We are safe in Key West

[WeBeGone]

Many of you are "Princess CC friends" so I want you to know that WeBeGone (Rita) and DH (Lou) are safe after riding out hurricane WILMA in Key West.

 

We live in our fifth wheel in Bluewater RV Resort, 14 miles from Key West. Our trailer is "permanent" having been tied down with hurricane straps. We evacuated to the concrete clubhouse here at the resort. It is a safe haven.

 

I was terrified during the storm which ended up being a category 3 and spent several hours in the bathroom where there were no windows. I knew the building was safe I just didn't trust the hurricane shutters over the windows. The worst of it was between 4:30 and 6:30 AM. The wind was at 125 mph then. Around 8am on Monday the storm seemed over so we went for a walk to see damage. At 8:10 water started to flood into the resort from the canal side. We just barely had time to get our truck and my Mustang onto high ground outside the park onto highway 1. Within 25 minutes we were walking in hip deep water! We watched refrigerators, storage units and furniture be carried from canal lots, across the park, and into Bluewater Bay. We prayed that it wouldn't flood the trailer. Just 1 inch shy of the bottom of the trailer the water stopped rising. Prayer works!

 

By 4 in the afternoon the water had receded leaving slimy, slippery, and smelly muck. We had fish in the road! There was water so we hooked up 2 water hoses and started cleaning-first the trailer, then vehicles, then dock, then patio. Getting the salt water off everything was the priority. Lou also went around to all 81 sites in the park and cut off the breakers to protect for when the power came back on. We worked until well after dark.

 

Started in again yesterday morning but by then, the muck had dried so only a power washer would work to remove it. We borrowed a gas power-washer from a friend who had also come with his bobcat and had scraped off the road as best he could since all the gravel from the canal sites were now in the road.

 

We lost all our patio furniture-it had been tied down but the salt water has destroyed it since it was metal. We have muck in the storage unit as well as our cargo trailer. Both our boats survived. Other owners now have no boats as they were swept out into the bay. We watched the water carry a 35 ft motor home about 40 feet into the middle of the park! Cargo storage trailers also were floated. All the golf carts were flooded as were several cars.

 

We thank God that our home was spared and we will talk to you all soon.

 

Rita and Lou

[cjh]

Glad you are safe

[mii]

Glad that everything worked out for you. That Wilma sure did a number on alot of people. Saw all of the destruction on T.V. I have a friend who lives in Naples. I had e-mailed her but still have not heard from her. Obviously she is still without electricity.

 

Marilyn

[Lynda90]

Thanks for the update and thank God you are safe. I'm not particularly religious, but I truly believe in the power of prayer.

[Guest Host Tink]

Rita!

 

I'm so glad that you posted, I was wondering how you fared through the storm. I'm so glad that you and your husband weren't hurt.

 

:)

[calikak]

Thanks for taking the time to post, and I'm glad to hear you're OK! Hopefully the other CC members down in Florida are all OK too and we'll hear from them soon.