Bullet Dodged

September 9, 2008





Bullet Dodged



Key West is very fortunate that Hurricane Ike has remained far enough to the South that the effects on our island have been relatively minor. Not that we have been off the hook entirely. Strong tropical force winds with gusts over 60 mph have raked the Keys for the past 24 hours and continue as I write this Tuesday evening. Feeder bands of high winds and torrential rains have been passing through at regular intervals knocking out power periodically, downing trees and branches and flooding some streets, especially those along the beach.



TV Crews line Duval Street



It is a far cry from the weather yesterday, which was mostly sunny and increasingly breezy and comparatively quiet as the deserted island readied for the impact of Ike. I took a walk down Duval Street yesterday and it was eerily quiet. In fact it was probably the least amount of people I have ever seen on Duval. If the crowd of TV crews broadcasting from the street were not there, it would have been virtually empty.

Ghost Town





As the evening neared, the winds picked up and when I took India to the dog park, waves had begun to crash along Higgs Beach. Overnight, the rain & wind really started to rock and roll and you could hear the wind whistling through the trees. It got continually worse as the day progressed today and it continues even now as the storm makes its way into the Gulf after crushing Cuba. As nasty as it has been at times today, I can’t help but be thankful that we have yet again dodged a major hurricane and feel very fortunate, especially after seeing images of the destruction that Ike caused in Cuba, Haiti, and the Bahamas and in the Turks & Caicos.





During a break between feeder bands today, Kathy & I ventured out to see what was happening around the island. We watched the surf smashing over the White Street Pier, which had become a huge swimming pool in which people were dangerously frolicking. It was a pretty interesting experience.

White Street Pier



Southernmost Point




Hopefully this will all be over by tomorrow and things can start back towards normal. It has been a pretty terrible hardship for many here despite being spared a direct hit. Tourists have been gone for most of the week and many businesses and people are feeling the pinch financially. We feel for them and for everyone who has been and will be affected by Hurricane Ike.

yIKEs

September 7, 2008





yIKEs



After a direct hit from a fairly weak Tropical Storm Fay, and a glancing blow from Hurricane Gustav, it seemed as if Key West has been pretty fortunate so far this Hurricane season, but our luck may have run out in the form of the dangerous Hurricane Ike.



As I write this Ike is churning just to the east of Cuba after having wrecked a path of destruction through the Turks & Caicos Islands. After a week of being pretty much dead center of the path of the powerful storm which has fluctuated between a cat 3 & 4, it looks as if we may be spared a direct hit as it seems to be following a more southern path.

Daisy boards up.

We aren’t out of the “cone of destruction” yet, but it certainly is looking far better than it did 48 hours ago. The entire Keys are under a mandatory evacuation which means that almost all the tourists and a decent percentage of locals have left town. After spending the better part of the weekend boarding up our home and work, we have put our plans to depart on hold pending the track of the storm. Having been through this more than a few times, we are prepared for whatever comes.



September is traditionally a slow time in Key West, but the town seems a virtual ghost town when a storm threatens. We haven’t been completely devoted to storms, life has gone on. Football season is underway and Key West High has already had a couple of games, defeating Miami Beach before losing to county rivals Marathon on Friday.

Marathon Dolphins beat Key West





Also we were able to help our friend Eileen Quinn celebrate her 50th birthday at her big party at the Bottlecap last week. It was a great party, and Eileen was resplendent in celebration of her big day. There was a wonderful eclectic mix of people, despite the threatening weather from last week’s passing storm.

Eileen





Kathy & Carla

This year has been particularly active, at least for us, and we still have another two months of season left. Hopefully this Ike monster will leave us unscathed. I found an interesting video on youtube from a site called crazykeywest.com (link below) that captures pretty well what Key West is like before a big storm. Check out the video.




Crazy Key West