Well, I have to admit it was an *interesting* weekend!
We got to Daytona Beach on Friday morning and set up without any incidents or difficulties. The rain held off until later in the afternoon.
Connie and I were about dead since we got NO sleep at all before we left, so when setup was over with, we went to our motel room at Adams Mark, ate a sandwich, watched the weather channel for a few minutes to check on Charley, then fell asleep. We were awakened by the howling winds through the open glass door overlooking the Atlantic, I guess it was around 9pm or so, but not certain of the time.
Closing the glass door didn't do much about reducing the noise, and the force of the wind was rather impressive. It was forcing water underneath the glass door and when I put my hand on the glass, I could feel it actually bowing with the force. More amazing was that when I looked outside towards the ocean (we were on the 12th floor) I saw that there were some people actually running around outside, apparently having decided to get up close and personal with Charley. With the amount of flying debris being generated, I don't think that was the smartest thing I have ever seen people do.
I guess it was around 11pm or so when the storm hit it's peak, and by then I was getting worried that the wind was going to blow in the glass door. Visions of glass shrapnel going through my mind, I closed the drapes and Connie and I moved chairs into the bathroom area where it would be protected from that eventuality. Power had been flickering off and on for the last hour or so, but we didn't lose it permanently. The whole time we could feel the entire building rocking in the wind, which considering the size of the Adams Mark, gives an impressive idea of the force of the wind. The whole time I'm thinking, "Hmm, I'll bet this thing was built by the company who entered the cheapest building contract...."
But eventually the winds did die down and the world appeared to be returning to normal. The hotel's TV satellite dish apparently got knocked out of kilter from the storm as TV service was gone. I tried to dial out to get an internet connection, but none of the connections would last more than a minute or so. We had no idea what had happened elsewhere, and there was no way to easily find out.
Saturday morning seemed like a normal day, but looking out the window on the land side of the hotel we could see a house that had it's roof blown off. Lots of debris on the roads and some palm trees laying over. We later learned that we were one of the few hotels in the area that still had power and other utilities. Power seemed to be out most everywhere, and I was rather surprised to find that the Ocean Center (where the show was being held) still had power.
The show opened to the vendors a half hour late, but I don't think many of us were worried about it, as we didn't expect turnout to be very good at all. Matter of fact, most of us were thinking we should have just stayed in bed most of the day. But surprisingly there was a pretty good turnout on Saturday. Not your usual Expo, but still respectable.
Of course, everyone was talking about the storm. The Punta Gorda area and surrounding areas got hit HARD by the storm, and several of the vendors at the show were getting in reports from friends and neighbors. Steve Roylance got word that his reptile building had been completely demolished and all of his animals were on the loose throughout the neighborhood. Jim Keenan (Homegrown Herps) heard that he had a tree on top of his house. Of course power was out everywhere in the area. Some vendors packed up and headed home Saturday, while others left on Sunday. Everyone else, was thinking that but for the luck of the draw, that could have been them in those shoes instead.
Daytona Beach looked a but like a war zone, so I can't imagine what the west coast of Florida looked like where landfall of the full force of the storm looks like. Many restaurants were out of food because the power failure spoiled food in the freezers and refrigeration units. Stop lights were out everywhere and I am amazed that there weren't more accidents. Driving at night was downright dangerous, as you didn't know you were at an intersection with a dead traffic light until you were already in it.
On the way back home on Sunday night, we stopped in at a Publix several miles further north along route 95 to pick up some lunch meat for sandwiches and saw that all of the shelves with perishable goods were nearly bare. All of it had spoiled from the power outage and they had just gotten a truck load of fresh food after power was restored, but pickings were pretty slim. So I would imagine things are pretty grim down in southwest Florida right now. It may be quite a while before power is restored. Jim Keenan had been trying to find a portable generator before heading back to his home and was not successful. We offered him one of ours if he has no luck finding one, so we may be running down to meet him if he doesn't turn one up otherwise.
Anyway, for all of you who have not had the experience of going through a hurricane, it is not something to think of as trivial. We have had some close misses here in Tallahassee since we moved here, but this was the first time we had actually been on the receiving end of one. The storm when it hit Daytona Beach was mild compared to what hit Punta Gorda, and yet caused quite a bit of damage. In the past I had thought that even if a category 5 hurricane was heading towards Tallahassee, I would stay here to fight it out. But now I'm not so sure about that. A storm of that power would probably just scrape the place right off of the map, and there wouldn't be a darn thing I could do about it staying here.
Anyway, some people we know directly have suffered some substantial and painful losses from Charley. I don't know what we all can do to help, but if we can, we should try. It is a haunting experience to see the faces of people talking to you knowing they may have just lost their dreams....
