Florida Update #2

FLORIDA UPDATE #2

September 2, 2004

Thanks so much for the nice emails you've sent. Sorry we can't respond personally but it's been pretty chaotic around here lately. Carol and I have decided to head north today as they are predicting sustained winds of over 100 mph here in Orlando, maybe beginning Saturday afternoon. It's still a little early to know the track Frances will take, but we're concerned that if we wait another day we'll get caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Obviously we want our bodies to be safe, but we're also worried about our van and equipment. We've seen over 30 houses so far but have not finished their estimates. If something should happen to our computers, camera or files, all our work so far would "go with the wind." We live in an area that has large palm and oak trees that might smash our van. And, although the cities and counties have been picking up the debris along the curbs, there's still plenty around that could become shooting projectiles.

As they're saying Frances will affect the whole state of Florida, we're heading for Georgia, although she could follow us up there. We just want to find a place that has power and air conditioning so we can work on our files while we're waiting things out.

They say it's been about 44 years since a hurricane hit Orlando, and now we're looking at two in less than a month. Having witnessed the damage that Charley did and seeing how much bigger Frances is, we can't imagine what things will be like when we return. We sure did pick a fine time to visit Florida, huh?