Glad to hear it bud! IIRC you said that your house didn't suffer any significant damage?
Sorry, been very busy. Some screening on the Lanai will have to be replaced and we lost two downspout extensions. They're somewhere in the county but I've decided not to go and look for them.
This was a brand new house and the landscaping took a bit of a hit. Our palm tree is gone and a small tree in the front of the house got pushed over. We pulled that back upright and have been watering it like crazy. Two small trees in the back are pushed over. None of these trees ever got the chance to root so it's not even a bit surprising. What I need to find out is where the line of demarcation between the HOA and us lies in regards to the landscaping. I should know but I don't.
Got the hurricane shutters removed and have been putting things away in anticipation of getting furniture, washer and dryer, window coverings and everything that got delivery or installation postponed due to Irma. The front door and garage door are both plastered with bits of vegetation. We have broomed off as much as we can and will have to scrub off whatever will not come off with water. We made out very well as did all the homes in the development especially when it's taken into consideration that the eye passed within a few miles of us. (I need to see if the actual track it took is out there on the interwebs.) Our biggest issue is the magnitude of the damage to the landscaping throughout the development. The community was done in phases and the first phases had very mature landscaping. The cleanup is one of daunting proportions and really has to be seen. It can't be described.
Another issue is that adjacent to us is a mobile home community. The wreckage of that is strewn throughout our area. Pieces of styrofoam, crumpled sheets of aluminum, all kinds of material is everywhere. On the other side of our street was a green belt with palm trees and trees twenty or twenty five feet high that provided so much screening that it was impossible to tell that there was another community of any kind on the other side. The palms survived but the tall trees have been decimated. They have no power over there and generators are running along with chainsaws. Those people are hurting.
The population in this area doubles during 'high season' when the snowbirds come down. We were thinking of what an evacuation would have been like if these storms occurred during that time of year.
Gasoline is somewhat scarce. You can get it but you'll wait in a long line for an hour or perhaps more. We're being told to boil our water and the biggest issue is damage or lack of electricity to sewage pumps and equipment. We're being told to not run the dishwasher or do laundry, observe the yellow let it mellow rule and to limit all water usage to the greatest extent possible. Some areas are experiencing sewage in the streets and bubbling up in homes. They are threatening to reduce water pressure or cut it off entirely if voluntary conservation is not enough.
Many traffic lights are not functioning and it appears that few understand the concepts that rule a four way stop.
Food is starting to return to the grocery stores. Most grocery stores are running on generators at the moment. We did go out to eat yesterday for breakfast on Marco Island and locally for dinner. The restaurant (Texas Roadhouse and the only one open near us) was running on generator power and had a very limited menu. Food was served on paper plates and with plastic silverware. The boil water situation has them in a position where it's difficult to wash dishes without potentially endangering the public.
They did have beer on tap and a limited offering of soft drinks served in cans. No water.
Garbage collection starts up for us on Monday but recycling is suspended until further notice. Those trucks are being put to use clearing the streets of debris. We are being asked to pile up to the extent possible the debris we have in our yards for pickup.
It will take a year I would guess to return the area to one fully cleaned up and fully functional. Many businesses will close. It is tough for some businesses to weather the off season when the population is low and this will sound their death knell. A few weeks or as long as a month without power and those stores not providing necessities will go under.
Maria is on the same trajectory as Irma. Oh boy...