Family and Friends at the condo, waiting for a hurricane

 Day 35-38 –  Nov 4 - 7

Weather – Warm, some rain about, a little windy

The last few days have been pretty quite. On Thursday night, Kathy and Mac came over to hang out and they took the kids for the morning. They left around midday and we kept Wiley for a bit so Rusty and Chi could have a belated anniversary, they went out for brunch at the Bakers table and by all reports (and photos) it looked really good. So good in fact that we decided to go the following morning – it’s very close to our condo, so we walked (A very unfloridian thing to do -they mostly drive everywhere). I actually got the best eggs benedict I’ve had for a while – legitimately good. 

And their house made donuts were excellent – I have a feeling we’ll be back again! Kristen and her two girls came over in the afternoon for some time at the beach and they ended up staying for dinner.

It was great for Lucy to have some time with the girls – Libby is her age and Charlotte is 18months younger. They had a great time in the surf and just playing around the pool and at the condo. Sunday Kathy had said she could take the kids for a while and so Katie drove over – although she had to work, so she stayed and then came back Monday morning. It looked like Lucy and Katie had a some good fun on the lake. Kathy said she’d look after the Kids until Tuesday so Katie came back with out Lucy and that gave us a little time to hangout before Katie had to work again. 

We decided to head out to Lunch at Breakers – we’ve been many times before, and I know they do a good burger and wings. This time I wanted their fish sandwich – I’d had it in the past and it was good. I noticed the prices had all gone up quite a bit. I remember when a burger there was around $8 and now a standard burger was closer to $12 – which with tip and tax and the conversion is starting to get north of $20AUD. I opted for the fish sandwich which turned out to be a mistake on my part. I didn’t ask what fish they used because it didn’t list any options – but I really should have asked. It turned out the fish was Swai – which in Australia we call Basa – a tasteless, mushy, soft fresh water fish imported form Vietnam. I guess their trying to reduce costs so they can keep their prices done… One of my least favourite fish and also one of the cheapest fish going around. At woollies back home you can pick up a kilo of it for $7 – don’t. Anyway, I didn’t finish my sandwich, and I’ve learnt the lesson that you need to check the fish before you order the sandwich. Won’t make that mistake again. When we got back to the condo, Katie and I decided to head up to the pool, only to find all of the pool furniture was now sitting IN the pool. 

Katie decided to take matters into her own hands...

A strange sight to behold. Perhaps a little context might help in this case. Apparently, a category 1 hurricane is potentially heading towards Florida. The weather people have issued a Hurricane watch/Tropical Storm watch – we’re right on the edge of what Fox35 news called cone of uncertainty – so we might get a hurricane or a tropical storm – predicted around Late Wednesday night/Early Thursday Morning. The Condo people have issued a few warnings, and a few people have left. They’ve told us we will need to bring the balcony furniture inside and block up the sliding doors, so water can’t come in. The main issue is that the beach has been eroded which means there’s not as much natural protection form storm surges and there are a lot of buildings and beach infrastructure that were damaged in Hurricane Ian. Add that to there still being areas that at under water. The issue is water and not wind for this one. They’re predicting winds in the area to reach 50-60mph with some stronger gusts, a lot of rain and fairly full-on waves and storm surges. The bridges to New Smyrna are closed when the wind gets to 40mph, so we could get stuck here and they think the power could go off for a day or two if it hits hard. As of Monday night, it’s been pretty clear all day, with no rain, a few clouds out at sea, and maybe a little gusty – but otherwise no problems. I guess I will keep you updated.