Thunderous
explosions awoke us early in the morning as a fast-moving storm descended on
us. Shortly after the first clap of thunder, alarms started blaring on our
phones. A tornado was imminent in our area so I quickly arose, grabbed my
wallet, keys, watch and headed to my phone. And no, I don’t sleep with my phone
handily within reach in our bedroom. As I looked outside at the predawn gloom,
the skies looked wicked and it was hard to ignore that perhaps something
terrible would unfold right in front of our eyes.
It
lasted the better part of an hour. Distant rumblings continue as the storm headed
further east. Fortunately, the rains have begun to ease and for Margo and me,
that’s quite a relief. Hard to believe that after breaking ground October 21,
with not quite four months behind us, our new Florida home is having
landscaping done – our home is now locked awaiting appliances. Hopefully, this
storms appearance doesn’t play havoc with our builders’ schedule. Our final
walk through is in two months’ time but already we see the likelihood of our
home being finished happening well before that date.
Move to sunny Florida, they all said. Enjoy the delights of a laid-back Caribbean lifestyle. No shoes, no shirt, no problem. Put it down to flights of fancy with thoughts of days spent poolside with adult beverages, relaxing, as we while away the hours. A completely leisurely lifestyle. All we can add at this point with our permanent relocation from Colorado to Florida is that in less than a year – more or less just three seasons – we have seen it all. This storm being just the latest round with mother nature.
It was only a matter of a couple of weeks ago when you would have found us sailing around Western Caribbean ports. An escape when temperatures in Panama City Beach plummeted below freezing. Be prepared to pack plenty of sweaters and warm clothing when cruising the Caribbean at this time of year as contrary to whatever you may see reflected in travel brochures, the gulf can get pretty cold. While preparation for such a vacation can be planned what we didn’t expect was snow and lots of it!
At
first, we paid scant attention to the predictions displayed on our phone’s
weather app. Snow on the beach? Surely not! And yet, that’s what happened with
between 2 to 8 inches falling along the Emerald Coast. Having never anticipated
such an occurrence we could only complain about how we had all the right
clothes but stored comfortably in overpacked wardrobes back in Colorado. Why on
earth did we come to Florida if it was going to snow? Call it a once in generation
event, while trying to buy a snow shovel in any of the big box stores. Clearing
the highways? Forget about it … the majority of the Florida panhandle closed
down with nothing moving for two or three days.
Looking
at our calendar, safe to say, a trip back to Colorado seemed less daunting. It
was a good time to celebrate a much later family Christmas than we had
anticipated. With gifts tucked into shopping bags, we made it to our daughter
Anna, her husband Erich and the three grandkids Ella, Aiden and Evan to
celebrate the season. Kids other grandfathers joined us for the event, so it
was a party! Having experienced snow in Florida it came as no surprise to
encounter even more of the white fluffy stuff in Colorado. What else could we
have expected to see at this time of year? After a little more than a week in
Colorado it came as a relief to be flying back to sunny Florida.
Before we left Colorado, we celebrated our wedding anniversary. Being the spontaneous couple that we are meant that we hadn’t made a dinner reservation at any of the more popular establishments we frequented. Undaunted we headed to one such establishment only to be told that all the tables were taken. Would we like to dine outside in one of their cabanas? We will turn the electric heaters on – don’t worry, it should be fine.
As it turned out, dining under canvas, alone,
with just a pair of electric radiators adding warmth, it proved to be just the
right environment for a highly memorable dinner.
Leaving the restaurant with the temperatures well below freezing, wood fires had been lit along the path and it just wasn’t possible to avoid them. S’mores, anyone? The pathways may have been icy with plenty of residual snow in evidence, but anniversaries are what they are; times to celebrate together and we couldn’t help but feel that time was getting away from us.
Both of us are finding
relaxing is proving harder to do even as our stress levels are climbing and for
a short spell, my health wasn’t playing fair. Then again, there was always
sunny Florida to return to and as we left the Denver airport, we began feeling
that Florida had become our home.
Travel
tip from the wise. When leaving Denver on a morning flight and where a rental
car had been chosen, get to the airport a day early and spend the night at the
airport hotel. In the case of Denver, we rarely pass up a night at the Westin
where not only do we get rooms with a view, but where we can get a good,
non-airport traditional, meal. Planning for the worst as we always do, it
becomes a less stressful time should everything not go to plan. Well, almost
everything.
Leaving
Panama City Beach airport for the flight to Denver via Houston, the first
flight was delayed by almost an hour. We could see this developing before we
left our rental home. A quick call to United and we re-booked our Houston to
Denver leg on a later flight and this made travel worry-free. As for the return
trip to Houston on a Boeing 777 – yes, traffic between Denver and Houston is
that busy – our flight was delayed again as an EXIT sign had failed and had to
be replaced prior to departure. Back on the phone to United only to find the
later (and last) flight to Panama City Beach had sold out and we would have to
overnight at the airport.
This
time, and as wise travelers, we suspected Houston weather was the culprit so we
gambled. Keep the current itinerary intact and we would see how quickly we
could traverse Houston airport from one end to the other. As anticipated, the
inbound flight to Houston had been delayed by almost an hour so anticipated
stress simply didn’t happen. As any weary traveler will only too willingly to tell
you, it’s so nice to pass through your home airport as planned to end the day
in your own bed!
The
warm, indeed very hot days of summer are well and truly behind us. Having spent
July and August on the Emerald Coast where temperatures routinely climbed into
the mid-90s with humidity to match, the pace of life had lessened considerably.
Whereas a season earlier, you couldn’t drive along the front beach road let
alone adopt a casual pace walking on the sidewalks, the hustle and bustle had
left. In its place were deserted streets and only the noise from a pair of
Harley Davidson motorcycles braving the winter broke the silence that had
descended on the former tourist paradise.
The
swing from summer temps to winter happened almost without any recognizable fall
(or autumn) occurring. Anticipation that spring will likewise be shortened with
the full onset of summer likely to occur in March. For those familiar with the
high jinks that accompany students spring break, Panama City Beaches have
proved unattractive. A local ordinance bans all alcohol sales (and consumption)
throughout all of March. For the elderly generation who continue to stream into
the Emerald Coast and make it their home, this is one positive yet unexpected
aspect of living nearby the beach.
Ahh
– but then we big kids can find time to still play at being small kids once
again with nary a soul to tell us otherwise. We are building a home within the
planned community that is Latitude Margaritaville Water Sound (LMWS). The homes
are essentially manufactured homes but with plenty of options available to
customize what is built. And yes, we went through the options list. It felt
like we were buying a new BMW or worse, a Porsche – a check mark here for an
upgrade, another immediately below and so it went. But looking at the finished
build, we can honestly say, we are pleased with how the build has gone.
Before ending this post, I must admit that it was only late in the process that I saw how I had posted 250 times to this blog and, with this post, number 251, I have such a long way to go to catch up to the number of posts I have made to our business blog, Real Time View. On the other hand, this has always been a fun exercise and one where I can keep the family updated no matter where they happen to be. Check back into this blog in say 20 years and let me know if I am keeping you as entertained as I have been doing to date.
Weather may have been the talking point around our neighborhood as blizzards, tornados and blistering sun all seemed to appear as extreme weather events. Then again, for the three decades we lived in Colorado we witnessed extreme weather events more than once. The blizzards of 2006 and then the 500-year flood that followed a few years later. The heat that created some of the most devastating wildfires just a few years back with the Marshall Fire in Boulder County still a talking point among the locals.
Perhaps the Emerald Coast isn’t that bad after all. Perhaps having the option to bale from either location when extreme conditions are encountered is a good position to be in – wise travelers as we have become there’s always the need to plan. Better still, to be in a position to grab that wallet, watch, keys and more should a situation develop. Yesterday afternoon we went back to our new home under construction and there it was – a beautiful rainbow – a reminder that even amongst the tumult of extreme weather conditions, there is still plenty of surprises from mother nature that make us smile.
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