Nicole my first tropical storm experience was going to prove to be a bit of a challenge. I planned a few days of fun with some of my stamping friends. We were headed to the Stampin’ Up! On Stage Local in Jacksonville Florida.
We planned our friends time together months ago. I was coming from Chicago, Debi from Rhode Island, Monica & Pat were in Florida. We watched the progress of the storm the previous week but decided to arrive early as planned.
Debi & I arrived in Orlando on Tuesday, a day before the storm was to hit. It was raining off and on all afternoon. At this point it didn’t seem too different from the weather in Chicago. After all, it is the WIndy City!
We planned to go to Universal Studios on Wednesday but the wind didn’t cooperate. We received word that Universal Studios and other theme parks were closing early. With the prediction of high winds many rides probably wouldn’t be running. I looked for things to do when it rained in Orlando.
Nicole, my first tropical storm had strengthened to a level 1 hurricane.
I received word, from our next hotel, in South Beach Daytona, that there was a mandatory evacuation. Luckily, we were able to book another night in Orlando.
Making the best of the situation we headed over to the Aquarium and Wax Museum. I love aquariums and have never visited a wax museum so it sounded like fun to me!
The aquarium was very interesting with a lot of interesting, what I call bubbles, to poke your head up and view the sea creatures. Here is an eel looking at me in one of them.
We also walked through tunnels where fish swam over and around us. One of my favorites to see was this turtle. He was set out into the wild three times but always found his way up on shore visiting children and adults. Finally it was decided it was best for him to remain at the aquarium. I will say, he was always coming up to the window looking at us.
The wax museum was very interesting to see the “likness’s” of super heroes, musicians, actors and more. Here is a pictures of one of my favorites. Comment if you know who this is.
Nicole, my first tropical storm was downgraded to a tropical storm.
We headed east towards St. Augustine only to find most of the streets in the historic District were under water. Here are a few pictures of the water and wind.
Watching the reports to see how bad the winds were, we headed towards Jacksonville. It was a bit windy but no rain. By Friday morning things were looking up. We headed to the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens.
It was cloudy with a touch of wind when we arrived. By later in the afternoon the humidity began to pick up. It was actually a beautiful day to spend at a great zoo. The sun peeked out around 2:00 as we were heading out to the next hotel.
It is now Saturday. The sun is shining and it looks like it will be a beautiful day. Too bad we will be spending inside!
I’m glad we didn’t head right to the coast when we arrived. I don’t think I would want to experience a tropical storm or hurricane at the shores. However, in a way, I am happy for the storm as I discovered new places. These are gems that I think yhou should take time to visit when in the area. But please don’t wait for a storm before you do!
If you’d like to see more of my tropical storm experience, click here!
Until we meet again,
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