Just over a week after Hurricane Helene brushed past the Tampa Bay area on its way up through the Florida panhandle, Hurricane Milton came across the Gulf from the east and made landfall just south of Tampa Bay, leaving a massive trail of destruction in its wake. We may have dodged this year’s “I”-named hurricane (Isaac) which has historically caused us issues (Idalia in 2023, Ian in 2022, Irma in 2017, and even Irene in 2011), but the one/two punch of Helene and Milton ended up being much worse.
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Another 5 days without internet …
Just like when Irma visited the Tampa Bay area back in 2017, Hurricane Milton knocked out our Spectrum cable internet/phone service for the past 5 days. I’m finally back online and finishing up my network recovery. Check back later for my storm recap.
Hurricane Idalia recap
Did you know that “I” names for hurricanes are the most-retired storm names? Having lived through Ivan (2004), Irene (2011), Irma (2017), and Ian (2022) and they passed near or through Florida, I can believe it. Now it looks like Idalia could be added to that list.
Early on, it looked like Idalia was going to come right through the Tampa Bay region. But as the storm progressed it became apparent it was going to make landfall in the northern part of the state. My office was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday so I had plenty of time to prep the house and then just ride out the storm. The wind and rain really didn’t start until around 1:30pm on Tuesday and then continued overnight into Wednesday. Overall the effects were not that bad here (in fact, it rained harder today (Thursday) then it did at any time during the storm). By late Wednesday afternoon it was sunny again (though still breezy) and I was able to get out and clean up the yard (only 3 bags plus a can of debris and two bundles of broken palm branches I had to saw down). I recorded about 3″ of rainfall in the pool and never lost power or internet.
Another bullet dodged.
Hurricane Ian recap
It’s been five years since the last big hurricane (Irma) came though the Tampa Bay area and early in the week, as we watched the forecast track, it looked like we were going to get slammed by a category 4 storm, Hurricane Ian.
We got lucky … soooo very lucky. Unfortunately, our neighbors to the south around Fort Meyers were not as lucky.
Labor Day Weekend 2022 at Disney
Another summer has passed (although it’s still in the 90s here in Florida!) so it’s time for our annual Labor Day Weekend vacation trip to Walt Disney World. To avoid the holiday weekend traffic that is typical on I-4 over to Orlando, this year we left Thursday evening and checked into our hotel room in the Gran Destino Tower at the Coronado Springs resort.
2021 Panama Canal cruise
To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and my daughter’s 21st birthday this year, we spent Christmas and New Year’s on a 11-day Panama Canal cruise on the Norwegian Pearl!
Back at Disney: Labor Day Weekend 2021
We didn’t go to Disney World for our annual Labor Day Weekend trip last year (for obvious reasons) so it was nice to finally celebrate the end of summer and spend the long holiday weekend over in Orlando at the parks.
Labor Day Weekend 2019 at Disney: Star Wars and Dorian
With Hurricane Dorian threatening to cut across the state of Florida, we weren’t sure our annual Labor Day vacation to Walt Disney World was going to happen. But as it turned out the storm curved away, up the eastern coast of the state and stayed away from Orlando. As a result, we had a really nice weekend trip without a lot of crowds.
No more plywood!
A year ago we were bracing for the approach of Hurricane Irma. We had installed impact windows in 2008 and replaced the overhead garage door in 2015 but had never gotten around to replacing the entry doors. So last year at this time we were boarding up those doors with plywood:
But today, the impact-rated doors we ordered from Home Depot back in late April were finally installed:
So now this week, if Hurricane Florence turns and threatens the Tampa Bay area, I won’t have board anything up!
Labor Day Weekend 2018 at Disney: Day 3
It wouldn’t be Labor Day weekend in Florida without rain and we got plenty of it today.
Normally we would start Monday out at the hotel pool but this year we decided to go to one of the parks instead. Of course, this was mainly because Monday afternoon was the only time we were able to snag FastPasses for the new Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster in Toy Story Land over at Hollywood Studios. After checking out of the Port Orleans Riverside, we drove over to Hollywood Studios. The parking lot is currently a mess due to the Skyliner terminal construction so getting into the lot and then actually walking to the front gate took longer than expected, but we were still inside by 10:00am. Our first FastPass of the morning (after grabbing some drinks at Starbucks) was Aerosmith’s Rock’n’Roller Coaster.