Michaela in Hurricanes Helene and Milton!

"People plan and God laughs". We went into this adventure knowing this would be true. We planned our major waypoints with the idea we will need to be nimble and flexible. Little did I anticipate that our dear daughter, Michaela, and her boyfriend Christian would have to weather not just one, but two hurricanes. From a distance, we, as parents, closely monitored the situation, feeling a great sense of relief knowing that they were both safe and sound. Given the inquiries we've received, I wanted to provide a brief overview of their challenging experiences.

We were snug in our camper in the Boston area and Michaela, living in Asheville. called us the evening of September 26th saying that a hurricane was coming their way and they may lose connectivity, but they felt that they had things under control. We didn't worry too much as we know the Blue Ridge Mountains usually dissipate any terrible storm. Wrong, wrong. We were as surprised as anyone to learn that Ashville was hit very hard. Michaela and her boyfriend, Christian were in Michaela's house which was close to the Swannanoa River, but high enough not to get flooded. Power, cell and internet indeed went out along with running water. These smart-thinking individuals had stocked up on food and water and worked their way to a hospital to borrow a bit of internet to let us know they were OK. Phew! Not only were they OK, they sounded great. They were cooking nice meals, having lovely candle light evenings. Their neighbors had a well and a generator so they could get water and charge their devices. Later we learned they were just running on adrenaline. Michaela had a couple of roommates really having a hard time. She and Christian went into a leadership role to kept everyone calm. When they went out to view the destruction they were shocked to see that many of the places they loved were utterly destroyed. This was devastating.

Here is a picture of one of her favorite coffee shops.

Michaela relocated to her current residence on April 1st. Below is an image of the area where she lived before that date. The residents there were saved from their rooftops and attics by a single neighbor using a kayak. The thought of her being there terrifies me. She and Christian seem to have had a guardian angel with them through this whole ordeal.

After a few days, they grew weary of the water and power shortages. With some roads now open, and finally ability to buy gas, they decided to drive to Christian's parents' home in Florida. They were driving Michaela's 2014 Subaru with a gazillion miles on the odometer. Suddenly they heard a strange noise coming from one of the wheels and stopped at an auto mechanic shop that was about to close. They guy said, yep it's the wheel bearing and left. Spying an Advance Auto Parts store a few blocks away they attempted to get the car there; they made it as far as an Olive Garden parking lot and walked the rest of the way. Not only did the store have the wheel bearing they needed but they had a program to loan tools. Only problem was it would take a few hours to replace the wheel bearing and the store was closing. No problem, they could return the tools in Florida! Next problem, they didn't have a bearing puller, so they had to get creative.

Back in the Olive Garden parking lot Christian tries to get the old bearing out, with limited success. The kind people at the Olive Garden brought him an ice tea. When the Olive garden closed, the last guy out happened to be a mechanic and offered assistance. Christian had the right idea to bang out the bearing, but this guy had extra finesses and banged through all the rust and got the bearing out. The new bearing was put on and they were back on the road and finally made it to Florida at the wee hours in the morning.

Once in Florida, the ordeal of what they had been through finally started to hit them. They were definitely feeling it. The adrenaline rush was over.

Now Milton was barreling into Florida. They weren't too worried as they were in a house built for hurricanes which was located on the opposite coast of the direct hit. What they didn't anticipate were the tornados. As it turns out, tornados where spotted all around them, but none close to their house. They were located at the X in the diagram below. Tornado were spotted at all the red squares.

I am so relieved and happy that Michaela seems to be moving through this ordeal with a bit of help from her special angels.

While in Florida, she grew concerned about her friends in Ashville. Obtaining reliable information on water safety and toxic levels in the mud proved challenging. Instead of dwelling on the issue, she and Christian took proactive steps, reaching out to various experts to compile an impressive document.

Safety Document

Michaela and Christian will be traveling to Asheville tomorrow, October 15th. Our initial campground reservations were set to begin on the 18th for a 3-week stay, but unfortunately, that campground is closed indefinitely. However, we managed to secure a spot at a different campground, albeit quite far from Michaela, for a few nights starting on the 20th. We aim to provide assistance to her and her friends to the best of our abilities. Our trip for these few weeks are a bit up in the air - stay tuned.