Hurricane Milton has made landfall along the Gulf Coast of Central Florida, bringing strong winds and rain expected to cause potentially record-setting damage. Many people fled the area ahead of the storm... but far from everyone. Was that wise? If you listen to some of the dire warnings offered earlier this week you might think it's ridiculous to ( Read more... )

I mentioned the other day that rmy anniversary with Hawk was about a week ago. Often we travel to celebrate our anniversary. This year we took our anniversary trip early, visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina  at the start of September. It's good that we took that trip then, because if we'd traveled the week of our ( Read more... )

New Orleans travelog #11
Kenner, LA - Wednesday, 26 Apr 2023, 8pm

This is the part of the trip where we diverge from the original plan we made months ago. Originally we planned drive to Florida this evening after wrapping up our brief jaunt through MIssissippi and spend 4 nights in Pensacola Beach. Ten days ago we canceled our beach plans. Instead ( Read more... )

"Florida Man [Does Crazy Thing]" is a common headline not just in Florida but around the US. "Florida Man" has been a meme for 10+ years, with various websites and social media feeds portraying the stories as if they're the act of an individual person, perhaps the world's worst superhero[1].

The New York Post satirically used this meme in covering ( Read more... )

The beaches on Florida's Gulf Coast are great for finding sea shells. They're basically everywhere... but especially in bands a few feet wide at the top of the high tide point. We saw this first on our visit to Barefoot Beach. Hawk started collecting shells there and continued at the several other beaches we visited. It got to the point she had so ( Read more... )

So many relatives and friends today have said, "I'm glad you left Florida." Recall I was in Orlando for a work-related conference, and getting out was something of an ordeal the past two days. Well, now under the category of "Glad I got out when I did" is tonight's news that Hurricane Ian has shifted course to the east. It may roll straight over ( Read more... )

lorida Trip Travelog #18
Back Home - Tue, 27 Sep 2022, 2pm

Whew. What a half fun, half crazy trip the past 10 days have been. But now I'm home. My flights from Jacksonville, Florida this morning were uneventful. We left on time, we landed on time, I watched a movie on each flight. It was all borderline boring... which is how flying should be ( Read more... )

Florida Trip Travelog #17
JAX Airport - Tue, 27 Sep 2022, 8am

Wow, it's been a crazy past 10 days. A star-crossed, crazy past 10 days. My combined leisure-work trip got knocked by weather around on both ends. It seems like I've spent half the trip either in an airport or driving between airports.

Recall the front half of our trip, the leisure ( Read more... )

I checked out of my hotel in Orlando, Florida late this morning, getting out ahead of Hurricane Ian after my company canceled our big annual conference this week. As I described previously, I was unable to find a reasonably priced flight out of Orlando until Wednesday but I was able to find a good one out of Jacksonville Tuesday morning. So... ( Read more... )

Florida Trip Travelog #15
About to leave Orlando - Mon, 26 Sep 2022, 11am

It's ironic that I decided not to check my work email or messages until after breakfast this morning. It's ironic, because if I had I probably wouldn't have enjoyed such a delicious and leisurely repast. Instead I only saw the updates when I got back to my room around 8: ( Read more... )