Dodged a bullet

[quijote]

Greetings y'all from Florida! I just flew in this morning for a week's stay with my parents in Flagler County, just north of Daytona. From the airport in Daytona we drove through town to Sam's Club (for wine, of course), and then we headed through city streets over to Highway A1A along the coast and headed up north to Flagler County.

Hurricane Charley passed through Daytona on its way out of Florida, and though the damage isn't as bad as it could be, it's still pretty bad. Lots of powerlines down, roofs torn off of buildings, palm trees up-ended, twigs and branches scattered, storefront signs hurled into buildings, windows broken, etc., etc. The tourist area has been very hard hit--lots of motels with severe damage, souvenir shops with flooded and wind-blown interiors, and so on. Lots and lots and lots of tree debris everywhere. Fortunately, my folks were on the "gentle" side of the storm, so the worst they've seen in their neighborhood is debris all over the golf course. But closer into Daytona things are looking pretty rough, and it'll take a while to get back into a semi-normal routine.

At Sam's I picked up a Greg Norman Estates 2002 Cab/Merlot ($11), and it's quite fruity but not overoaked. Also picked up a bottle of Brancott 2003 Sauvignon Blanc and some Laura Chenel goat cheese for later in the week. I'm just glad the worst is over this time around, and I hope all those affected here can recoup and get back on track very soon.