Closing Up and Hunkering Down

Nothing says "autumn" like a string of foggy mornings. Time to close up CARIB and head back
to Florida. Some boats were still cruising--short trips out and back--but much of the activity on the docks was other boaters doing their winterizing tasks.

This will be our first winter with the window coverings we
ordered in the spring. They should prevent intrusions of water
from seasonal rainstorms.

Speaking of storms, we returned to Florida on October 1, a few days after storm surge from Hurricane Helene caused a mess for the beach communities near us, as well as other low-lying parts of the county. It's very sad to bike through neighborhoods and see the piles of discarded house contents at curbside. We know of several friends and acquaintances whose homes suffered catastrophic damage. And now, adding insult to injury, Hurricane Milton is churning in the western Gulf of Mexico, has rapidly intensified to a major hurricane, and has Tampa-St. Petersburg in its sights. Landfall is expected on Wednesday evening. Depending upon where the storm actually comes ashore, the storm surge in our metro area could be nearly twice what it was with Helene, and this time, wind damage will also be a significant factor.

At the moment, unless we hear evacuation orders to the contrary, we're planning to stay in our apartment during the storm. Our building elevation is high enough to be safe from the expected storm surge, and it's new enough to have been built to stringent hurricane codes. We've stocked up on water, non-perishable food items, and batteries because more than likely we will be dealing with power outages. 

A few days ago, we started fostering Nike, a 6-year-old, 18-pound
tabby who needed some time out of the Pet Pal Animal Shelter to
 recover from the sniffles. We should all be so relaxed. I guess he
 will have to be our emotional support animal during the storm.

With hope in our hearts for a better outcome from Milton than we currently expect, the blog is suspended until next year.