Port Canaveral was the first in our area to close followed by Jetty Park along side the port. Later all of the barrier island came under Mandatory Evacuation orders. We, along with about half our condominium did not evacuate.
It was so wonderful to watch the Carnival Valor, Carnival Magic & Disney Dream re-entering the port yesterday at noon. RCCL did not return. After clearing all the port facilities, the Coast Guard allowed the ships to return. The ships may only come or go through the port during daylight hours since the channel markers moved during the hurricane. Cruise passengers also prepared to embark the ships. All the terminals are now opened. The only damage were leaks.
Some port restaurants and other buildings did not fare as well, though. Roofs were peeled back from at least one building. In fact, one building right next to where I live a short distance from the port also received significant damage to its roof. Many business signs were destroyed during the hurricane along A1A the main road in our area.
Our condominium complex only sustained damage mainly to new landscaping. One window on the north side of my building had a window blown out on a lower floor under us. It did not have hurricane shutters on it. Another neighbor had some hurricane shutter damage. A garage behind ours lost the top of its vent during the hurricane.Two neighbors had doors that blew in. We piled tool chests and bricks to support our double entry doors since as the winds turned westerly they got the full brunt of the hurricane as strong winds whipped down the walkway. . It sounded like fog horns as the eye of the hurricane passed us 40 miles away. The sound was so loud that you couldn't talk on the phone and you couldn't avoid it, either..
By the way, a reporter from 1010 WINS radio station in NYC interviewed my husband over his cell phone. Our daughter in London, went on their Website and recorded it for us to hear. What fun! It was my husband's turn for 15 minutes of fame that turned out to be reduced to 2 minutes of airtime. I was featured a couple of years ago on national TV station with my twin for having visited all FL state parks. We did get our 15 minutes of fame.
We spent the afternoon on Saturday siting on the beach until 5 pm. We were the only ones out there. It was sunny and breezy - just ideal. Our electricity was restored at 9 pm Saturday night. It was so exciting to watch the lights come on around our complex. We were grateful to get a good night's sleep in a cool unit. Since our complex has a generator, we always had water and elevator service.
All and all, we were surprised and pleased that there was so little damage. The hurricane wobbled to the east just as it passed us and arrived at low tide. This made all the difference for us on the coast. A friend of ours in Cape Canaveral sent a text just now saying that the area was still without electricity. FPL says all areas will regain electricity by today. The company worked around the clock restoring electricity to the barrier island. It is good to be back up on the site, too.
