Hey OO & TG:
Sorry, I shut down the computer shortly after my post.
Twenty minutes to a grocery store? Wow! That's great in Hillsborogh Co.
As for as the power from the storm, we were only out for about 30 hours this time according to our housesitters. They kept our refriderators & freezers going with the generator.
TG: I am still in the great state of Maine, we will be leaving on Saturday to drive back home. I have really become spoiled to this fabulous, humid free air, @ 50 to 60 degrees.
I am sure I'll be peeling clothes off as we drive towards home!

Tandoori,
I am on the Loxahatchee River in Tequesta, Fl. (Martin County) next to Jupiter. The water which is standing has caused a mosquito explosion, and with the ground saturated the afternoon thunderstorms are hampering roof repairs. The coordination of agencies has been terrific however.

I've been down that way, John. It is beautiful. Jupiter took a hard hit, didn't it? Lord, I hope we're over this. What a mess.

HB, let us know when you're coming home. We'll get a skycam on your car with you in your buff, clothes a'flying! It's not as hot now as it was -- that's the voice of humidity speaking. It's like down to 85%, haha. I'm off to check out the beach rental and pick up debris which floated up in the hightide (luckily not into the house).

Hello from Cape Coral! nJUst got back last night. Everything ok here. We were in the UK for 2 weeks, could not BELIEVE that another storm hit!!!!!! We were on the the internet in York library trying to find out what was happening. Over there, the news was rather patchy, at best. OO, our house closing in FLL is being pushed back because of the power outages and they have but the cabash on hooking up new construction...so that means we are getting in in NOV, instaed of October....bummmer! Still have the plywood up here on the west coast....taking it down today! This is just so bizzare!!!! We were the talk of all the Brits and Welsh when we were there...we had to say this does not usually happen here...they were not believers. better get the Florida Tourist fired up soon! A strange addendum to outr tale...my son who lives in Atlanta's condo was floode because of Ivan and Jean...how unbelivable is that! Take care all and keep your spirits up. Judy

OO: Meant to tell you that I really did know what you meant about the power...I just couldn't resist! You really should visit my area. It isn't that far from Tampa.

TG: I REALLY don't think you want the strip-tease on webcam!!! Hope the clean up at the beach went well.

Yay, Judyrem is here and all is well. Terrific, Judy. Have you closed on your condo yet? Are they writing policies again? That was a big snafu here as houses couldn't be closed on because Insurance companies couldn't write coverage with a storm in blah blah. Then there was a backlog. Have you sold the house on this coast yet or are you gluttons for punishment and keeping it? It's bad enough worrying about one house, I can't imagine worrying about one on each coast! LOL Glad you were out of Dodge for this one.

We were in Dallas last week and people reacted to us pretty much as they did to you in the UK. Immediate sympathy on hearing where we were from...to a man. DH believes this will have a serious impact on business during hurricane season next year, and who can blame the meeting planners and tourists. I'll probably think twice about blithely telling someone to come and not worry during hurricane season as I have in the past. Hopefully, we can get over that and get a grip on life as it normally is again.

Highbay, as much as I've been misunderstood and berated recently here for things I didn't intend to be taken the way they were, I take <i>nothing</i> for granted anymore. :D Although...I didn't see how anyone could think I thought they lived in an area so primitive there was no electricity, as I said...I'll make no more assumptions about how someone &quot;reads&quot; me! LOL I really do plan on getting up there before long. It sounds like a nice area and one I'd enjoy seeing. How's sailboat water there??

johnthedorf, I was thinking about that. We had three days of high winds and rain that brought out hundreds of misquitos.. They are a serious problem this year, deadly! please, everyone be careful, stay safe.

OO: I saw the thread on &quot;attitudes&quot; and was clearly confused with what some people were &quot;assuming&quot;. If you don't like the personal chat, then don't read it. If you don't like the thread, then move on. What was that dig about the southern people?
Anyway...I did get a chuckle when I read your message, I knew that you didn't really think my residence was &quot;that primative&quot;!
As far as the sailboating in our area...I hate to admit it, but we live in the area called the big bend. It is an area that drops approximately one foot per mile out from the coast.

So we have this nice channel out of Bayport, but...to get in 8 feet of water, you need to be approx. 8 miles offshore. This is just a rule of thumb, but is pretty accurate in our area. So, not so good if you have a pretty good keel on your sailboat.

We have to watch the tides real close when we take out the 23' ProKat. We have an 18' flats boat that we use on a regular basis in our area. It is great for inshore fishing and tooling around.

If you decide to check out our area via your sailboat, do it on high tide and give me a shout before you do. We'll show you the area!

I forgot to mention that both my husband and I went to Florida State University, and all of our really casual clothing has the Seminole logo's on them. We were approached by several people in Maine about our weather in Florida.

And yes Judy, they did not believe that this was NOT the norm. After we spoke to one fellow in a restaurant, we heard him tell another fellow that he would just as soon cut off both of his arms as to live in Florida.

I thought that was pretty unbelieveable.

Highbay, I hope you did your best to tell all those people who had the slightest thought of moving to Florida that this IS normal, that we spend all our time combatting killer hurricanes.

And did you know that since the last presidential election 800,000 new voters have moved into Florida?

What's this about FSU? I thought Fodors put the kabosh on Seminole posters. Only Gators allowed! (UF Class of 1974 here).

Judyrem,

How I can relate to the real estate closing. We've been trying to close on a house since August when Charley rolled through. Every time we set a closing date the lender postpones to see how the property fairs. The last date (the 4th time) was scheduled for Sept. 25 and then along came Jeanne. I'm afraid to schedule again before hurricane season ends because that surely will doom us to another storm.

Highbay--our DD has applied to FSU and is anxiously checking the mail everyday!!! She has no plan B. She loves politics and government so that's the place she wants to be. My hair is getting more gray everyday waiting for the mail!

Thanks everyone for their kind thoughts. The flight from Paris to Newark on Sunday was fine, although it was the first time in 4 years I had to fly cattle class transatlantic. Not the world's greatest experience. The flight to Orlando was canceled (no surprise there), so I holed up in the Best Western. A pretty lame hotel (&quot;view&quot; rooms overlook the freight trains, non view rooms look directly into an abandoned office building about 12 feet away), but clean and with a comfortable bed, with frequent free shuttles to the airport.
Monday morning, no problem getting to Orlando on the first flight. Kudos to the MCO people for getting the airport up and operating so quickly. As we came in to land, we got a good view of the damage...it seemed haphazard, some streets fine, then homes on the next block with serious structural damage.
We were without power until late Tuesday, but we were lucky enough to have water and phone service with only minor interruptions. No notable damage to the house. So many other people in central Florida are dealing with such serious flooding problems, we were pretty fortunate in that regard.
We're sorting through all the various details (paperwork, etc.) and giving Mom as much support as we can.

TG:
That explains some of the debates we have gotten into. I should have realized I was dealing with a lizard!

Jayne: I hope she gets her acceptance letter soon. We could use a few more good Noles!

highbay, you're lucky you're in Maine because I'm ready to take a bite outta your half-breed hide (no disrespect for the REAL Seminoles, brave and noble, intended) ;;)

OO, we sold this house already, but are still here renting from the owners and being caretakers(what a job!) We are closing hopefully in mid November...God am I praying for that date. Jayne, I know how you feel...is this not the pits? :-( NO MORE HURRICANES, hurricane expert Dr. Grey has stated :-D !!!!! YEAH!!!!! Highbay, we all should write to the Fl Tourist board, telling them about our negative vibes and opinions about FL. BTilke, I am so sorry for your loss...please accept my condolences.

I do believe you guys are worse than UT and TX A&amp;M!! They even steal mascots, or UT has been known to. It'd be sort of hard to sneak Bevo out (he's a longhorn, sort of obvious.) And I doubt the kids would go after a gator either.

Highbay...we'd have to go 5 miles offshore before we could sail. Yikes. That's a bit far for a mooring. You'd need a GPS on your dinghy just to find the boat again. Still...I do plan on seeing that area, Cedar key too. Have a safe trip home.

Jayne...you are moving?? What? Where? She'll get in I'm sure. She must be looking for early acceptance? I do recall the stress of waiting for &quot;the letter&quot;, and how thrilled our kids were to get theirs (us too). One of my friend's daughters is looking to get in too...I've forgotten which school now, but either FL or FL State...and was talking about needing a 1300 SAT to be guaranteed? Pretty strong, if I remember my SAT figures accurately!

Judyrem...I'll say, &quot;what a job&quot;! During all these storms you must have been frantic, hoping to hold the house, and the sale (!) together!! No more storms...it's a gut feeling I've got that we are done with them for this year. Let me go knock on my fallen down tree! ;)

All I have to say to that, OO, is...AMEN.

OO: There's nothing like a great &quot;in-state rivalry! In this part of Florida, you are either UF or FSU...there is no &quot;I really like both&quot;.

Didn't think you could bring your sailboat into our area, unless you anchored her in the channel.

TG: Since my half breed arse isn't in the mood for any gator wrestling...I'll let your comments slide!!! :) (Darn I wish I could figure out how to make all those cute faces!)

BTilke, I would like to send you my condolences .. I am so sorry for your loss.
Best wishes, Scarlett

Well Florida Fodorites--wasn't it GREAT having a weekend with no hurricanes?!

OO--yes we're moving; a whopping mile down the road. My dad has been very lonely since my mom died and he has finally agreed to move in with us so we're buying a place with enough space to add a guest house. He's still living in the house we grew up in and he's tired of the up-keep. It's over an acre in town and one of his doctors has been bugging him to buy it so that he can build an office, so he's finally selling it. Dad is a spry, 85 year-old and our kids adore him so we're looking forward to having him with us 24/7.