Into Alabama

We made it into Alabama and to Escapee's Rainbow Plantation on Thursday.

Miss Kitty in her customary location and demonstrating her flexibility (hind foot up by her head) while we were traveling. She loves being on a lap!

As we were driving on I-10 heading west, Carl noticed dozens and dozens of line trucks heading east. He mentioned that they must have been working on lines that had come down in storms. We also saw signs indicating a detour for US98 south. We remembered hearing that the bridge that we had crossed back in March (which had just completed construction and they were in the process of dismantling the old bridge) had been damaged by a barge during a hurricane -- the damage happened during Hurricane Sally in September (http://www.pensacolabaybridge.com/construction-traffic-updates, http://www.pensacolabaybridge.com/overview, https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2020/09/16/pensacola-bay-three-mile-bridge-missing-hurricane-sally-what-we-know/5821373002/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensacola_Bay_Bridge) and the bridge is anticipated to be closed until March of 2021.

When we got into Alabama, we found that the storm had wrecked havoc in this area too. There were piles of debris along all the roads, I guess waiting for trucks to come pick it up. We saw some power lines down still near the RV park (I said that I thought that the line trucks hadn't quite finished all their work!).

When we got to Rainbow Plantation, we found that the park had a lot of damage too:

Some of the piles of debris along the main entry road.

More debris down through the park.

Where there used to be a line of trees, now a number of stumps and a number of trees broken off or leaning.

 

We met for "coffee" with some of the folks who live on the housing lots behind the RV park this morning. They said that it was quite a horrific time. They lost both water and power for several days (5 and 7 days, I think). Being in an RV you can deal without having those things (with onboard water tanks and generator), but they are in houses or "park models" and don't have tanks or generators. Trees blocked access to be able to leave the park or even travel on the roads. The businesses in the area didn't have power so they weren't open. They said that churches in the area cooked meals in parking lots and provided meals to people who needed it.

I don't know how long the RV park has been back open. There are a lot of trees missing. There are still some other trees with yellow "Caution" tape around their trunks (I don't know whether they are planning to cut more down or whether these trees still have broken branches that need to be trimmed out). Talking to the folks who weathered the storm reminds us to be thankful for our lives and for being safe. 

Even though the park is open, due to COVID, the office is not open for folks to enter. They left our registration materials outside in a box and we picked it up to know which site was assigned to us. All the communication was by phone or email -- not the friendly environment that we are accustomed to find in Escapee parks. But there are still friendly smiles and kind greetings between folks in the park, and we're glad to stop driving for a few days.