BigTom

1 hour ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Continuing to pray..

Tom would sleep right through it ?  Me?  Nope,  I'd be up and pacing.  You're in our prayers.

Might as well get a good nights sleep, staying awake and pacing will do no good and there will be a lot of cleaning up to do the next day.

Quick update, some wind, not bad, raining off and on. Storm is still well south of us. Tornado warning for north of Fort Meade, I live just south of Fort Meade, call Fort Meade home town.  No damage, we are prepared and just waiting. Tom

One thing no one has mentioned, Florida is a big farming state, not only do we have a chance to loose our homes, but also lose our income for the year. Oranges are almost ready to change color and be picked which means they will be blown off the trees easier, heard somewhere they expect 80 percent to be lost where the storm hits. Trees will be torn up and it takes several years for them to recover. A friend just made beds for strawberries 2 weeks ago, materials alone cost about $1000 per acre plus labor and he bedded 200 acres. Another has 50 acres of watermellons just starting to bloom. Wind will completely destroy those beds and there are a lot of farmers here. This mean cost of food is going up, even potato chips  as there are a lot of potatoes grown for Lays around here. Anything above ground will be flattened, everything in the ground will rot, and crops will be late. So pray for us as the storm hits.

If you like action fiction, Wayne Stinett has a series set in the Keys,  the fallen series, First One is Fallen out and there is a series building on the same characters. Set in middle Keys and is very entertaining reading. Of course I like anything set in Florida even the Travis Magee series.

6 minutes ago, Travisma said:

For readers that like FL stories, there is a science fiction (hopefully doesn't become fact) one that's been around since 1959.

I've read it a couple of times.  Gets better with each reading

Alas, Babylon  is a 1959 novel by American writer Pat Frank (the pen name of Harry Hart Frank)^[1] It was one of the first apocalyptic novels of the nuclear age and has remained popular more than half century after it was first published, consistently ranking in Amazon.com's Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories list (which groups together short story collections and novels)^[2] and has an entry in David Pringle's book Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels. The novel deals with the effects of a nuclear war on the fictional small town of Fort Repose, Florida, which is based upon the actual city of Mount Dora, Florida.^[3] The novel's title is derived from the Book of Revelation"Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come." The cover art for the Bantam paperback edition was made by Robert Hunt.

I read that book in 1959, still have it and am about 1/2 through it now. started reading it again last night. It is available for E-book, I have it on my Kindle

13 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I saw it on Amazon- but apparently there's no Kindle version available. 

TCD

No Kindle version, only in paper. It was a small release and sometimes hard to find, I have probably bought and give away 10 or more.

3 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

LOL.

I remember those days. I'm back to being able to read whenever I like, and you will get back there one day.  In the meantime- read to your kids as much as you can, even when they're old enough to read on their own.  It makes a big difference.

Tom- great idea for a thread. I have never heard of the Charlotte's Story book, but I'm going to hunt down a copy.  It sounds like a book that I would like.

TCD

You can find it on amazon, make sure you get the right one, there is another with the same title. Make sure it is about the Keys.

Don't know if any fiends like to read, I go through 3-4 books a week, at my age not a whole lot more to do, and especially enjoy books about Florida. I found one that anyone interested in Florida Keys will enjoy. It is titled Charlotte's Story, a Florida Keys Diary. It is about a couple that go to live on Elliot Key in the 1930s. Very interesting and a true story that will give a view of how wild South Florida used to be. You can still get on Amazome, it is out of print and was never printed in a large number but anyone interested in Florida History should read it. Tom

10 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

can't wait to hear who didn't need no sunscreen in August.

Most of us who grew up in Florida don't need sunscreen, we have enough sense to stay in the shade as much as possible

Last few times I stayed in 1500 loop, it was worse than 2000 loop, they put large groups in 1500 and it is a small loop. One trip there were at least 50 kids and adults in one group and they had about 6 sites with tents every where you could put one, the p[ace was a mad house with unsupervised kids running everywhere. 2000  gets crowed mostly in the back of the loop and kids are playing in the street, but very never have I seen a large group completely take over the whole loop like I have seen in 1500. Also a lot of free loaders will park in the 1500 loop and make it even more crowded. The 2000 loop is larger with more people, but it isn't as tight and crowded as the 1500 loop, if you stay close to the entrance it is much less crowded that the rear of the loop.

I  am reading along also

3 hours ago, Starbuc71 said:

Renting a cart is surely the way to go, but cart rental prices can cost you as much as the campsite it's self (well, use to). Being lucky enough to be able to take a golf cart with us, ours has paid for itself twice over already.  If you don't own your own cart, I would definitely do the bike thing over paying the high disney rental price

Disney's rental price is high, you can buy and just leave the cart cheaper than renting one if you are going to be there over a week. I have purchased several for less than $600 with good batteries in them.

following along

I am here too

I feel the same way, we use to go 6-8 times a year and held passes, last year we went one time, Halloween and have only  1 reservation for this year. We have begin to take what it cost and taking a Disney cruise instead. Still spending as much money, but enjoying it more.

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Did you have a wetsuit?  You're right about the risk of hypothermia from the water. 

TCD

Yes, I had a shorty wetsuit, but the water is still cold.

2 hours ago, ependydad...Doug said:

Thanks for the info. Maybe we'll stay in the park or nearby and test our luck.

I went to swim with the Manatees at Crystal Springs one year when there was ice on the boat, the water felt warm but it was real hard to get out of it, the air was in the 30s when we got out. You have to be careful, even though the water feels warm, it still is cold enough to chill you.

4 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thank you.

Haha...I think they must travel through Atlanta, on their way down to FL as (here in Atlanta) you have two types of drivers:   horrible/dangerous/much too fast OR slow/no hurry/worker obviously paid by-the-hour.   A small minority of us, simply obey the rules of the road and drive the speed limit while not cutting off other drivers or running lights  

Of course they travel through Atlanta, you can't go north out of Florida with out going through Atlanta.

I live about 20 miles south of Legoland, I usually figure about 1 to 1 1/2 hour for the trip to Fort Wilderness depending on time of day and time of year. Roads are always crowded during winter months and snowbirds are never in  a hurry to go, with nowhere to go and no reason to get there, why hurry? 

I always use Disney transportation, the traffic is terrible around WDW and I am on vacation and in no real hurry anyway.

At the same time living without AC has its draw backs, my wife and I always carry a light jacket or sweater when we go out because most people have their places so cool it is uncomfortable and since I broke my arm it starts to throb when it is chilly. Try finding a sweater in the Keys in June, I don't think they even sell them in the winter there, but I did find a sweat shirt in the markdown bin.

It is not a slab, foundation, 2 rows of blocks filled in and poured floor, no crawl space.

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

Did you build a cracker style, or one on a slab?

Those old Floridians were darn smart.

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

You haven't turned your AC on yet this year?

We never turned ours off!

 

TCD

When we had this house built in the 80s we doubled the windows, installed ceiling fans and did not have AC installed. We got AC when my mother would not visit us and decided we needed AC and had it installed. If she had not had it installed we probably would still not have it. We didn't have heat installed either and still use a fire place for heat when needed. We also live in a rural area, so it is usually a little cooler than an area with a lot of pavement.

Never really thought about it, but there should be plenty of room for most any tent under 20' X 20'. My pop up is about 20' long when open and there is no problem with it. There is one or two sites with trees in the pad that might be in the way for a very large tent.