Deserted Beach on Holiday Weekend
By DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
United States
October 6, 2018 2:22pm CST
Son2 and I took a ride around the island today to see if there was anywhere we could pitch in and help with the clean up. It amazed us how for this area has come in the short weeks since Hurricane Florence.
Most of the businesses, including one of our favorite restaurants on the island, The Lazy Pirate, were open for business as usual. We stopped and had lunch at The Lazy Pirate and met two wonderful young ladies working the tiki bar. One was a first grade teacher who tends bar and waits tables to make ends meet. The other was a young lady saving up to buy a sailboat and sail to the Bahamas.
We'd just ordered our lunch when there was a car crash on the main road right in front of the restaurant. Someone pulled out into traffic and took a hard hit from a small crossover SUV. It was the car driver's fault. No doubt there.
Other than that moment of disaster, the rest of our lunch went well and fueled us up for our trip around the island. We drove down to the aquarium. It was quite busy and we decided not to stop as the facility didn't look in need of volunteers.
Our next stop was the state recreation area. It was open and though we walked around the area and took some pictures we couldn't see anything that needed to be done. Considering the heat and the warm ocean water, we expected to see a lot more people on the beach. As it was, the strand was relatively deserted.
From there we drove north along the island and witnessed several buildings that suffered damage from the storm. There were either contractors at work on these or no one around at all. At the very north end of the island, the old pier was heavily damaged. It made me so sad to see it like that I wasn't able to bring myself to take a photo of it. It was also on this part of the island, a narrow strip between the harbor and the ocean, that we saw the worst evidence of the storm as outside each residence were piles of furniture, siding, lumber, etc. It was clear this little peninsula took the brunt of the damage suffered on the island.
Again, as elsewhere on the island, we didn't see anyone other than professional crews actively working to clear away the debris. There were even a few intrepid souls who dare venture out onto the damaged pier to fish.
We are back at the camper now and will probably remain here until we leave tomorrow. Son2 has a test in one of his graduate classes next week he's studying for and I have an idea for a new short story I want to make some notes on.
What have you been up to this Saturday?
10 people like this
12 responses
@sallypup (69161)
• Centralia, Washington
6 Oct 18
@DWDavis My husband and I bought a house- built in 1900- in Centralia, WA. That's just the other side of Olympia, South West WA. We're headed there. We've rented the house for now, until hubby retires in about 3 years. We'll park the car at the house and go from it to the train and head down to Oregon cause hubby wants to talk with a professor down there. Now my short story: I cast hubby and I in the future, moving into the house. My Mom- in the story- has passed on and haunts us as we attempt to move in. Unrelated news: hubby and I are coming to the Carolinas this June for a couple of days. We've been to Charleston and loved it. Now we're headed to Savannah, Georgia then Beaufort.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (208801)
• United States
6 Oct 18
It's amazing how quickly some areas recover from major damage.
2 people like this
@DianneN (254949)
• United States
6 Oct 18
You certainly had an interesting day thus far. It's a bit cooler here and had to wear layers on my morning walk. I skipped the gym. I just didn't have it in me after my extra long walk today. Glad I did, because our son stopped by to visit. I get very disappointed if I miss seeing him. Besides, he brought a gift of doughnuts for us! Lol!
2 people like this
I'm glad you were there when he came by.
but my husband delved into the doughnuts immediately.
@moffittjc (128831)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Oct 18
For the second weekend in a row, the semi-pro paintball team I play on had a chance to practice with a pro team. Even though the pro team dominates us every game (they're pros for a reason), it was a great learning opportunity for us. The only way we're going to get better is to play higher level competitors. The only bad part is that we have to play much harder than normal to even try to keep up with these pros. Which means we are twice as exhausted when the 4-hour practice is done. But it's still fun thought.
Did you see that there's another potential hurricane out there now, expected to move north out of the Caribbean toward the panhandle of Florida. I hope the remnants of that storm doesn't work it's way up into the Carolinas and dump even more rain in the saturated areas.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
8 Oct 18
I think it is so cool your team gets to work out with the pros. Is it the same pro team every year?
I have been keeping an eye on the growing storm, now TS Mike, and am worried that it is forecast to cross right through the middle of SC and NC. With our river levels still high, it could be catastrophic.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
8 Oct 18
@moffittjc Would you have to evacuate if TS Mike hits close to your position?
Until I looked up the Tampa Bay Damage, I hadn't realized there was a national level pro paintballing league. I was thinking you were playing soccer or baseball, LOL.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128831)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Oct 18
@DWDavis We just formed our semi-pro team this past March, so we haven't had many opportunities to play a pro team. There are only 20 in the world, and we are lucky to have one of them right in Tampa (Tampa Bay Damage), about 2 hours away from where we are. So we are very fortunate, and are taking advantage of it as much as we can. In addition, one of the members of the Tampa Bay Damage lives here in Gainesville, and so he comes out and trains and coaches us when he's in town. In a couple of weeks, the pro circuit starts it's new season, so we won't have many opportunities to train with them at that point.
I'm really hoping TS Mike fizzles out or goes in a different direction, but all the models are pretty consistent right now as to where it will go. Unfortunately, where I live is right in the cone of probability. Not looking forward to that. Our water levels have never dropped since Hurricane Irma last year, so everything is completely saturated here, just like in the Carolinas.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
6 Oct 18
Hey, where did everyone go!
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
7 Oct 18
@DWDavis
I have a friend that evacuated and took her cats to Florida to a nephew there. She is home now and thank heavens the damage was not that bad. Last I knew she met with someone about her roof. I hope she gets help in repairing it. What an experience that must have been.
1 person likes this
@freelancermariagrace (29342)
• Philippines
7 Oct 18
It's already Sunday evening here. I went out today to meet up with a friend. We had baby back ribs and pork chops at Localle, which is just a few minutes away from where I live. Anyway, enjoy your vacation!
1 person likes this
