TEMPEST TWINS: THE TALE OF TWO STORMS

CHAPTER 1 – IT’S VACATION – IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE A TIME TO RELAX! 

Traveling by RV is wonderful. You have your own bed, a place to cook, and a space to relax. However, it involves more work than most people realize. In a hotel, you pack clothes and toiletries, and the room is cleaned by staff. You eat at restaurants and return home with dirty laundry and a suitcase to unpack.

With an RV, you handle all these tasks yourself, plus meal planning and preparation. Our travel/RV only has a microwave, so we often precook meals before leaving on our trip, freeze them, and heat them up later. The trip to Missouri/Arkansas was no exception. 

The beds in our travel/RV are small, so we sleep in two of them. Upon return, we wash the sheets and bedding for both beds, along with the towels and other linens, rugs and clothing. The travel/RV is emptied of clothes, medicines, electronics, and other items that need to go back into our full-time homes. Once emptied, the travel/RV is cleaned, restocked with clean bedding, linens and rugs, and stored for the next trip. 

Our last trip was to KY/TN in June. The travel/RV had been cleaned and was ready to go on Sept 6th. However, we discovered the front window was leaking. Brian made numerous attempts to fix it, taking valuable time away from other projects. 

When he couldn’t stop the leak, we took it to the shop. Long story short, the window and the roof were leaking. After $10k, the travel/RV had a new roof, but they struggled to get the correct seal for the window. (The travel/RV is a 2004, and parts are sometimes scarce). Time was running out to get it loaded and ready, but finally, the repair shop called. 

Saturday, August 31st 

We picked up the travel/RV from the shop in the morning. With less than a weekend to load it, we discovered it was a mess. The roof replacement process left sawdust everywhere. They removed the AC and vents, laid plywood and roofing material, then cut holes inside to reinstall the vents and AC, spreading sawdust all over. 

So, instead of just loading the travel/RV, it had to be completely cleaned, and all the bedding, sheets, linens and rugs had to be rewashed. I usually load over several weekends, but now I had to clean and reload everything quickly. Sawdust in every nook and cranny was a royal pain. 

I got it done, but it was definitely not a task I had counted on before our trip in September. Brian was busy with other preparations, knowing we’d be gone for over two weeks. 

Friday, September 6th 

We left right after work. During the trip, we discovered the 12V system wasn’t working. At one point, the step wouldn’t retract, so Brian had to manually release it and use a bungee cord to hold it up. This made getting in and out of the travel/RV difficult, especially with my bad hip. 

We also had an issue with the refrigerator door shelves falling, causing a bottle of Kahlua to break. We cleaned up as much as we could (thanks to the RV park having a washer), but there was still a sticky residue. I knew I’d need to clean it thoroughly when we got home to avoid an ant problem. 

Monday, September 23rd 

We got home from vacation that afternoon and found the grass was about 1.5 feet high. We have a tenant on-site, and it’s our responsibility to maintain the grass, so we felt obligated to get it done as soon as possible. However, Brian had to return to work the next day, so it had to wait until the weekend. Brian did use our push mower to mow the courtyard area between our two home/RVs and then focused on getting his things out of the travel/RV. 

Tuesday, September 24th 

I was still on PTO and spent the day emptying the bulk of items from the travel/RV, including my personal items (clothing, meds, electronics) and community items like food from the cupboard and refrigerator. I stripped the beds, and took out the dirty laundry, linens and rugs, starting numerous loads of laundry. (Brian hadn’t had the chance to fix the step, so I had to pull myself up into the travel/RV, putting more pressure on my bad hip). 

Cleaning the travel/RV would have to wait until Saturday the 28th while Brian mowed the grass. Life would return to normal. Except -- there was a hurricane in the Gulf. 

CHAPTER 2 - HELENE: 

Thursday, September 26th: Helene hit Florida. We got lucky, but there were many branches down. Now not only is the grass 1.5 foot high, but we also have to rake and pick up before mowing can be completed. 

Saturday, September 28th: We took the travel/RV into the shop for the 12V issue we’re having. Step is still bungeed up at this point. 

We used the trailer as well as the zero-turn riding lawnmower with an attached cart to pick up branches and take them to the firepit. Brian can’t begin mowing until that is done. 

I helped with branch pick up – another project not counted on – but it needed to get done ASAP so he could mow. In the middle of branch pick up – the mower sputtered and then wouldn’t start. There was gas in it – so it’s likely dirt in the line. 

Now we cannot mow but instead need to take it to the shop, but it’s a 50-minute drive and can’t happen until next Saturday. Brian parks the mower and we continue to clean up, using a wagon, which was more tiring and painful for my back and hip. After a long day, I was exhausted and in excruciating pain. 

Sunday, September 29th: 

I was finally able to get the travel/RV cleaned and ready for our next trip – and no ants. Brian did other items on our never-ending to do list. 

Tuesday, October 1st 

I was back to work after a brief power loss during Helene but missed much of the day since I had a dental appointment in the morning and a heart stress test in the afternoon. 

Wednesday, October 2nd 

I missed much of the workday due to a nerve conduction test in the morning and a much-needed massage in the afternoon. I hadn’t seen my massage therapist since August 28th, and with all the in-and-out of the travel/RV without a step, my hip was in extreme pain. I had a late night because I had dinner with a friend who needed support with personal issues. 

Thursday, October 3rd 

Sometimes, after a massage, I feel worse for a day or two before feeling better. This was no exception. Since Rik worked on my hip, the pain was centered there and radiated down my leg. By this point, I was in so much pain that I was walking with a limp. 

Friday, October 4th 

The tenant was late on his rent again. I had to notify him and walk him through the payment system. Their lease is up at the end of February, and I will be glad when they are gone. He is a complete slob, and I know there is damage in the house. To what extent remains to be seen, but I can see ripped blinds from the outside. He is a continual source of frustration for me. 

Saturday, October 5th 

The RV shop fixed the 12V issue, and we got it back – still clean! My hip is feeling a bit better, and I’m not limping anymore. Brian started the mower to load it for the shop, expecting it to sputter, but it started without issues. So, he mowed while I did household chores: laundry, cleaning, tending to plants, making a shopping list, and closing our books for September. (I manage finances for myself, our joint account, and the LLC for our rental unit). 

We intended to do our normal grocery shopping, but when we pulled into Sam’s Club, the line was down and around the side of the store – people were panic buying because of a second hurricane, Milton, in the Gulf. We just went home. 

Sunday, October 6th 

We are still trying to get things back to normal after vacation and Helene, but we’re keeping an eye on Milton. This one looks like it may hit too close to home. We’ll decide tomorrow if we need to evacuate. 

We pulled out the generators just in case. Long story short, my generator had gas left in the tank, it wasn’t ever drained for storage, so now the tank is rusted and out of commission. (Sigh). Brian got his running, but it’s older and much noisier. Still, it’s power. So, we’ll have his generator and the travel/RV generator. That should be fine – except, I didn’t know the gas cans usually used for the lawn mower are empty. 

CHAPTER 3 – MILTON: 

Monday, October 7th 

Brian was released early from work as the base was closing due to the hurricane. We decided to evacuate; it would be foolish to try to ride this one out in our home/RVs. 

My sister started a group text with her, my mom, and me. Mom also lives in a manufactured home. My sister and I urged her to plan to evacuate. She wanted to wait and see, but we advised her to make a hotel reservation now, as they were filling up and it’s harder to find a place that accepts pets. 

I suggested she call my brother to see if they could stay there. She balked because she has a dog and a cat, and my brother has a cat. I said that animals can be dealt with, and she needed a plan. I love her, but I was tired, and this added to my anxiety as I was trying to get myself out of harm's way. 

We began packing the travel/RV with valuables. Things are replaceable, but if you had to leave and had the means to take things with you, knowing there’s a possibility of losing anything left behind, what would you take? 

For me, that meant a good amount of clothes and some shoes. While they are replaceable, do I really want just the clothes on my back and to have to worry about clothing shopping if I’ve lost everything?

This also included guns, ammo, our safes, any cash in the house, jewelry, computers, food, water – the list goes on. So, I bowed out of work again, and we spent Monday afternoon packing up the travel/RV after Brian fixed the step (yay) and trying to find a place to evacuate to because so many people were heading north. RV parks out of the path were full. 

Brian found a place, a little further north than we wanted to drive – it meant time and gasoline ‘wasted’ and it was in the middle of nowhere. Not ideal, but safety was the important factor. 

The roads were full of traffic, and what should have been a 4-hour drive took about 6 hours. We were both exhausted when we got to the RV park. We had been ‘on the go’ with no real break since August, before our vacation, and we knew it wasn’t over yet. 

Adding to this was the anxiety of knowing that we could potentially come home to total devastation. Yes, things are replaceable, but anyone who thinks losing your home and all of your belongings is no big deal because they can be replaced is foolish. 

In our case, total devastation isn’t just replaceable. Florida insurance coverage has gotten worse and worse because of the number of storms. In some cases, it is impossible to get full coverage even if you’re willing and/or able to pay for it. Most people can’t afford it, and for those that can, full coverage options are not always available, and insurance in general comes with a high deductible. So replacing everything is going to be, in many respects, on your own dime. 

Tuesday, October 8th 

Everything is calm in the small town of Meigs, Georgia, where we are waiting out the storm. It’s a no-frills park with no amenities, but it is peaceful. We are safe, and all we can do is wait. Our security cam at home is still on, which means there is power. I check it periodically. All is calm. We try to relax, but the exhaustion and emotional toll make that difficult. 

I contact my mother. “Are you able to stay at Howard’s?” (my brother). She doesn’t know; she is going to call him after he gets off work. I text my brother, “Howard, long story short, can Mom and George (stepfather) stay with you guys for the hurricane?” He gets right back, “Of course, I’ll call her.” I’m relieved and thank him. 

We consider walking 3 miles one way for a pizza. I could use the exercise, and we’re kind of bored. There are no Uber or Lyft services and no delivery that won’t make the pizza cost about $60 (no exaggeration). With my hip issues, we decide that it might be too much. We eat leftovers and forgo the 6-mile walk. 

Instead, we walk about a mile down a red dirt road, come across a cotton field, and snap a few photos. The walk is good. It calms the nerves a bit. The air is fresh, the temperature is nice. It’s a mile back to the travel/RV. 

Wednesday, October 9th Still waiting to see what Milton does. Watching weather non-stop and monitoring our security camera. Around 6:30 pm, the cam won’t load, meaning power is out. Hoping the refrigerators in our home/RVs and the freezer in the laundry shed stay cold so we don’t lose food. Continue to watch the news. It is going to come onto land in the lower part of Tampa Bay. North will experience the greatest winds. We’re north, family is north and closer to the eye. Anxiety spikes. 

I have many friends and family in this area. My sister is very much in the path. She has a house but can’t evacuate because she works in the medical field, and it would be ‘patient abandonment’ if she leaves. My anxiety is high. I am worried about her. Nothing I can do but stay in touch with her, Mom, a few friends, my niece – and so forth. A lot of texting… Nothing to do but wait – and pray. 

Thursday, October 10th – 530am 

I am not a morning person but I awake early, with dread. Did our home survive? Is all of my family OK? Are their homes OK? What about friends? We pack up to head back home, knowing power is still off. 

Brian gets a text from our neighbor, Diane. A tree fell across the road, blocking traffic. A neighbor cut off the branches so he could get his truck through, but the travel/RV won’t fit under it. Police put up caution tape, but people are driving under the tree anyway. 

Knowing we can’t get the travel/RV under that tree, I text Mom. “Any issue with us pulling into your property?” “Of course not,” she says, but they too have no electric or water. No problem. We just need a place to park. 

We fill the travel/RV with gas in Georgia, but we’ll need more closer to home to run the generator. We start looking for gas about 90 miles north of home – no luck. Traffic heading back into Florida is heavy. We probably should have stayed another day, but I was anxious to get home and get the generator running so we don’t lose food. 

We drive up to the fallen tree on our street and walk under it, down our driveway and into our yard. Overall, things look OK. A ton of tree branches down, but no damage to the home/RVs, carport, or outbuildings. The tenant’s house looks fine. He confirms it’s OK. Huge sigh of relief. 

Brian starts his generator. We run extension cords from our two refrigerators and the freezer to the generator. Food saved. Or is it? 

We hear from a local Facebook group that Loves in Bushnell has gas. Normally a 35-minute drive, it takes nearly 1.5 hours to get there due to road conditions. When we get to Bushnell, the line is reminiscent of gas lines in the 70s. Most people are courteous, but a few cut the line. I’m tired, stressed, and my patience is wearing thin. We’ve been in line close to 2-hours. 

At this point, a guy in a pickup towing a trailer cuts ahead of us. Space is tight, and maneuverability isn’t great. I’m praying we don’t hit anyone or vice versa. Then another guy in a truck tries to cut us. Brian - always the easy going one, loses his cool slightly and tells the guy to get behind us. This confrontation does nothing for the stress level. But finally, we get to the pump. 

Just in case they run out at any moment, Brian first fills a gas can (before the travel/RV) and takes it to the back to put into the travel/RV garage – it is spewing gas. It has a small leak. So, he pours it from that can into one of the other two empties. Thank God he brought three and the other two were still empty.

We fill the travel/RV and then the remaining gas can, tossing the leaky one in the garbage. 

Mom texts, but I don’t see it. Too much confusion, and we’re outside at the pump. She’s worried because we were supposed to be parking there with the travel/RV, and it’s been hours. I explain how bad everything is out here and how long it’s taking. Yes, we’re fine. Yes, we’ll be over, but I don’t know when. By now it’s dark, so since there’s no electric, I tell her we’ll see her in the morning. 

We go back to our place to check on the generator and drive the jeep over to my parents with the travel/RV. The generator is off by the time we get there. Brian checks and finds no fuel. He adds fuel, but I notice it’s leaking – that’s why it went dead. Anxiety spikes – now we have a generator with a rusted tank, another leaking fuel, and the one that’s working – in the travel/RV – we can’t get into the property. He shuts it down to stop the leak which means the refrigeration is again not cooling. It is what it is. We go to my parents. 

Friday, October 11th 

I wanted to start work at home while it was still cool. Brian said he’d look at the generator to fix the leak, as I was getting anxious about our food. Due to the gas situation last night, we didn’t get to speak with my parents. 

There’s no ETA for power restoration, but we don’t expect it for days. We saw lots of crews and trucks and thanked the workers as we passed. Our power was still off, but they were working hard for everyone. 

When my parents were up, I explained they could plug into our RV to avoid losing their food since there were issues with using their generator. Brian helped George move his generator off the porch. He’ll store it in his barn now so it can be wheeled out in the future. We got them plugged into the RV and left the generator running to save their food, then went to our house in the jeep. 

At our place, Brian fixed the generator leak, something with the carburetor. Meanwhile, I picked up and raked sticks. The lawnmower conked out again, so we left it to cool down and kept working. This took most of the afternoon. 

We finished and got pizzas to take back to my parents for dinner. Brian left his phone at the property, so if Diane, our neighbor, texted, we wouldn’t know. We also planned to bug bomb his home/RV because his pet snake is in our travel/RV. Good time to do so – but we forgot that too. Pulled in too many directions. 

Saturday, October 12th 

I woke up to a text from our tenant: “All the neighbors have power but we don’t. Have we called in the power outage?” Is this guy for real? 

1. He pays his own electric bill on a separate meter, so I don’t know about “we.” If he hasn’t called in his own outage, he should already know that.  We can't see his account (Idiot). If he's concerned about it, he should probably call the electric company. (rolling my eyes). 

2. Both lines would likely be fixed at the same time since it’s the same property (and we did report our outage) so when we get over there we will probably know if it’s on. Still, his lack of ability to reason or do anything for himself continues to irk me. 

3. What he didn’t know is that Brian had turned off the main to prevent a surge when power returned, so the good news is the power is probably on. 

We got to the property. The tree across the road was gone, so we got in; the generator was still running. Brian reclaimed his phone from the tool shed. Diane had texted. Shortly after we left last night, Davy Tree Company removed the tree. Shame, I’d have liked to watch that! LOL. 

The electric company restored power around 8-9 PM. If we’d known, we could have brought the RV and another vehicle over this morning. Now we have to make two trips back. Fortunately, my parents don’t live far. (Gas is still out at most stations). 

One station had gas, but people line up as soon as a place has gas and run it dry. Many places in Florida are without gas, and tankers can’t keep up. Patience. There are a lot of people that are more than inconvenienced. Fortunately, we don’t have far to go for anything – and now with power on, we should be good! 

Since we don’t "need" the generator, Brian offered it to his coworkers. One of them accepted, but he only had an SUV so Brian planned to hook the trailer to the jeep and take it to the Gandy Bridge area, over an hour away on a good day. 

During a deeper inspection of the property, we discovered leaks in one outbuilding, which needs immediate attention to prevent rot. With the power back on, we plugged the refrigerators and freezer back in and moved the generator with a fan to the barn to dry it out. We still had a lot of work to finish before getting the travel/RV, and Brian heading off with the generator would mean possibly standing in a gas line for hours – if he could even find gas. I was miffed. 

1. I want to be generous and help people. 

2. Gandy is between Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, the hardest hard-hit area. 

3. Adding to my anxiety is him driving in an area with traffic light issues and towing a trailer to boot. My sister said many lights are out, and people aren’t treating them like 4-way stops, causing accidents. 4. Brian’s jeep gas is at half a tank, and gas is scarce. 

5. This adds another task to our to-do list. When is he planning to take it? 

6. Actually, we are still using the generator. (though eventually Brian got extension cords, plugged in the fan and shut the genny down) so cross concern 6 off the list!

However, after a few hours, the coworker texted back, saying never mind on the generator. His wife was anxious, and they were going to a hotel. I was relieved but also felt a little guilty. I wondered if I’m selfish. I want to be generous but not to our detriment. This is just another of those reasons I sometimes question if I’m a good person. 

We finished the yard work for the day. My parents’ electricity was restored, but my sister’s was still out. We went back to my parents, got the travel/RV, and brought it and my SUV home. We left the jeep to recover later. Brian slept in the travel/RV so we could bug bomb his home/RV. 

I got to sleep in my own bed but was in so much pain, I wanted an out-of-body experience. I took two Excedrin, something I only do when it’s at its worst because I’m not supposed to have aspirin due to past ulcers, but Tylenol does nothing for me. 

Sunday, October 13th 

At least I woke up in my own bed, with electricity and water! We had the travel/RV to empty. I started laundry and lost count of how many loads. I continued with yard cleanup while Brian worked on the barn leaks. We started putting things back in our home/RVs, but everything was still in upheaval. 

We ran to Lowe’s for supplies to fix the barn and circled back to get Brian’s jeep from my parents. I texted my boss to request one more day off to get back to normal. She was awesome about it. My company puts people first in these situations, and we have a fund for “Business Interruption Pay,” so I will get paid for the day. 

Monday, October 14th 

I woke up to a wet carpet in my bedroom. The hot water heater in my home/RV had a leak, so we shut off the water to my home/RV until Brian could look at it. He was working on the barn. 

I started raking another area that needed cleanup and cleaned the travel/RV from top to bottom. All the bedding, linens and rugs are done, and it’s ready for our next trip – hopefully not soon. We need some normalcy. 

Brian isolated and fixed the water heater leak. We moved the fan from the barn into my bedroom. It now took precedence. I cleaned my home/RV since the floors were dirty from all the in-and-out of loading/unloading. 

While mopping, I accidentally turned the bucket with cleaning solution on its side. We mopped it up with towels, which I then took to the washer. I thought I was done with laundry, but nope. 

The cleaning solution smell was so strong it gave me a headache. (I’m very sensitive to strong odors and never wear perfumes). By this time, I could only shake my head – I didn’t have the energy to be annoyed anymore. 

I finally started catching up on our financials and clearing an overflowing inbox last night. 

There are still 5-6 areas of the yard with branches down, but they can wait. We’ve exhausted ourselves, and those areas aren’t urgent since the grass doesn’t need immediate mowing. We also still need to get the mower in. 

We are now taking it one day at a time. It’s a strange blend of emotions to feel both gratitude and heartbreak simultaneously. We are deeply thankful that our experiences are minor in the grand scheme of things, yet our hearts ache for those whose lives have been forever altered by these storms.