The Hurricane
One of the craziest adventures I've ever embarked was on a trip to Disney World. The year was 2017, and we did not yet know that our vacation in September was gonna have huge problems. Little did we know that Florida was about to have one of the biggest hurricanes ever recorded.
It was late August. My wife was glued to the Weather Channel. She watched as the thick white clouds were forming in the Atlantic preparing to wreak havoc to the Bahamas. I remember coming home from work, and seeing her eyes as wide as the ocean. "You're not gonna believe this she said." After saying "What," I glance at the television only to see Puerto Rico completely covered in a swirling nightmare that would soon destroy most of the island. As sad as i was for all the people, I couldn't help but think of our vacation coming up in 8 days. I could feel the sadness in my wife's soul as the storm just seemed to grow, and grow, and grow! Hoping that the storm would weaken we watched. Watching as it hovered over Cuba, waiting for this madness to make a decision on its direction. 3 Days until vacation. The storm took a turn for the worst as it started barreling up into Florida. At one point on the radar, the entire state of Florida was covered by what I can only reffer to as The Hurricane!
Hurricane Irma lasted for days destroying everything in its path. We were determined! Waiting out the storm was all we could do. After 2 days of letting the storm rage its way up to Tennessee, we decided that it was time to begin the thirteen hour drive from Cincinnati to Orlando. We were determined! The storm was pretty much over. It had done its damage, and was dissolving as it blasted up the mainland. We ran into some heavy remnants of the rain in Kentucky, and Tennessee, but not enough to slow our excitement. For we were on our way to the happiest place on earth. We were determined!
Two days after our scheduled leave for vacation, we were on our way. Worried what we might see was mostly in the back of our heads because we were super excited that this monstrous storm was over, and were on our way to Disney. After six hours of driving through rain we made it to Georgia. It was as sunny as you could imagine. Our spirits were so lifted, you could feel the magic. We made it to Atlanta in record time. Seven hours. We couldn't believe it! We frequently drive to Florida, and its always taken about eight hours to get through Atlanta. It was 3:00 pm.
"Record time through Atlanta" I said, as Jess gave me that half smirking smile she does. To this day I wish I would have never said those words. Ten miles south of Atlanta, Florida license plates, as far as the eye could see. It was gridlocked traffic. All the residents had taken refuge north of the Florida border due to mandatory evacuation measures. We went from the happiest vacationing couple, to maybe we shouldn't have done this.
I remember the sun starting to go down at about 9 pm. People were falling asleep on the highway, pulling over where ever they could. It was an absolute nightmare. Gas stations were empty, and were they had gas, you had to wait an hour or so in line to get some. Hotels were all booked. We didn't know what to do. We pulled into a hotel parking spot at about two in the morning just to get as much sleep as we could. We slept for about an hour. Anxiety was running pretty high, and we were exhausted. We were determined!
Three more grueling hours of driving, my wife had enough. We pulled over. She fell asleep almost immediately. I wasn't done. I got a coffee, and was ready! After another four hours driving, I could see the Florida turnpike exit coming up. The sun was shinning and the turnpike was clear. I couldn't believe it. After about 26 hours of driving we were almost there. Jessica woke up with one of the most awesome smiles I have ever seen. After 27 hours of total driving, double the time it usually takes we were at Walt Disney World!
We pulled into Pop Century resort, which is one of Disney's property resorts. I remember touching my face and feeling the hairs on the back of my head tingle. We made it! We went into the lobby area so excited that we were there, but more importantly we were off the road. As we walked in we could smell that special fragrance they have all throughout the hotel, and knew we were home!
We had got our room set up, and were wide awake. It was an incredible journey. "We made it!'
After getting settled I decided to go for a little stroll around the resort. I was having conversations with everyone, and it was making me very sad. Probably more than half of the people staying at Pop Century had evacuated there because of the hurricane. Everyone had their pets, and were just very sad. I felt selfish in a way because I was there for vacation, and most of these people had just lost their homes. I had seen a man crying in a smoking area at the resort with his little dog. I went up and sat next to him, and asked if there was anything I could do. Being in his 70's I saw he was trying to hold back, and I told him again to let me know if you need anything. I knew something was very wrong. He told me that his condo was completely gone, and didn't know what he was gonna do. After talking with him for about 30 minutes, he got a call from his daughter. They had worked out a place for him, and he was so relieved. He got up, shook my hand with excitement, and thanked me for sitting with him. As he walked away he thanked me again, and wished us to have a great vacation.
Traveling to Orlando had never been harder for us. We had made it though. We toughed it out, and we were determined! What I didn't realize was as hard as it was driving and going through what we did, it wasn't anything like what these poor people had to go through. Not knowing if you'll have a home to go back to. Not knowing if your loved ones are OK. Not knowing what is coming next. One thing I knew for sure. I was going to bring some comfort to every one of them! I was determined!!
For videos on my great adventures, check out my YouTube Channel: Adventures with Danno
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