30 September 2022 Friday - Ocala Florida
Gorgeous sunny cooler day so opted for what I had originally planned, a visit to the springs of the Ocala National Forest. Per their website, all the parks were open but when I arrived, the gates were closed for Salt Springs and Silver Glen and Juniper Springs. I met a lineman at the gate of Juniper and he told me that the power was out...maybe they are also doing cleanup of fallen trees after Ian, although the weather was not that bad yesterday. I stopped at the Ranger Station on the return to Ocala but it was also closed. I had hoped to avoid the crowds of the weekend, oh well, next time. Then salmon for late lunch at Bonefish.
29 September 2022 Thursday - Ocala Florida
Rain and wind overnight and this morning but the power is still up, even though a few power surges during the night. Ian is doing more damage as it heads east to Orlando and the east coast (Daytona), then may make landfall again in Georgia/Carolinas. They have reported several fatalities in Lee County (west coast FL), many may be folks that decided not to evacuate. Rain stopped this afternoon but cooler with wind. Met a woman in the lobby from Punta Gorda who lost everything.
28 September 2022 Wednesday - Ocala Florida
Gorgeous sunny cooler day so opted for what I had originally planned, a visit to the springs of the Ocala National Forest. Per their website, all the parks were open but when I arrived, the gates were closed for Salt Springs and Silver Glen and Juniper Springs. I met a lineman at the gate of Juniper and he told me that the power was out...maybe they are also doing cleanup of fallen trees after Ian, although the weather was not that bad yesterday. I stopped at the Ranger Station on the return to Ocala but it was also closed. I had hoped to avoid the crowds of the weekend, oh well, next time. Then salmon for late lunch at Bonefish.
29 September 2022 Thursday - Ocala Florida
Rain and wind overnight and this morning but the power is still up, even though a few power surges during the night. Ian is doing more damage as it heads east to Orlando and the east coast (Daytona), then may make landfall again in Georgia/Carolinas. They have reported several fatalities in Lee County (west coast FL), many may be folks that decided not to evacuate. Rain stopped this afternoon but cooler with wind. Met a woman in the lobby from Punta Gorda who lost everything.
28 September 2022 Wednesday - Ocala Florida
Hurricane Ian made landfall at Cayo Costa near Fort Myers/Pine Island about 3pm as category 4 with 150 mph winds.
Chatted today with folks down from MS and TN, about 40 lineworkers staying at hotel to repair any outages locally. They tell me that over 30000 folks have been dispatched to Florida from as far as Canada and California.
Found this...
Only four hurricanes have ever made landfall in the continental U.S. with winds over 155 mph: Labor Day in 1935 with 185 mph winds; Camille in 1969 with 175 mph winds; Andrew in 1992 with 165 mph; and Michael in 2018 with 160 mph. Severe Category 5 hurricanes have winds above 157 mph.
27 September 2022 Tuesday - Ocala Florida
Decided to not drive in all the heavy traffic and did a walkabout instead. Why is it that folks cause a huge traffic jam waiting in the queue of Sams to pay $3.09 when next door the Circle K is empty where the price is $3.17, they are using that much petrol running their engines for so long and saving nothing or paying more, and polluting the environment that is causing this huge storm! Overcast day with dark skies and wind in the afternoon, storm arriving soon. Unbelievable number of dogs now in this hotel, most folks have two...one woman had five!
26 September 2022 Monday - Ocala Florida
Wonderful visit to Silver Springs State Park. Walkabout on Ross Allen Boardwalk where I thankfully did not see the herpes infected rhesus monkeys. Six monkeys were introduced to the park in the 1930's by Colonel Tooey in hopes of attracting more tourists for his boat rides, they now number over 400! Then enjoyed the Glass Bottom Boat ride on the Silver River with Captain Oscar who showed us four of the underwater springs with heaps of fish, quite liked the colorful blue tilapia. Also saw remnants of boats of the Seminoles and the Spanish and the iconic statues used in the filming of I Spy. Many other films were made here including Sea Hunt and Tarzan! Then did longer walk along the river and through the woods. Then visited the campground and the museum (closed) with a pioneer village
25 September 2022 Sunday - Largo to Ocala Florida (120 miles)
Early morning start for drive to Ocala. I had planned this trip a few weeks back with plans to visit the springs of the Ocala National Forest having no knowledge then of Ian! And it looks like I beat the rush of folks evacuating the Tampa area and filling up all the local hotels. Several large aerial lift bucket trucks arrived late last eve at the hotel on their way south from Mississippi and Tennessee and other northern states to respond to power outages...and I continue to see heaps more every day.
Only four hurricanes have ever made landfall in the continental U.S. with winds over 155 mph: Labor Day in 1935 with 185 mph winds; Camille in 1969 with 175 mph winds; Andrew in 1992 with 165 mph; and Michael in 2018 with 160 mph. Severe Category 5 hurricanes have winds above 157 mph.
27 September 2022 Tuesday - Ocala Florida
Decided to not drive in all the heavy traffic and did a walkabout instead. Why is it that folks cause a huge traffic jam waiting in the queue of Sams to pay $3.09 when next door the Circle K is empty where the price is $3.17, they are using that much petrol running their engines for so long and saving nothing or paying more, and polluting the environment that is causing this huge storm! Overcast day with dark skies and wind in the afternoon, storm arriving soon. Unbelievable number of dogs now in this hotel, most folks have two...one woman had five!
26 September 2022 Monday - Ocala Florida
Wonderful visit to Silver Springs State Park. Walkabout on Ross Allen Boardwalk where I thankfully did not see the herpes infected rhesus monkeys. Six monkeys were introduced to the park in the 1930's by Colonel Tooey in hopes of attracting more tourists for his boat rides, they now number over 400! Then enjoyed the Glass Bottom Boat ride on the Silver River with Captain Oscar who showed us four of the underwater springs with heaps of fish, quite liked the colorful blue tilapia. Also saw remnants of boats of the Seminoles and the Spanish and the iconic statues used in the filming of I Spy. Many other films were made here including Sea Hunt and Tarzan! Then did longer walk along the river and through the woods. Then visited the campground and the museum (closed) with a pioneer village
25 September 2022 Sunday - Largo to Ocala Florida (120 miles)
Early morning start for drive to Ocala. I had planned this trip a few weeks back with plans to visit the springs of the Ocala National Forest having no knowledge then of Ian! And it looks like I beat the rush of folks evacuating the Tampa area and filling up all the local hotels. Several large aerial lift bucket trucks arrived late last eve at the hotel on their way south from Mississippi and Tennessee and other northern states to respond to power outages...and I continue to see heaps more every day.
Per the Duke website:
Duke Energy is initially mobilizing nearly 10,000 lineworkers, tree professionals, damage assessment and support personnel to safe locations in its Florida service areas, with additional personnel from other states.
22 September 2022 Thursday - Largo Florida
Happy Autumn Equinox!
22 September 2022 Thursday - Largo Florida
Happy Autumn Equinox!
Walkabout at Taylor Park then visit with mum. I had joined Costco when they opened in Juneau thirty years ago but only kept that membership for about one year because I had so few needs for bulk and I had heaps of friends who would take me. I still have no need for bulk (maybe the free tastings will start again soon) but I have no friends here to take me so I decided to join again because I have been unable to find a Vitamix of any model at any other store here. I happened to tell her that I had been in the Peace Corps which qualified me (as former government employee) to a $20 voucher!
20 September 2022 Tuesday - Largo Florida
Morning walk on the beach to a beautiful sunrise then to get car washed but hydraulics are broken so received coupon for free wash then coffee at Kahwa! Returned to find Duke Energy contractors digging up the yard to lay new cable. Afternoon visit to Trader Joes and Fresh Market.
19 September 2022 Monday - Largo Florida
Visit to periodontist to find that I may need additional teeth removed with bone grafting due to bone loss at base of teeth, bummer getting old!
18 September 2022 Sunday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at Boca Ciega Park then a bit of time at the pool, water has cooled to 85 degrees. A neighbor offered to help me with my mother's furniture that I want to donate to the church. We loaded both pieces into my car and finally got rid of them! Afternoon power outage which we found was local to 30 units in this complex due to problem in our box in yard...and may need to dig up yard to fix....power restored two hours later.
14 September 2022 Wednesday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at Botanical Gardens then nice long lunch and chat with Alaska friends at Bon Appetit in Dunedin.
20 September 2022 Tuesday - Largo Florida
Morning walk on the beach to a beautiful sunrise then to get car washed but hydraulics are broken so received coupon for free wash then coffee at Kahwa! Returned to find Duke Energy contractors digging up the yard to lay new cable. Afternoon visit to Trader Joes and Fresh Market.
19 September 2022 Monday - Largo Florida
Visit to periodontist to find that I may need additional teeth removed with bone grafting due to bone loss at base of teeth, bummer getting old!
18 September 2022 Sunday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at Boca Ciega Park then a bit of time at the pool, water has cooled to 85 degrees. A neighbor offered to help me with my mother's furniture that I want to donate to the church. We loaded both pieces into my car and finally got rid of them! Afternoon power outage which we found was local to 30 units in this complex due to problem in our box in yard...and may need to dig up yard to fix....power restored two hours later.
14 September 2022 Wednesday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at Botanical Gardens then nice long lunch and chat with Alaska friends at Bon Appetit in Dunedin.
Beautiful morning walk on the beach with wonderful colorful cloud formations and the waning full moon, missed the full moon due to our many recent rain storms. Afternoon visit to dentist for scale and root plane of my very poor gums!
12 September 2022 Monday - Largo Florida
Visit to local medical center for mammo and dexa then drove neighbor to the AAA office, which has really changed in the past few years. I had spent a bit of time there over the past several years using our mother's card to get every free map and camping book that they made.
11 September 2022 Sunday - Largo Florida
Morning walkabout at the botanical gardens then home to continue purging our mother's endless pile of stuff and donate to local church. I have taken photos of every piece that has departed this home so will be interesting to count them up at the end!
10 September 2022 Saturday - Largo Florida
Joined the Volkssport Walking group for 6K walkabout downtown Safety Harbor (about fifteen of us)...and even though surrounded by dark clouds, it did not rain until after our walk! We first visited Whimzyland, a home decked out in psychedelic colorful art and bowling balls. Then to Folly Farm Nature Preserve, donated to the city by former owner George Weiss to remain a greenspace, with wonderful butterfly garden. Then to SHAMc Safety Harbor Art and Music Center. Then via the library and the big tree to the Waterfront Park for walk on the boardwalk along the water with views of Tampa, and we even saw a tarpon swimming about. I decided to give a miss to joining the group for lunch because not into large groups for lunch and wanted to return before the flooding that they had already warned us about, heavy rain all the way back.
I also visited the Safety Harbor Hotel that our mother and her second husband managed in late 1970's, which is now shops and airbnb. In digging through all our mother's stuff, I have found photos and news articles of the owners Arthur and Barbara Strettle but there is no historical society for Safety Harbor with which to share.
9 September 2022 Friday - Largo Florida
Waited for arrival of pest guy who was late due to traffic and rain, then off to visit Trader Joes and Fresh Market where I found Aussie TimTams!!! Afternoon storm.
8 September 2022 Thursday - Largo Florida
Visit to local medical center for mammo and dexa then drove neighbor to the AAA office, which has really changed in the past few years. I had spent a bit of time there over the past several years using our mother's card to get every free map and camping book that they made.
11 September 2022 Sunday - Largo Florida
Morning walkabout at the botanical gardens then home to continue purging our mother's endless pile of stuff and donate to local church. I have taken photos of every piece that has departed this home so will be interesting to count them up at the end!
10 September 2022 Saturday - Largo Florida
Joined the Volkssport Walking group for 6K walkabout downtown Safety Harbor (about fifteen of us)...and even though surrounded by dark clouds, it did not rain until after our walk! We first visited Whimzyland, a home decked out in psychedelic colorful art and bowling balls. Then to Folly Farm Nature Preserve, donated to the city by former owner George Weiss to remain a greenspace, with wonderful butterfly garden. Then to SHAMc Safety Harbor Art and Music Center. Then via the library and the big tree to the Waterfront Park for walk on the boardwalk along the water with views of Tampa, and we even saw a tarpon swimming about. I decided to give a miss to joining the group for lunch because not into large groups for lunch and wanted to return before the flooding that they had already warned us about, heavy rain all the way back.
I also visited the Safety Harbor Hotel that our mother and her second husband managed in late 1970's, which is now shops and airbnb. In digging through all our mother's stuff, I have found photos and news articles of the owners Arthur and Barbara Strettle but there is no historical society for Safety Harbor with which to share.
9 September 2022 Friday - Largo Florida
Waited for arrival of pest guy who was late due to traffic and rain, then off to visit Trader Joes and Fresh Market where I found Aussie TimTams!!! Afternoon storm.
8 September 2022 Thursday - Largo Florida
Queen Elizabeth passed away today at age 96, same age as our mother.
Morning walkabout at Taylor Park then visit with mum at alf. Afternoon with the plumber fixing the guest bath which has had problems for many years.
7 September 2022 Wednesday - Largo Florida
Morni.ng walk at the botanical gardens. Evening long chat with my Alaska friend who is on her way to Germany for two weeks. Our mother returned to alf from rehab.
6 September 2022 Tuesday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at botanical gardens.
5 September 2022 Monday - Largo Florida
Longer walk today at Walsingham Park.
4 September 2022 Sunday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at botanical gardens then drive to book shop to buy 'A Land Remembered', historical fiction of the history of Florida.
3 September 2022 Saturday - Largo Florida
Morning walkabout at Eagle Lake Park then food shopping at Natures Food Patch. Great homemade soup with fresh cornbread for brunch. Then to Largo library to donate maps to the Friends of the Library bookshop. On the first Saturday of the month, the historic Largo Feed Store is open for viewing of exhibits by the Largo Historical Society.
2 September 2022 Friday - Largo Florida
Visit to the post office to send off passport renewal!
1 September 2022 Thursday - Largo Florida
Morning dental cleaning with someone new because my hygienist is ill, very unhappy with the dental office since they bought out the former dentist who had taken care of our mother so in process of finding a new one!
Morning walkabout at Taylor Park then visit with mum at alf. Afternoon with the plumber fixing the guest bath which has had problems for many years.
7 September 2022 Wednesday - Largo Florida
Morni.ng walk at the botanical gardens. Evening long chat with my Alaska friend who is on her way to Germany for two weeks. Our mother returned to alf from rehab.
6 September 2022 Tuesday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at botanical gardens.
5 September 2022 Monday - Largo Florida
Longer walk today at Walsingham Park.
4 September 2022 Sunday - Largo Florida
Morning walk at botanical gardens then drive to book shop to buy 'A Land Remembered', historical fiction of the history of Florida.
3 September 2022 Saturday - Largo Florida
Morning walkabout at Eagle Lake Park then food shopping at Natures Food Patch. Great homemade soup with fresh cornbread for brunch. Then to Largo library to donate maps to the Friends of the Library bookshop. On the first Saturday of the month, the historic Largo Feed Store is open for viewing of exhibits by the Largo Historical Society.
2 September 2022 Friday - Largo Florida
Visit to the post office to send off passport renewal!
1 September 2022 Thursday - Largo Florida
Morning dental cleaning with someone new because my hygienist is ill, very unhappy with the dental office since they bought out the former dentist who had taken care of our mother so in process of finding a new one!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.