Traveling after a Hurricane
I have to admit I do not advise traveling into an area hit by a hurricane just days after it happens but it was one of my favorite vacations! For months we had been planning a trip to Fort Myers Beach in Florida. The dates had been picked earlier in the year and we had all requested our vacations. The house had been carefully selected, booked and paid in full. Some friends had already arrived from all over the US and were staying at a local resort so we could all pack up and leave on Saturday morning.
Wilma made landfall on the southwest coast of Florida, near Naples around 7am on the 24th. Sunday. We extended our stay at the resort and left Sunday morning for Fort Myers. The entire time we were talking to the home owner to ensure we could still get the house, that it was still standing, and that people were being allowed in.
There was no power in the area. We stopped and stocked up on water, candles, batteries and other necessities.
We did not get power back for two days. We played cards, walked the desolate beach, and laughed harder than we had in years. It was a wonderful trip.
Dinners were cooked on 2 small grills we picked up from the local grocery store. We grilled everything and kept our stuff in coolers. The guys went fishing and brought back their catch and we grilled that too!
Here's our steak kabobs 
There was minimal damage in the area we were staying. A few palm trees were missing branches and there were many coconuts on the ground. The ocean was really calm and looked stripped of her energy. After the power came back on the clean-up began and people returned to the beach. There were so many things we could have let ruin this trip but we refused! We wanted to be together and nothing was going to stop us. Not even Hurricane Wilma
Looking for things to do in Fort Myers? Check out Trusted Tours & Attractions! They have a ton of family vacation ideas!
Sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win an IPOD Nano! Offer ends Monday, March 31st, 2008. Newsletter Sign-Up
Hurricane Wilma ruined my home and my car, and we ended up moving out of Boca. My MIL still hasn't gotten her FEMA money yet.
But this is not a sad comment - nobody got hurt, and while I miss my car - the place we lived wasn't so great anyway. Heh
Good post
Reply to this
sorry to hear about your car. i guess we were lucky to be north of the storm.
Reply to this
Devastated areas affected by a bad storm is not new to me since I grew up in a country that doesn't miss all 26 typhoon in a year, but I haven't experienced hurricane yet, and I don't wish to catch them before my eyes.
Btw, i added you to my technorati favorite in response to supercharge your fanbase project
Reply to this
well i can accept storm for living in this pretty place
Reply to this
I love your positive attitude! You turned what could have been a 'vacation in hell' into a memorable trip. That's awesome.
Reply to this
I lived in the Ft.Myers/Cape Coral area for years. My parents still own a home there and I remember we were all sitting on pins and needles when Wilma hit.
On the drive down a week later, we found the house still standing, perfectly in tact. Thankfully.
I've always loved the area and I am looking forward to being there in July when I can finally do some rest and relaxation.
Reply to this
The best part was the lack of people - the beach was all ours while the power was out
Reply to this
Eek..hurricanes! Good thing you were able to travel following one.
Reply to this
What she didn't tell you about this trip? I was only 30 min up the road and a few days before we went to Ft Myers? I couldn't think of a hotel that hurricane Charley hadn't destroyed. I told them about the only hotel left in Pt Charlotte/Punta Gorda and it was one of those old FL hotels. Yep! O-L-D. It was so bad that when the kid delivered pizza? He ran back to his car. I'm not really sure if he was afraid of where he was delivering? OR 5 people in a room watching one get gum off the others b u t t :-o BTW? We did have an awesome time down in Ft Myers! While the requested pool boy wasn't around? We laughed like never before. The power being out was okay. It's not like we are young (well i am) but it wasn't like we HAD TO HAVE power and just wasn't going to make it! We could hear the waves crashing ashore and no one was at the beach. Even after power came back? We still had the beach pretty much to ourselves. Chunky dunking and all :-o I think we even had a mock funeral for those who didn't make the trip and were afraid of hurricanes
Reply to this