Well, about a week of Hurricane Dorian prep (and worry) for nothing. Thank goodness!
Almost exactly a year since SCOUT survived Hurricane Florence in New Bern, NC, what I thought would wreak havoc on our boat and Daddy's central FL home, just skirted the Jacksonville coast, sparing both "homes".
The 5-day cone of uncertainty was centered on Jacksonville FL for several days.
Ray made all of the boat preparations -- clearing the decks, taping windows/doors, deploying all the fenders we have, and doubling/tripling dock lines.
Meanwhile, I obsessed about what items to pack and have ready for a quick evacuation.
And then we waited.
Planned Labor Day fun at the marina was postponed, and instead, we gathered for a potluck hurricane watch in the clubhouse Saturday night. After a few days of ominous forecasts, Saturday's forecast was for a shift to the northeast, so the mood was one of relief.
(We enjoyed some creative dishes.)
Too soon for celebration.
By Sunday morning, forecasts were, again, looking bad for Jacksonville, and the city/county issued mandatory evacuation beginning Monday for the coastal & flood zones. (Note: Since the marina is floating, it is not officially in an evacuation zone.)
Dorian was still crawling toward the US (after devastating the Bahamas for several days), so we continued to wait out track forecasts -- all while maintaining backup evacuation plans.
With no more boat prep to do, and the crawling speed of Dorian, we decided to commiserate in the pool amid spotty light showers.
We found a glimmer of hope in the rainbow.
By Tuesday, we were STILL waiting to see which track Dorian would take along the Jacksonville coast, so we went to Taco Tuesday at one of the restaurants still serving.
Tuesday night and Wednesday (today) were uneventful.
As our local meteorologist stated, we "threaded the needle" on this one!
Prayers for the Bahamas and our friends and family still in Dorian's potential path in the Carolinas.
Stay tuned for our usual monthly blog post, delayed by the Hurricane Dorian distraction.
