>Thought I drop a line to let you all know that I came thru charlie without a scratch. I guess he passed Jacksonvile completely, I dunno. I went to bed at 10:30, got up at 3:30 to check on things and the news said that he had moved off-shore already.
Not sure who all lives further South of me, but I know that Clay and Don do so Muster In when you can guys alright. Hope all is well.
Rod Petersen who usually hangs out on the noisy side also lives down around the Orlando area, anybody know his status?
>Dave lives in Venice, which was just outside (NW) of the path of hurricane force winds. Rod Peterson (Shop Tours) should have received hurricane force winds. I hope they're both OK.
I have family in Winter Haven. The eye passed over them. Other than a prediction of no power for a week, they are all OK, and without significant damage, except for uprooted trees.
We'll see if I have power tomorrow. Forecast track is right up the Cohansey late tonight with TS force winds, but there are lots of others in the Carolinas, Virginia and Maryland in harm's way between it's current location and here.
That's right, I'm in Venice, or rather, South Venice. Just 12 miles away they've dispatched federal mortuary teams to Port Charlotte, but strange as it may seems, we had no damage. For that matter, the winds weren't any worse than those ubiquitous summer squalls. We never lost power, cellular service, internet... nothing. The rest of my family all live in Winter Haven (where I lived 25 years, too). They caught it hard, but no major damage. Just a swimming pool roof and a few snapped trees. I kid you not, if Charley had moved north just ten more miles I'd have literally been shark kibble, considering I live all of 800 feet from the water. I can hear the waves on a quiet morning. Really makes you think about the vagaries of fortune.
My old friend and physician in Massachusetts has inlaws who live on a Charlotte Harbor canal (Port Charlotte). They are visiting him so dodged that bullet, but it's likely their property is but a memory. Both the doc, who spent several weeks this year doing medical missions and disaster relief in Haiti, and the dad-in-law will be flying down and staying here for the inevitable apres-disaster cleanup and legal matters. A lot closer to home, this time.
>I jusr found out by going to the noisy side that Lakes Wales got hit pretty hard, and that is where Mike lives. I tried to call him, but only got his answering machine which is not much comfort as his answering machine could be an off-sire answering service.
I'll try him in a few houers if we/I don't hear from him.
>No worry here for flooding, at least not from this one. While I'm only at 15' elevation, I'm sitting on top of a rise, on sandy soil, with estuaries roundabout with small drainage areas. In a very severe storm, a storm surge could be possible, but it is difficult for a hurricane to take a track that would blow a lot of water up the Delaware Bay, without first running across North Carolina and the Delmarva, which usually take a lot of the intensity out of it. This one is a good example of why so few hurricanes make first landfall in NJ. All cellars in Greenwich flood from time to time, but luckily, mine is usually one of the last ones to get water in it.
It's good to hear that all you guys in Florida are safe. I've been through enough hurricanes in the Sunshine state, including Donna in '60 and Andrew to know that you had real safety issues.
