parking lot under water in a big way!
In 30 years, we’ve never seen water come over the boulevard… my conch friends say they’ve never seen anything like this their whole lives.
On a positive note (sorry to be such a Pollyanna), this is our 100 year flood. Statistically, we should be flood-free for the next 100, right? Hal is mumbling something contrary, but I shall ignore him. He can write him own newsletter.
So on the road… taking a new generator (the old one is flooded and probably doesn’t work) and a new wet/dry vac. We are lucky to be going home to this, knowing pretty much what to expect in our home, instead of waking up to it. Or being up all night suffering the wind and watching as the water rose after the storm. THAT would be nightmare. At least we are well rested…
Pray for my neighbors. Many of them will need a lot of help.
Maybe we’ll buy some extra blow-up beds…. We are all going to need sleep.
I’m sure this ruined all Hal’s ugly shoes. What a relief! Apparently his golf clubs are fine.
We will keep in touch – please do the same.
More soon –
Sally
…soon to be in sunny Key West!
P.S. It’s hard to reach people there. I’ve made contact with some land lines, some are out of service, some cell phones are working (for once, Cingular seems to be working when Nextel is not… there’s news). Email is good if there’s a generator around. Keep trying!