Fall 2024 Florida trip

[DonnaR57]

DAY 6 - HURRICANE? TROPICAL STORM? PREPPING FOR HELENE!

Our sixth day was mostly spent doing as much relaxing as we could. We debated whether we should leave and try to outrun Helene, but all indications were that it was going to be a Tropical Storm as Helene was headed for the Panhandle. Getting out of St Augustine would just mean we'd be going in the same direction as others trying to flee.

Instead, we tried to relax and have a mostly "down day". We watched the lodge's staff move outdoor furniture, planters (already on wheels) and more into an unused room or into an area protected from the wind. Bear in mind this was mid-week (Thursday) so their parking lot wasn't really full. There were four parking places usually blocked with cones that said "Pick up trucks only" or "staff parking", and for those, they merely laid the cone down until a pick-up truck needed the spot.

We took umbrellas and walked back to St George Street, needing the umbrellas only at one point. Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed "Meehan's Backyard" which is an outdoor area where they mostly serve liquor and snacks. I had a Key Lime Pie which was better than the one I'd had 5 months before in the Keys.

Meehan's was dinner again, since we knew we wanted to go back for dinner before we left town. They too were preparing for the wind by putting outdoor furniture in a better place, and they eventually took down two hanging signs in front (but they restored them by Friday at 11 am.).

There are no photos from this day.

During the night, sure enough, the wind picked up. It was very, very gusty, but we felt safe in the room. Our power stayed on -- lodge staff had warned us that a loss of power (i.e. no A/C) would be possible, but they didn't expect high waters. Water did raise a little in the River, but did not overflow its banks. One wind gust caused a metallic clatter outside our room. It wasn't until morning that we found it between our car and the fence between the parking lot and the sidewalk in front of our room. It was a metal base to a round planter that had not gotten moved, from upstairs of us. We were grateful that it did not hit our car as it would have done some damage.