Floridian Fodorites Check In
 

Just wondering how all our Floridian Fodorites are faring in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Olive Oyl, Scarlett, GoTravel, Tandoori Girl, Patrick, Croque Madame, AA, and the rest of our Florida friends, please let us know how you are and how you fared in the storm.

Ijust read on www.weather.com that the hurricane caused tremendous damage to a much larger area than originally thought.

Our friends in Florida may not have electricity for a while, but just wanted to say lots of people are thinking about all of you and hope you and your families are all safe. My Mother and Aunt who both passed away recently owned homes in the Port St. Richie area. I thought about how awful it would be for them to be in this storm.

Prayers heading out to all of you.

I hope they are all safe and sound. I am thinking of them all and everyone else who lives in the path of this dangerous storm.

My parents in Lake County (they're about 45 minutes north of Orlando) said they came through with surprisingly little damage. No tornadoes (big relief there), no significant damage in their community.

We live in a suburb south of Jacksonville and we are doing just fine. Wild night!
There will be no mail delivery today and the sad news is that apparently there was heavy loss of live in places associated with this storm.
Thank you for asking about us.

We were spared here in Sarasota County and the barrier islands. Unfortunately someone else had to take the hit. Yesterday morning/afternoon I thought that there was a very good possibility I may not see my house again, but the hurricane gods decided to make that last minute turn and spare Casey, Siesta , Longboat, Anna Maria Keys and the coastal cities. As a matter of fact, in some ways it was almost anti-climatic up here. We all sat around the entire Friday expecting the worst and got about 2 hours of rain and nothing else. I was able to return to Siesta Key yesterday around 8 pm. Nothing, not even a broken tree branch.

On the other hand, the reality of the massive destruction that this storm caused to our neighbors south of us is starting to sink in. I'm very happy that we were not hit, but I feel for the folks down there. I can't even imagine what that must feel like when your house is gone or damaged, when your place of employment doesn't exist anymore or the ultimate, a loss of family member or a friend, neighbor.

Some idiot on the Europe forum is making light of what happened down there, before knowing all the facts. There are talking piles of bodies and about $15 billion worth of damages.

This was not a joke. This was a serious storm that caused many deaths and total destruction to many communities.

I feel for the folks that were in the path of this killer storm.

Glad to hear that those of you who have posted made it thru fine, as well as your friends and family. We got a call this morning from some close friends who live 5 miles north of where the eye passed. We were happy to hear that they are ok with minimal damage to their area. South of them is another story, however.

It's horrific to watch the news this morning and see the destruction. I have been thru many bad hurricanes both here and on the Texas Gulf Coast, losing a portion of our home when I was young, so I really feel for all the people going thru this nightmare.

I was very sad to hear that Punta Gorda has ordered 60 body bags for their area, expecting the worst. I hope that they are wrong and don't have to use any of them.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has been affected by this storm.

Joan from Tampa Bay checking in. Of course we are fine - back in our barrier island home by 7 pm last evening! Nobody was more surprised at the turn of events. I am praying for our South Floridians. Glad too that AAFF finally left.

The storm came ashore at Captiva. Haven't seen any photos from there...only Punta Gorda.

LilMsFoodie needs to check in! She lives right in the worst area...said she might go to Chalet Suzanne in Lake Wales. I hope she didn't though, because they keep showing the airport there - extensive damage. God Bless us all.

Joan, I'm counting my blessings this very minute. I was back at my house at about 6P, escaping the mess that seemed to follow me around the state. So grateful it lost interest in Tampa.

And yes, I was thinking about LMF also. The only hope is that buildings as old as Chalette Suzannes' where she said she was headed have weathered other storms and will do OK.

I've still got lots of things to do to get back to normal and catch up on work that was put off.

Thank you everyone for all your kind words and prayers in my behalf. They fell on fertile ground and my home and family were spared.

Oh, but what a mess everywhere else.

I am thinking of you ALL and praying you're safe and sound!

Patrick, how are you???!!

JAYNE! My emails to you are being returned....please let me / us know you're ok!!!

God bless you all!!!!

All is fine here in St Pete, we dodged a major bullet with that turn it made - I just wish it wasn't at the expense of our neighbors to the South. I'm watching the local news now & the damage looks awful. I had several friends who headed East towards Lakeland - where Charley ended up going! I hope everyone is ok, my prayers go out to everyone who was in Charley's path.

Good Morning, Dear Friends!
Pup, the Yankee and I were blessed with good luck and made it through our first hurricane ( and a big one too!) with no damage and we were able to stay at home.
My heart breaks for all those poor people in Punta Gorda. I am so thankful that my friends and family are safe .How tragic that those who were so near the area that was evacuated were hit so hard.
My prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones and homes and family treasures.
Last night I was wondering , what if the storm or a tornado hit our house. What small items could I bring with me, when fleeing. How could I choose from all my momentos , that which would remind me of all my happy days and loved ones? To lose all that and more is so heartbreaking.
I appreciate so much the concern and kindness of the people on these boards. People I have mostly never met, who feel like good friends and when I speak of them, I refer to them as my 'friends'..
Thank you.
Scarlett and family

I woke up, turned on the TV, and couldn't believe what I saw. My prayers are with the people in Florida. Thanks for the Fodorites who have checked in; hopefully we'll hear from the others soon.

Checking in from Clermont, just west of Orlando, in south Lake County. Like tully, we mainly dodged a bullet here; if Charley had come in through Tampa, we would have had much more damage. That being said, though, Orlando was hit much harder than expected. Upwards of 2M people evacuated to the Orlando area, and it was originally thought that Orlando would escape the brunt of the storm. Essentially, they went from the frying pan into the fire. Where I live, Highway 27 intersects Highway 50. Charley seemed to go right up 27, then veered off toward Orlando -- you may be watching video of Lake Wales. They were NOT expecting to be in the path of the storm, and it is not good news there at all. Orlando is looking a few tough days of restoring services, though nothing remotely close to what Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda and those areas now face. Orlando International Airport seems to have quite a bit of damage. In Clermont right now, mostly tree damage and boiling your water. We are about to go check the mobile home park where mother-in-law's manufactured home is (she has recently passed away). I hope I never have to go through another one, and we were very lucky. To everyone in Florida affected by this storm, my thoughts and prayers are with you as well.

hope everyone is safe and didn't lose their home. check in when you can.

Thanks to God for those of you who have checked in safely.
Now, we have to still worry about our Carolina friends..both North and South.
I think GoTravel lives in SC and we had some friends at our beach house in North Myrtle who had to cut their vacation short
God Bless Us All

My thought and prayers to everyone in these areas. Still waiting to hear from nephew living if Ft. Myers. Daughter is moving to Tampa next week and feel fortunate that they were spared and that she still has a new job to go to. Such a tragic situation for so many people.

I called my parents who live in Naples (where another poster--Patrick--lives) and they're okay. Damage to palm trees, of course, but nothing too bad. They are west of I-75, though. I know Fort Meyers wasn't as fortunate.

I am so relieved that everyone is checking in and that you're all okay.

I am trying to hear from a friend who lives in the Villages in Lady Lakes? Outside of Orlando. Anyone know how that area is? I am not hearing from them at this time.

Just talked to a neighbor whose brother and niece both live in Port Charlotte. She was able to talk to them last night. Basically they said that their emergency management team NEVER warned anyone to leave. There was simply NO warnings until it was almost right upon them. All warnings were for the Tampa area.
So they hurriedly packed into their walk-in closet with provisions and matresses to protect them. When the worst was over, they saw major damage to trees which were in their pool, naturally their "birdcage" covering the pool was damaged. The niece's garage windows had blown out and that sustained damage. They have no electricity but do have phones. They feel extremely thankful.
Meanwhile we have not heard from our friends in Cape Coral and pary they are OK. By the way, we just visited that area a month ago in our hunt for a retirement home. We settled on a community in North Port (formerly known as North Port Charlotte!) because we loved the area and based on a hurricane "Hit" map that my husband had gotten prior to our visit, that area hadn't had a direct hit in about 50 yrs!!! We only have the land to worry about but my prayers are with all who have to clean-up after this disaster!

I hope all our North and South Carolina friends are ok, as well. Let us hear from you when you are able.

I'm back, having stayed the night in the hotel as we were already there. We are so thankful for our unbelievable luck, but horrified for what people in other sections of the state have experienced. Terrible devastation and now loss of life as well--it's heartbreaking. It appeared absolutely certain this storm would go into Tampa Bay, and although those in areas outside the anticipated hit know to be prepared "just in case" it changes direction, you just don't prepare the same way, and you don't necessarily evacuate, even those in the most vulnerable of homes. So awful--and it's not finished yet. I hope those in the Carolinas stay safe...

This was a terrible scenario, with virtually everyone predicting Tampa as the target just hours before landfall, and even in Tampa they were predicting it to hit as either a strong Cat 2 or weak Cat 3...not a 4. These predictions which all proved wrong at the last minute, have meant more damage, as well as loss of life and many injuries for a population that was blindsided.

I had no hope of escaping a hit from this, and for the first time in my life, really &quot;felt&quot; what it means when someone says a &quot;weight was lifted from my shoulders&quot;. It was a literal feeling, physically feeling lighter. When it was apparent that it had indeed made the surprise turn, I went to call our kids, who had been so worried about us and worried because we were staying in the hotel. I got their answering machine as they were at work, and started to leave the message, &quot;hi guys, it's Mom, just wanted to let you know that the storm turned and is going to <i>miss</i> us....&quot; and I got those words out and couldn't say another word...was so surprised by the emotion that suddenly welled up in the flood of relief. If I hadn't paused for several seconds to regain control, they would have gotten a big sob rather than the words of reassurance that I had intended. :( We were so very very lucky...but at someone else's expense. :(

I too am worried about LilMsFoodie. Hope she is OK and GoTravel is quite near to where it is now--prayers to any Fodorites still along the path of Charlie--stay safe.

Everyone, thanks so much for the good wishes leading up to this. There has been so much kindness and caring--it was terrific and meant alot to all of us! Good guys, this group of Fodorites!((L))

dian, down here in Clermont (south of The Villages) I haven't heard specifically anything from that area yet. That's good news. I think that the storm tracked mostly to the east of there and damage would be limited. Just had a call from a friend on the east side of Orlando; he said it looks like a war zone over there. Power restoral estimated at 4-7 days; power poles pointing north, etc. He said that Winter Park is pretty torn up as well.

Continued thoughts and prayers......

I would like to add my thoughts and prayers to all of the people affected by the storms.

Since I live in a three story townhouse right across the street from the bay in Naples (my ground floor office is about 5 feet above mean high tide) we left yesterday to spend the day with friends at higher ground. We returned last evening to find lots of trees uprooted including a huge one totally uprooted but being held up at an angle against our three story building -- but no major damage.

Things look horrible to the north of us, and this storm really showed the unpredictability of hurricanes. When we lost power just about an hour before the eye hit, the latest report was it had turned eastward again and was aimed for Sanibel Island (meaning we'd get lots of damage just southeast of there). Then it turned northward more. And it went from a category 2 to a category 4 in a matter of only a couple of hours. I do know that many people in the most affected area stayed at home because the more recent predictions indicated a landfall much further north and not of such a great intensity. Once the course had changed, it was too late to evacuate.

Lil Ms Foodie, don't you live north of Ft. Myers? How are you doing?

Most of Naples is still without power (not to mention the more affected areas north of us and Ft. Myers). Somehow my imediate neighborhood regained power during the night after being off about 12 hours. My refrigerator has become the holding place for friends who still have no power.

OO, Thank goodness you are all OK! It is very sad and we all have to thank someone up there for those who are safe.
I know what you mean about the Big Sob, I have had a few today and had one reading your post :D
GoTravel said she was leaving yesterday, I am hoping their home is spared and all of our friends will be home and safe soon.
We need to have a GTG so we can give hugs ((L))
Sappy Scarlett, signing out~

So happy to see most of you checking in to let us know you are all OK.
This was the worst gulf coast storm in a hundred years and my prayers and sympathy to all who are in Harm's Way.

what a relief to see som many of you checkin. Hoping the folks in the way fo this storm as it heads north stay safe

Family in St Augustine, sister near the beach and the other North of the city, said things in that area are ok. One said we went through worse as kids on Long Island during the 1938 hurricane.

Good morning. I was wondering what we can do to help Floridians and others. I made my donation to American Red Cross but am wondering if I should drive over with clothes, food etc...
I cannot seem to find information but if any of you hear of any local needs please post.
My thoughts and prayers continue.
Katherine
Fort Worth Texas

diann, we got an e-mail this AM from friends in The Villages : they are OK , &quot;dodged the bullet&quot; as he put it.
Our special place Sanibel was not so fortunate.

We have been following the coverage of Charley for the past two days. Even though I have never met any of the folks on this board, I feel a connection from reading posts over the last six months. I was reluctant to sign off Fodors last night and was devastated when watching TV reports this morning. Just minutes ago I received an email with an update on a family from our church in Illinois. They are in Punta Gorde visiting family , but they're all safe! I knew they were vacationing in Florida, but had no idea they were in Punta Gorde. Small world.

God bless all of you and stay safe!

Sludick, thanks I just heard from my friend in Lady Lakes. She said it was mircale they suffered no damages at all. Our regrets and prayers with those of you who did. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

So glad to hear that my Fodor friends came through Charley okay. When my parents lived in Florida, we were always anxious until we heard from them, and now so many of you have become my extended family.

Relatives in Safety Harbor are also breathing big sighs of relief and disbelief about their experience.

Our thoughts and prayers to everyone.

I spoke with some of my relatives in Kissimmee this morning. They were without electricity and had lost many huge trees, but were fine. I guess they had tried to us for an update on their status, but were unable to send outgoing calls - please keep that in mind if you have relatives or friends that you haven't heard from.

One of the best lessons this storm is teaching people is that you need to have a regular old fashioned plug in telephone. While much power is out, people can't use their cordless phones -- they simply won't work. And many cell phones are out. But regular phone service is working, since most all service is cable or underground and unaffected by the storm. My mother in a &quot;retirement center&quot; in Naples is still without power, but we can talk via phone since she has a regular one, and I plugged in my old one replacing a cordless during our power outage last night.

Just listening to the rumble of lots of thunder at the moment.
Got back to Indian Rocks Beach around 5:30 last night. We were just over the Belleair Beach bridge, high up on the bluffs in my brother's house. Would have been safe from the storm surge, but certainly not from those incredible winds. Can't imagine the fear those people must have had as they lived through those winds!
When we left yesterday, we pretty much had kissed our home good-bye. As we were tucking our children into their beds in their upstairs bedrooms last night, and kissing them goodnight, I couldn't believe we had been so fortunate. I thought for sure we would never see these bedrooms again. I have to say, I felt so guilty going downstairs and turning the air conditioner down, knowing so many were without power, without a home.
I understand that there will be people that will be upset and think that they did not have enough warning to prepare for this storm. Having seen the way these storms behave a number of times, I hope people realize that these hurricanes have a mind of their own. As good as our weathermen are and the technology they have to track these storms, mother nature makes up her own mind in the end. And if you are anywhere near the path, consider that the predicted path can change quickly and the situation you find yourself in can change as well. Just be prepared for what could possibly happen. Have a plan ready just in case.
My heart goes out to everyone that's been touched or will be touched by this monster that just doesn't seem to want to die!

Best wishes to those in North &amp; South Carolina (obxgirl &amp; GoTraveland others)..I hope it is losing strength, I hope you all stay safe!
Scarlett

I can't figure out if these storms we are having now are tailends of junk tracking up from the hurricane, or is this just typical afternoon in the summer in FL weather? Tornado warnings are popping up all around us and as Hibiscushouse said...it is rumbling thunder off and on. The weather is worse in Tampa today than it was yesterday!

I know what you mean Hibiscus about not being able to believe you were so fortunate. I had the same feelings. It was <i>so hard</i> to believe we had escaped it! I didn't think we had a prayer.

Now we are sending our best to everyone up the coast. Hopefully it will weaken significantly and soon!