Legally, I’ve lived in Gainesville, Florida since January of 2018, for two reasons: you need a physical residence to be a registered voter and my friends own a home in Gainesville. But as my friends say, I’m their “ghost housemate” because I don’t stay long and I haven’t actually been there for two years.
I’m here now, though, with my five-day visit extended to 2+ weeks, thanks to Hurricane Milton. We did all the hurricane prep, keeping in mind how hard Helene had hit the state a few weeks earlier. Sandbags, flats of water, stocking up on food, propane for the Alto stove (if we lost power), gas for the two generators (again, if we lost power), and — because we apparently think alike — nine pints of ice cream in the freezer. We charged all the devices, had alerts on all our phones, and watched the weather reports from across the state.
My personal prep included dropping the Alto off at the local repair shop a few days earlier than my scheduled maintenance day (thanks, Texas Trailers in Gainesville) so that it was on higher ground and not near any big trees. It felt a bit odd at first to not be near my Alto, but I quickly got used to the guest room and a nice guest bathroom.
Milton came ashore late on October 9, a fact that made me happy it didn’t hit on my birthday the next day, or my birthday would have been “remember Milton” day for years to come. We got some rain and sporadic wind in Gainesville, but not much at all, considering how places like Siesta Key fared. So we had a lot of ice cream to deal with, a happy problem considering what we could have been facing.
The next afternoon, we had sunshine and so I caught this butterfly on the flower bed in the front yard as I enjoyed the fact that we’d dodged the weather for once this year. The only thing that affected me personally was that both my planned campsites were closed (Silver Springs opened up a week later, but Cypress Glen is closed for weeks from river flooding). So more time in Gainesville for me, which was actually a nice break from the road and from campgrounds and towing and all that nomad stuff.
Breeze did get the (almost) yearly maintenance done, and a few fixes as well (wonky back light replaced, broken step repaired, loose front stabilizer reattached), and a new back bumper, replacing the smaller one that had gotten dented in 2019 when I backed into a site and didn’t realize there was a brick wall sticking out just enough to catch the tip of the bumper. This one is 4×4 aluminum tubing, fabricated as a special order, and they did a great job (thanks again, Texas Trailers!).
Post-Hurricane Milton, I’ve had time to enjoy more of Gainesville and see what’s new since my last visit. Stay tuned, that’s my next post.
Nice photos considering the drama. Next level on the ice cream plan! Next time we expect pictures of this mystery ice cream!
Hopefully, Florida’s weather will calm down soon. We’ve finally escaped summer here. Snowfall has started in the Sierras, near Tahoe, but our temps remain in the 80s. Nice bumper!
We love your posts! Our good friends just returned from Québec with their third Alto. If we didn’t have an electric car and a very nice winter rental in little Yankeetown, Florida, we’d buy an Alto in a heartbeat.
Big hurrah that you’re safe!
Glad you are safe and in a place where you can get all the needed repairs done.
Nice fall weather here – in fact unseasonably warm – shorts day – but as New Englanders often say when the weather is unseasonably nice “we will pay for this later”. But maybe not as global warming has changed the usual weather patterns.
Mary
Nine pints of ice cream — nice!