Greetings

[Sunsetterdottie]

Greetings,
I am new here. Your site was recommended by a friend of mine who used it for a Paris trip. My husband and I are retired (for him) and about to retire (for me). We are planning to sell our home next SprIng and move into our small condo that we already own in Florida. That will free up funds to allow us to travel. We have friends that live outside London. They will be our base camp. From there we are hoping to explore both the UK and Europe. Looking forward to using your forums to help plan our wish list. Hoping to take advantage of the rail systems as we are not keen on driving ourselves. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ian Sutton]

It sounds like a wonderful adventure, and I'm sure you'll get some good ideas here

 

[anneo]

Welcome! Enjoy the planning!

 

[artnbarb]

Greetings,
I am new here. Your site was recommended by a friend of mine who used it for a Paris trip. My husband and I are retired (for him) and about to retire (for me). We are planning to sell our home next SprIng and move into our small condo that we already own in Florida. That will free up funds to allow us to travel. We have friends that live outside London. They will be our base camp. From there we are hoping to explore both the UK and Europe. Looking forward to using your forums to help plan our wish list. Hoping to take advantage of the rail systems as we are not keen on driving ourselves. Thanks in advance.

Where will you be in Florida? We're near Tampa, assuming our house survives Ian!

 

[Ian Sutton]

Where will you be in Florida? We're near Tampa, assuming our house survives Ian!

Hey! I ain't not done nothin' to no-one never

 

[joe]

.... assuming our house survives Ian!

@Ian - you just have to stop giving those questionable wine recommendations. It seems that you have provoked the wrath of the gods!
@artnbarb - how indeed did you feel the storm where you live? How did the west coast of Florida compare to the east coast?

 

[artnbarb]

I can't give any personal accounts of the hurricane - we're in Italy right now, and were limited to watching reports via the internet, and later, once the storm had passed, to reports from our neighbor.

Originally the Tampa area was thought to be in the direct line of the storm, and even worse, it was predicted to be slowing down, with the potential for the storm to sit over the area rather than moving through. Luckily (for us), the storm didn't hit us directly - but we were still worried because reports said that the NW side of the storm was the strongest, and that meant our area! It was a stressful night!

In Florida the rainwater tends to drain quickly, but in the event of a hurricane dumping rain for hours, we were really afraid that the low spot in our backyard wouldn't be able to drain and that water would creep towards the house and eventually into the foundation. Our house is built on a slab, so once the water gets to the foundation, I imagine the floors and the walls would begin to absorb moisture - followed by mold. I was already mentally preparing to fly back to Florida ASAP to deal with the situation - we've never had to deal with something like this before, so we don't know the process.

The app on my phone that tells me when our electricity is out never notified me, and a search of the online map confirmed that our house never lost power. Our neighbor later confirmed that we had no damage, and that rainfall wasn't nearly as bad as we'd expected. I'll have to wait a few days until the neighbor with our keys returns and can check inside, but we both feel fairly confident that everything is okay.

Areas to the south of us didn't expect to be hit so hard, so many were unprepared. The damage at Ft Myers beach was quite extensive, and as with most storms, one area can be flooded while neighboring areas escape with minimal damage. Several tornadoes formed during the hurricane, which increased the damage. Recovery will take a long time, and many are still without power. In the coming months I'm sure the fiasco that is the Florida insurance market will wreak furth havoc on everyone's lives.

 

[joe]

I was already mentally preparing to fly back to Florida ASAP to deal with the situation - we've never had to deal with something like this before, so we don't know the process.

Wow, it seems that truly luck was on your side. I have been watching the reports on the media, and indeed the sights seem to be unprecedented in places. Thanks for the account.