slmjim & The Lovely Z1BEBE flew into TPA (Tampa International Airport) to visit an old friend's widow & likewise old friend who lives in Lakeland.
A few days after we arrived, we decided to drive to Key West for a few days' stay. Third time in KW for us, and little has changed over the years. Old Town is still entertaining, a little warped, with remarkable people-watching opportunities. Still way overpriced on everything but, fuel was relatively inexpensive on Key Largo. We got outta there before the borderline-mentally-ill 'festival' & even higher prices were to start the following week.
The drive back to Lakeland was through the far outer bands of nearly constant heavy rain that preceded Milton by a couple of days.
The house our friend owns is very solid, recent construction to very high, post-Homestead, hurricane-resistant standards. We decided to ride out Milton there. slmjim was considering that, if the eye passed over the house, it would be a bucket list checkoff to venture outside while the eye was overhead & look up & see the clear sky & both eye walls. As it was, the track took the core of Milton slightly south of Lakeland, so no eye-viewing. Peak winds we experienced were in the 80 ~ 90 mph. range. That happened overnight, so we couldn't see sky, but we could see trees bent over & silhouetted against the clouds . It was remarkable to sense the significant change in wind direction as the core moved west to east.
With our home being in a Midwest area that's somewhat prone to tornadoes, we were more concerned with the tornado warnings in Polk County that accompanied Milton than the hurricane itself.
The power flickered a couple time, but never failed entirely.
The following morning, no damage to the house. We helped our hostess clean up a few small limbs & a huge quantity of Spanish Moss (fairly benign but nasty stuff) that had blown into her yard her yard, then a few of her immediate neighbors' yards. Some fairly large branches from their yards required power tools. A very large tree between two houses on her subdivision entrance street had blown over, damaging both houses & blocking the vehicles in at one of them.
TPA shut down ops the day before Milton hit. Our flight home was scheduled to depart Fri, 10/11. We didn't know if TPA would reopen in time, and were making plans to rent a car to drive home. TPA opened at 08:00 Fri. morning & our flight that evening was on time. TSA lines were long, but flight ops seemed normal.
The drive from Lakeland to TPA was eye-opening. Most of Lakeland was without power, and we saw a few flooded homes. We ate breakfast at a little strip mall place that had power but was cash only, as their broadband was down. Every gas station, restaurant & business we passed on US-98 was down for lack of power or flooding. The businesses large & small that had no power were obvious because no lights, flooded, and / or the parking lots were empty on a weekday. Although, a few of those may have been closed for consideration of employees beginning the recovery process at their homes.
The drive along I-4 into Tampa revealed considerable damage from downed trees & flooding. The closer we got to Tampa, the fewer indications of power availability were apparent. We saw no fuel stations operating anywhere along I-4. Bank parking lots empty on a Friday 'cause no power.
Happy to be home. Missed our puppydogs Big Time! We didn't visit KZR, so it'll be a few days before we get caught up on the past couple weeks happenings here.
Milton was a minor adventure for us, but a major catastrophe for much of FL. Our prayers for all who were affected. If there's something we can do to help, PM us.
Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE
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1973 ('72 builds) Z1 x2
1974 Z1-A x2
1975 Z1-B x2
1993 CB 750 Nighthawk x2
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