It’s been a whirlwind since I last dropped into your inbox. The Husband and I were visiting our favorite place, New York City, when Hurricane Helene hit last September. We watched helplessly on our security cameras as our house flooded. We ended up cutting our trip short and flying back to St. Pete as soon as it was safe to do so.
The hurricane doors did their job keeping the water out, but the floors did not. The water came up through the joints and cracks. If I didn’t see it on the cameras I wouldn’t have believed it. We’ve lived on the water for over five years now, and the water has never been close to the top of the seawall until this.
We had prepped the house for a hurricane before we left, just in case, but no prep would have prepared us for the flooding that Helene brought. We had between 2 and 9 inches of water throughout the ground floor. The elevator shaft, the lowest point of the house, had over a foot of water. And not just regular water, but salt water from the bay that smelled like rotten fish.
With no choice but to figure it out, we learned how to rip up carpets, take down walls, and lots of other skills we never wanted to learn. And I hope we never have to use again.
The outside structure of the house was relatively untouched, but the pool took over a month to get back to normal. The water from the bay filled it with dirt, shells, seawater, and even a fish. There was debris everywhere, things from the backyard were brought to the front by the current. We found three of our very heavy umbrella weights in front of our garage.
We got the dirty water cleaned up inside just in time to evacuate for Hurricane Milton. We packed my beloved book collection, now homeless since my library flooded, into the pantry and left for Gainesville. The forecast had Milton making landfall practically over our house until the last minute. Instead, it made landfall just south of us. The wind and rain caused major roof damage with leaks inside, downed trees, damaged soffits, and a broken fence outside. We never lost power, but didn’t have cable or internet for a week.
Despite all the damage, we’re thankful that it wasn’t worse. It was so sad to drive around Tampa Bay and see the piles of debris in front of homes. Some people lost everything, including sentimental, irreplaceable items. We only lost floors, walls, and furniture, and for that we are so grateful.
The rebuilding was very slow, since the demand was so high. We now have new floors (they filled in all the cracks and joints and laid a waterproof epoxy over it) and new walls. It took six months, and I’m so grateful it’s done. And I finally have the library of my dreams!
We’re doing everything we can so that next time, it will be much easier. I’m not being a pessimist, the Gulf is hotter and the hurricanes are getting worse. And I never want to do this again.
But Mother Nature has apologized a few times since Helene and Milton. We’ve had incredible sunsets and so many dolphins and manatees! It’s a nice reminded of why we live here when we’re at peak frustration.
I have a lot of great travel posts that I’m behind on. We spent a month in Western New York, and saw some incredible places we hadn’t been before, like the homes of Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman. We did the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls for the first time in decades. We celebrated our 41st birthdays in Toronto, and went to the small town where my favorite show, Schitt’s Creek, was filmed. We did the Civil Rights Trail in AL and revisited two of our favorite places in the US, NYC and Asheville, NC.
We spent two months in WNY shortly after the rebuild was complete, helping take care of a sick family member. But we’re back in St Pete and, since we need to start the new roof and interior repairs from Hurricane Milton, not going anywhere for a bit. I’m hoping to finally catch up on all my blog posts!