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We were at the new location of Junkanoo's over by snook bight marina behind the publix a year ago....nice place..not sure if thats temporary or what but we liked it
But the devastation was unreal to see first hand...pics do not do it justice

Actually i misspoke...we were at the bay front bistro on the second floor there....but i think they were in the process of setting it up then...had to go look it up on google earth :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wally (Post 4906146)

Actually i misspoke...we were at the bay front bistro on the second floor there....but i think they were in the process of setting it up then...had to go look it up on google earth :D

Yep I see that they’re there now , that I did not know. Good to see they got the Publix reopened as well as CVS and finally just recently a 7-11 for gas .

I stayed on Fort Myers beach in March. It still is and will for quite a while look like a war zone. The damage was incredible. The traffic getting on and off the island was wild.

I ate at the new Junkanoo when I was there. The food was good, it was nice next to the marina. I am not sure if that is going to be their permanent spot or not, but it was regularly busy when I was there.

Only good beach bar left anymore is Docs about 8 miles up the road in Bonita. Totally redone after the hurricane and has breakfast and dinner with a good menu . A/c upstairs and tables on the beach .Great Chicago thin crust pizza and Italian beef sub also. Beer and wine only. It’s a Chicago sports bar on game night.

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I had 2 close friends and a dozen drinking buddies that lived on their boats at Salty Sams , my one friends 42 Silverton had a small hole about 2 feet up but my other friends sailboat was 20 feet up in the mangroves with a broken rudder and no insurance. Another 20 year Era for me gone as even though the restaurant is back and they just started put new docks in all my friends and buddies bailed on boating.

Dont think they will have liveaboard anymore also.
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So sad!

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Originally Posted by tommymonza (Post 4906167)

When I lived in the Cape I worked the Fort Myers Terminex office selling contracts.

I set a record for that office for the largest contract ever, to a gentleman on North Captiva.

Gorgeous place! Water in front and behind.

Two houses.

Two months later Charlie cut that island in half and destroyed his place.
I hated that.

3 days in my house in the Cape, no electricity, no AC and Martial law.

This Ohio boy learned a lot!

Funny Charlie story:

I was video taping local tv news broadcasts anytime they had an update.

Was doing this for my dad who used to teach weather for the Power Squadron.

Id tape 10 seconds of an update, then another.

I was prepared but up to that point Charlie was projected to make land fall at Tampa/St Pete.

My last video entry was the local news guy announcing its path had changed.

I knew it was bad because you could see the fear in his face/eyes.
He was a long time local.

His announcement was:

”Charlie is now off of Naples, headed due north but is projected to make land fall in the Cape!”

(never forget this part!)

Then looks up from his notes, looks straight at the camera and says, “if your still in the Cape, it’s too late, take shelter and good luck!”

As soon as he said that my power went out!

I had no generator so I took a spare trailer light bulb, hot wired it to a spare battery and hung it over the chandelier in my front room.

That was my light for 3 days!

I still have that video.

I got lucky and it hit Punta Gorda way worse.

I used to have a shirt that said, Hurricane Charlie, a Cat IV storm with 178 mph winds recorded in Punta Gorda, highest on record!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommymonza (Post 4906142)

It was just 20 years ago last week since Charlie, a bunch of us jumped in my boat the day after and rode on the outside to Captiva from Bonita . The houses on the beach in Sanibel that were damaged was endless than we got out to South Seas and couldn’t believe the destruction there as Charlie pretty much went right through there.

We lived on a golf course at the time and I can remember waking at dawn to look out the patio door at the incredible amount of debris flying by at 100 mph.

Funny you mentioned the Cuban, I don’t think me and the girlfriend ever ate anything else at the Whale and always had to get there before 10.

About the only funky old beach I know of anymore is Bradenton .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twin O/B Sonic (Post 4906169)

I take you didn’t get a Lump commission on that sale 😫

Innovative, I can’t remember what hurricane it was about 6-7 years ago that passed through Naples. But I jerked the batteries out of the cars and powerd up a small inverter to watch tv and old dvds as we had books but we didn’t no longer remember how to operate them.

Day of Charlie We woke up to no power and a huge tree had fallen down at our townhouse pinning our car in the garage . God it was so hot and humid right after it passed.

Girlfriend and I went into the community pool surrounded by tree debris and were drinking memosa at 10 am . Her parents that lived a couple miles away in Bonita Bay came by to check on us since phones weren’t working.

They had no power either but we went with them back to their house so we had a car. Then the power came on shortly after . Turns out their house was on the same grid as the fire station down the road so it was priority.

Her dad and mom were all stocked up on wine and booze from ABC and food from Costco and our house was empty as we had just returned from a 3 week trip .

Her dad had just had a new Billard / projection room added to the house so we spent the next 2 weeks drinking eating drinking playing pool
eating watching movies drinking eating in the pool drinking grilling hot tubbing drinking . It was the perfect extension of a 1 week that turned to 3 weeks that now went five weeks vacation.

Thank god though as we were without power for 2 weeks in Pelican Strand where we lived and we would have gone cra😜 without a/c with how humid it was following that hurricane.