Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and catastrophic hurricane.  It was the strongest hurricane observed in the Atlantic since Wilma in 2005 in terms of maximum sustained winds.  It made Florida landfall in Cudjoe Key as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds at 130 mph.  It then made a second landfall on Marco Island, Florida as a Category 3.  We were heading south on our annual snowbird trip to the Keys when Irma hit. 

We have close friends who live in Islamorada which is only about 45 miles northeast of where the hurricane made landfall.  The seriousness of the impending storm caused our friends to evacuate and head north to the Orlando area.  They rode out the storm in a motel with their animals and all were safe.  We spoke to them often and kept up with the news.  We wanted to immediately accelerate our drive south to help them rebuild but visitors were not allowed in the Keys.  We finally got the OK to enter the Keys and on October 1^st  we arrived at our campground. 

Overseas Highway is the main road running through the Keys.  As we drove south there was devastation everywhere.  The road and surrounding areas were lined with debris.  Trees, wires, boats, jet ski’s, broken docks, appliances, mattresses, sheds and building debris was everywhere.  Everything you can imagine was strewn about.  Many buildings along the ocean side of the road were destroyed or severely damaged.  Trailer parks located along the ocean where totally destroyed with some trailers collapsed or rolled over on their sides.  Thousands of trees were down or broken off. There were sunken boats everywhere. Many of the big resorts which line the shores of the Keys were severely damaged.  The further south we traveled the worse the destruction got. About a week after our arrival in Islamorada we took a ride further south and the closer we got to the point of landfall the more unimaginable the destruction was.

Our friends were fairly lucky. Their home, which is directly across from their business and on the ocean side of the highway, was undamaged.  Unfortunately their commercial property had extensive damage with many trees down and three buildings damaged.  As the trees fell the roots ripped up concrete walks and patios and damaged the walls of their buildings.  Three of the trees fell directly on their buildings and destroyed the roofs. We’re glad to be available to work with them as they continue to rebuild.

It will take years for the Keys to recover.  Most of the economy in the Keys is from tourism, especially during the winter months when people head south for the warmer weather.  With many of the damaged resorts, hotels, restaurants and shops still closed, there are no tourists coming to the Keys.  This has forced many small businesses to close.  The Keys are beautiful and hopefully, as recovery continues, everything will be better than ever.

After spending an enjoyable summer in the northeast U.S. and the Canadian Maritimes we started our annual trip south to the Florida Keys.  We made plans to meet friends in Hershey, PA for the annual RV show held there every September.  For those who don’t know about the show it is a huge, week-long event held at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA.  The show features the newest RV’s and includes everything from mini towables to the largest Diesel Coach’s to Park Model homes.   There are hundreds of models on display from many different manufacturers.  There are also many accessory vendors, campground reps. etc. located inside the Giant Center.  If you are thinking of purchasing an RV or just want to see what’s available this is one of the big shows you should not miss.

We meet up with our friends and spent two long days looking at the latest and greatest models.  Our friends who recently retired were looking for either a 5^th wheel or motorhome to travel the country.  Their initial thoughts were to get a small 5^th wheel or motorhome in the thirty two to thirty six foot range.  After looking at those sized models they began to look at larger, higher end models.  Needless to say by the time we left the show they were convinced they wanted a 45 foot Tiffin Bus or Entegra Anthem Coach.  We have an Allegro Bus so we are partial to Tiffin.  They test drove both the Tiffin and Entegra and liked them both.  They were very close to making a deal but decided to wait a bit and do some additional research.

While we were at the show Hurricane Irma struck the Florida Keys and the south eastern U.S.  We had planned a slow trip south with an arrival in the Keys in October.  With so much damage to the Keys we weren’t sure we would be spending our winter there.  We continued our trip south and kept in contact with our friends who live in Islamorada.  They had extensive damage to their property and we wanted to go and help them rebuild.  Unfortunately only residents were being allowed into the Keys.  We made stops in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Savannah Georgia, St. Augustine, Titusville and Fort Lauderdale Florida.  We finally got news from our campground in Islamorada that they were reopening and we could proceed into the Keys.  We arrived on October 1^st and were deeply saddened by the massive destruction caused by Irma.