A few weeks earlier than this story I am about to begin, I'd asked Adam, "Can we be an adventure family?"
The week I was to meet Adam in Destin an adventure did start.
He called me two days earlier than I was scheduled to leave and asked, "Um, would you be amenable to leaving today, in like, four hours?" I was at the gym..."What!!!??? Seriously?" (I may have been a little too loud.) The weather was looking bad and he wanted to make sure I got there.
I sped home, THREW everything into my suitcase, including wet laundry, and grabbed a Lyft to the airport.
After boarding the plane a lightning storm rolled in so we were stuck on the tarmac, meaning I'd miss my connection in Houston. Other passengers were getting a little panicked too, the weather in Destin was starting to look bad and people wanted to get home to literally batten down the hatches. Many of them were booking alternate flights for over $400 each! Each yelling out "good luck" to another as they disembarked the plane. THAT was worrisome.
I phoned Adam and decided I'd get off the plane and reroute to New Orleans where he'd pick me up (a four hour drive for him!) Poor man.
After landing we notified the airline to lookout for my bag which undoubtedly went on to Houston. Adam had picked up a few overnight supplies for me and we drove 4 hours to the condo in Destin where we found this note posted in the elevator:
That was us: South of 98.
We woke up to a fantastic condo, with lovely light pouring in from a wall of windows. The view was fantastic. Turning on the news we discovered the storm called Michael was looking like a category 2 hurricane and could escalate to a 3 by the time it hit land tomorrow. We couldn't decide if we should evacuate or not. Adam had after all, purchased extra supplies in case we got stuck in the condo for a day or two.
I walked out onto the patio to greet the great outdoors and look into the sky:
Then someone knocked at the door. It was a man collecting names of those who were not evacuating.
We asked him how many people were choosing not to evacuate. His answer, "One."
He explained how things would go if we stayed:
1. No power
2. No water
3. The bridges off the island would be closed so leaving later would be impossible.
4. Emergency services would not be responding to calls
5. If you stay, please give us contact information for your next of kin.
He looked us in the eye and put his pen to paper ready write down said contact information.
That last little bit of information was the kicker, and we exclaimed without hesitation that we would definitely be evacuating.
We enjoyed our last moments on the couch of that condo booking a hotel in Mobile Alabama, a two hour drive away, which would surely be far enough out of the path of the storm.
There's not a lot to do in Mobile Alabama. The airlines hadn't found or "forwarded" my bag so we went shopping for a few toiletries, a couple of shirts, and some undies.
Then out to dinner and back again to the hotel to watch the crazy news anchors standing in the middle of Michael to tell us it was escalating to a category 3 maybe 4.
The parking lot had filled up with several linemen trucks whose operators were staying at the hotel waiting for the storm to pass so they could drive in and do damage repair. (Linemen are first responders after a disaster. We heard on the news they were being sent in from at least 6 different states.) Driving around the city, we noticed there were groups of them parked in lots everywhere.
The next morning while the category 3-4 storm was raging two/three hours away, we visited the USS Alabama Battleship. Which I must say was FANTASTIC. It was the most comprehensive tour of a Navy "anything" that I've been on. They'd given public access to basically EVERY part of the ship that was feasible. (WAY more access than the USS Lexington.)
Right about here, Adam got annoyed with me for making him pose. Heh.
Below: Ammunition canisters
Below: Hundreds of these green giants were lined up in the belly of the ship, around a circular "hold." The park had recently installed winding staircases to give public access into the belly of the huge rotating cannon so we could see where cartridges were loaded and where the empty shells ejected. (I'm sorry, I lack the correct vernacular to describe this appropriately.) It was totally cool but I couldn't get any good photos to show the space inside well enough.
No portal to Narnia here.
Tight sleeping quarters.
Mannequins were stationed all around the ship. They startled me every once in a while. They're just staring at you when you turn a corner...and then you realize they're not real.
Can't go to sea without ice cream and soda on board.
Down in the workings of the ship it stank heavily like grease and diesel.
I can't even imagine using these crappers at the same time as someone else. Nasty.
"Do you think this nuclear reactor will burn my face off?"
Then a quick little tour of a tiny submarine.
Ok. There you saw it. Super tiny.
After the tour we got a pedicure, because in Mobile Alabama what else is there to do?
We still didn't have my suitcase either. So we went shopping AGAIN for everything I needed for the beach...swimsuit, sunglasses, flip flops, t-shirts.... I am SO LUCKY to have found a swimsuit that fit and for under $20! Summer fashion is NOT in stock in October. Adam was so patient during all the shopping. Bless him.
We searched the news and the internet and finally found a few videos on YouTube where someone had posted footage of the beach we were hoping to go back to. Everything looked great. It looked like we could have stayed in Destin but I'm glad we evacuated. So we made plans to return the next morning.
Early the next day, along with all the linemen, we too headed to Destin Florida and begin our vacation! The only damage we saw along the way were downed branches and a few signs knocked over. Not much was open, not even the chair and umbrella rentals, but the beach surely was!
And it was lovely. Hardly anyone was in town.
On the first day, Adam decided to go dumpster diving for chairs. He came back with FOUR. So we had some for the beach AND for sitting in the ocean AND boogie boards too! (We highly suggest this. A lot of people buy chairs and other beach items when they arrive and then chuck them before flying back home.)
We found all kinds of creatures.
Ate all kinds of food. (
The Back Porch / Firecracker shrimp) Here you can walk up right off the beach and eat barefoot in a swimsuit.)
I'm down there. Can you see me? I can.
Oh did I mention we saw dolphins? One of them jumped fully up out of the water!
Every day the beach had a different personality. The second day the water was SO CLEAR we spent a lot of time snorkeling. We only had one snorkel since mine was MIA. So one of us rode on a boogie board while the snorkeler towed them along via the rope. I certainly liked that, we went out pretty far. I wore my big hat.
Adam found several sea cucumbers. They're stiff when you pull them from the water. Adam held this up to me and it spat out (or peed) water all over me from one end and then went all limp and blob-like.
On the third day several of them had washed up shore into these pool areas, which didn't exist the day before.
They roll into this shape if they don't want to be tossed around by the moving water.
While we were hanging out in the water Adam felt a pinch on his foot and freaked out just a little. I looked down with the snorkel mask and saw two large crabs gettin' it on. They'd given him a little warning pinch not to interfere in their business.
Below: The mister also found a live sand dollar.
Once a large school of fish swam toward us and split to go around on either side of us, the passage took a while. It was amazing to watch. Also at one point while I was just sitting in the water, a tiny little fish kept me company for a bit. It liked to stay under my legs.
Below: A school of very small fish got too close to the shore and a wave pushed them up into one of the pools...
...and the seagulls went crazy. Dinner!!!
I seriously enjoy fresh sea food.
I mentioned last year, the necessity of eating at
Bochamp's. And so, even though we ate at other places Adam recommended, I STILL think Bochamp's trumps them all by way of flavor. And I STILL love this Pan Roasted Grouper (below) on feta cheese soufflé, garlic braised local spinach, house made Alabama tomato jam, and citrus butter. This dish is something to crave. The server said, "See you next year!" And I said "Okay!"
Adam got the Cornmeal Dusted Grouper Peacan, with balsamic grilled local vegetables, mashed red early potatoes, Worcestershire pecans, sauce meunière.
One of the diners we attended has a QR code you can scan to see who caught your fish, where and when.
Below: Pieces of jellyfish, they look like ice and feel like hard slippery rubber.
Every night when we got in from dinner, Linemen were also getting in from work. I'm sure they were staying in any empty condos available. They looked so tired and beat. I wanted to hug them and thank them for what they were doing. No doubt they were pulling 12 hour shifts.
At the end of our trip we headed toward Panama City airport where the hurricane had truly done some damage. It was amazing to drive on the freeway and see all the white repair trucks traveling in a steady line as far as we could see. We saw forested areas where the trees were simply broken in half like a giant had swiped his hand across them. We saw metal roofs peeled back like a page in a book. We saw gas station over-hangs in the middle of streets. It was a somber sight.
And while we waited at the airport, every few minutes or so, all our phones would sound with an alert for another food and water station set up for the locals. Excellent.
And lastly, I must record the plane trip.
We sat in front of an older couple, and learned it was the first time the wife had EVER flown. It was the sweetest thing to experience her feelings because she was full of wonderment, joy, and awe and thankfully, she wasn't quiet about it either.
"Oh babe, we're taking off! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. We're getting so high! Look how high we are! Oh look we're so high!"
Then as she looked down over the land and the ocean, seeing from that point of view for herself, she had all kinds of questions.
"Are those shadows from the clouds?"
"Are those waves?"
"What's this? What's that?"
And her husband was so sweet—explaining everything to her. I think he was enjoying her reaction to the ride as well.
She was excited about her drink and peanuts. And her camera was happily clicking away at the window often.
And when we landed...Oh when we landed!
"Here we go! We're going down!"
And she laughed and giggled the whole way down, as if it was the best roller coaster ride she'd ever been on.
And from our seats in front of her, Adam and I quietly laughed with her. What a sweet pleasure it was to experience her joy! She was having her own adventure from a cramped window seat of an airplane. And what a lovely reminder to me, to take joy and have gratitude in the small things.
Oh, my bag?
My bag met us at the Dallas Lovefield Airport. When I got home and opened the bag...remember that wet laundry? Yeah. It greeted me by way of nose.
Yes, I had to bleach some things. Yes, I had to throw other things out. But I wasn't bothered by it at all. When I look back over all the inconveniences of this trip, I can't be upset because so MANY people lost SO MUCH and we were so blessed to have the opportunity to go in the first place. I don't feel I have the right to complain about much.
I am grateful for the opportunity to go on vacation. I am grateful we evacuated. I'm grateful for an emergency fund that covers unexpected expenses. And I am also grateful for adventures and people who teach me the true meaning of adventure.
