One year ago this morning, we were sitting in our bus parked in Alabama watching Hurricane Irma make landfall in the Florida Keys. We had just tied up our boat in Marathon, picked up our bus in Melbourne (also in the potential storm track) and evacuated. (Recap: Marathon & Hurricane Irma) It was a crazy time […]
hurricane irma
Saying Good-Bye to Marathon – In Search of a Protected Anchorage
We’re almost caught up! This post takes us back to Marathon post-Irma, leaving our new community and continuing the journey. Just one more episode (I think) and the travelogue will be almost real time again. Whew! Thanks for your patience with the constant shift in time line. When we last left our Great Loop travel […]
Preparing a Boat for a Catastrophic Hurricane – Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys (And Happy end of Hurricane Season!)
First of all… a big ole WAHOOOOO for it being December 1st! The 2017 Hurricane season is officially over. And while the season is over, many are still dealing with the fallout of the major storms that made landfall. Power is still not returned to the majority of the islands impacted, people are still homeless […]
Hurricane Irma Evacuation and Return to Marathon, FL
This episode was difficult to create. It brought up so many emotions, especially with ongoing devastation from Hurricane Irma still being dealt with by many. It was a tough to go back and see ourselves processing the difficult decision of leaving our boat behind for a potential direct Category 5 strike. During this time period, […]
Moments of Normal Returns to The Keys: Burdines Waterfront Re-Opens
As we’ve passed the 1-month mark since Hurricane Irma struck the Florida Keys, folks here are still deep in dealing with the fall out. We’re in a location here at Burdines where we have to look harder to see signs of the destruction. Even the water is returning to that gorgeous green/turquoise color and marine […]
Hurricane Irma Recovery Update: It’s October Already?!?!
It seems like the month of September was one big blur, and suddenly we wake up and it’s October. A month ago, we were watching the weather forecasts and Irma was just this tropical threat that might give us some outer bands to contend with. And then wham, the next morning the forecasts shifted and […]
Back in Marathon Post-Irma: Re-United with Y-Not
Two weeks ago today Irma’s eyewall passed just a mere couple miles from Y-Not’s location in Marathon, striking as a full force Category 4 hurricane. From the safety of our bus parked nearly a 1000 miles away in Summerdale, AL – we watched on our security camera until cellular service went out in the early […]
Hurricane Irma Update: Y-Not Floats & Getting Back to Marathon
It’s been a long week since Irma hit the state of Florida and beyond – for all. Not just us. Given the word was that it could take weeks for residents to be allowed back into the middle Keys – we opted to stay up in Alabama a few more days. We had been joined […]
Hurricane Irma Update: Marathon Takes the Brunt
We could not sleep Saturday evening as the hurricane started to impact Marathon. Our remote security camera (a Zmodo Pivot) we left behind running on our AT&T Unite Explore hotspot was sending us chilling images and sounds. Wind whooshing, creeping, knocking, banging. We hoped with all hope we had done all we could to secure […]
Hurricane Irma Evacuation Update: We Escaped Florida!
Just a quick update .. this morning, as anticipated, our location in Ponce de Leon, FL was issued Tropical Storm Warnings as Irma started shifting more westward. Getting further west was prudent. We considered several options, including some kind offers along the way to driveway surf (thank you!). We opted to head to the Escapee’s […]
