"The Uninvited Storm"
Alexandra Peterson
Ft. Myers Beach, FL
The Island Sandpaper
8/27/2004

Friday the thirteenth was a day that finally lived up to its bad reputation. What was once a category two hurricane expected to hit in between Tampa and Fort Myers, was now a category four, and was making its way for the Southwest Florida area. My parent's friends from Chicago, Beth Cass and Lynda Hackel, unexpectedly flew down to Fort Myers Beach a few days before the storm to surprise us by visiting for a while. Little did they know that a storm was about to hit the paradise that they were vacationing to, and suddenly, the surprise was on them.

After making sure that our cat, Buddy, had enough food and water for a few days, and that all of our outside furniture was taken in to our garage, we packed up our suitcases and evacuated our house with Beth and Lynda on Thursday evening. Now you see, any normal family would have decided to head to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale since they were way out of the storm's path. However, my mom being an employee for SunStream Hotels and Resorts gave us the opportunity to stay for free at a luxurious resort right on the beach, Gull Wing, which I am now assured is the safest place I've ever been. At first, I was a little unsure about the idea of staying at a place that was on the island that everyone else was trying to get off of, but once I heard that there were going to be weather crews and other people there besides my crazy family, my mind was cleared of any uncertainties that it had once had.

The night before Hurricane Charley came, my mom went shopping for hurricane "supplies"; her shopping cart included things such as chips, soda, beer and mudslides. Meanwhile, Beth was filling up everything in the hotel room that could retain water, while my dad and little brother were succeeding at trying to scare Lynda out of her mind by talking about how the hurricane was going to destroy us all.

The next day was the day of the storm. Tension, anxiety, and fear were very seldom found throughout the course of the day. My parent's friends who live on the beach joined us at the hotel with their sons, since they too thought that it would be a safe place to take shelter. Throughout the entire storm, all of us were room hopping from our room to other people's rooms trying to find the most interesting parts of the hurricane. The ABC and NBC weather crews staying at the resort were constantly on the beach filming live coverage of the waves and high winds, and when the storm surge started to rise, they were set on the balcony of a room on the fifth floor. Even though the wind was amazingly strong throughout the entire hurricane, all of us at the resort were able to step outside on to our screened in balconies and not only watch, but feel the fury that this storm had. The storm surge came up to the buildings and partially flooded the parking lot, causing debris to float everywhere, and the mist from the sea water being sprayed through the air by the strength gaining winds was enough to make you completely wet just standing near the open patio doors. I noticed that the camera man filming from the balcony had to actually be held up by another news person because the wind was blowing so forcefully. Also, another person staying at the hotel was video taping the entire event from an open window in his room, while his dog Tyra walked around like nothing was even happening. I was to be found clutching on to my cloth bunny, and thinking of how exciting, yet scary my current surroundings were.

As time soon passed us by, so did Hurricane Charley. The water was now subsiding back to its original place in the Gulf of Mexico, the wind had stopped howling past the screened in patio, and everyone in the building was perfectly fine; the storm had come to its conclusion.

I'll never forget the reaction that came over me later that day as we all drove down the sandy Estero Blvd. awestruck by the damage we saw. There was a concrete pole that had split in half, huge trees uprooted, refrigerators in the middle of peoples drive ways, and what got to me the most, was a massive, moat-like sinkhole surrounding a house. It was almost unreal, seeing the island this way, and noticing that every single home had some kind of damage done to it. Thank God our house didn't suffer anything besides a foot of water in our downstairs and some fallen trees. As we cautiously made our way down the length of the island, trying to avoid all of the fallen power lines and wreckage in the middle of the road, I was taken aback by what this seemingly fun and adventurous storm had done.

For the next few days, we were all deprived of electricity. This meant we had no t.v., no showers, no warm meals, and no telephone. I guess you could say that what I once thought was a not-so-bad hurricane was just starting to take its toll on me; the aftermath was the worst part. I really felt sorry for my parent's friends Lynda and Beth. We hadn't seen them in over ten years, and they came down to Fort Myers Beach to relax in the sun and eat seafood, and what they got was a nerve racking storm and peanut butter sandwiches. They were grateful though, for us taking care of them during this unexpected experience, and said that they'll come down here again in the near future.

On Sunday morning, Beth and Lynda had to leave Florida to go back to Chicago. So my dad drove them to the airport and then left for St. Petersburg Beach for three nights because he wasn't allowed back on the beach once he'd left. My little brother John and I also left on Sunday morning with our mom, to stay at a hotel in Naples where my mom's office would temporarily be.

The roller coaster ride of Hurricane Charley is one that I, and everyone else who went through it, will definitely never forget.

Until Next Time… Bye for now!