under the microwave
when it was time to leave seahorse i could not carry my sandpiper painting on my bike with all the camping equipment, so i hid it under the microwave. the sink cabinet and oven come together in the kitchen creating a void, a space under the counter in the corner beneath the microwave which is not easily accessible. i guessed correctly that vacationers never notice that void and so i slid the painting through the narrow space and then inserted my arm through the small opening at the base to manipulate and lean it against the wall of the cabinet. my plan was to come back next year and retrieve the painting. i stored quite a few other items under the microwave before leaving.
this story begins with my journey to find a new home on the north coast of florida, called the "forgotten coast." cambodia sold its coast to chinese casino companies and they immediately destroyed the natural environment of otres beach and many others. for this reason i could no longer enjoy the beach there and decided to search for another beautiful natural beach.
i arrived in tallahassee from takeo province early october 2018 and caught a taxi to the bike shop where i bought a nice bike and rode directly to an airbnb location near fsu. i began preparing camping equipment to ride south on the st. mark's trail and along the forgotten coast. my plan was to go as far as mexico beach and explore the towns along the way in hopes of finding a new home. as it turned out i chose carrabelle, or did the hurricane choose it for me?
following some camping tribulation, swimming in alligator infested rivers (supposedly), i discovered the state park at st. george island and miraculously the campsite i chose had hammock posts. i instantly raced to the beach for a swim, but the purple flag of dangerous marine life was raised high and fisherman who inadvertently hooked and dragged in stingrays warned me to shuffle my feet as i walked out into the surf. i enjoyed a chunk of lemon cake and a cautious swim.
mom sent a message that "some weather was headed my way." and when i woke in my hammock the next morning people were suggesting that i seek more durable shelter. they predicted that a severe hurricane would land at our location. they were right.
i was tired from a lot of riding and did not want to leave the island. but the hurricane was planning to arrive in four days. i packed up and headed back toward carrabelle. but the wind was against me and i was not completely sure where i was trying to go. i stopped to ask about lodging and a kind woman offered to drive me back to carrabelle. i stayed another night at the inn, where the manager recommended a vacation rental. that place was called seahorse, and my stay there was the most exciting and dramatic month of my life.
when i rented seahorse i was not yet fully conscious of the reality of the hurricane intercepting me there. when i became alert the second day, there was just enough time to pack the freezer and cabinets with extra food. the third day people began removing their boats from the dock under my window. the scene was surreal as the sunny lively river quickly abandoned suddenly felt like a ghost town. i only have one picture of the dock which was swept away...
i continued to do my engineering work online with increasing concern, as the weather forecast showed the predicted course of the hurricane directly on top of carrabelle. the day before landfall the course shifted west to mexico beach. i put a few emergency items in the only closet which appeared to have a strong frame, as i pictured the tall flat sea facing wall of the condo being ripped away. on hurricane day the wind increased and the skinny pine trees across the river curled over. my loft condo sticks up beside the river like a welcome sign inviting mayhem. the wind peeled the siding off but it held fast at one end and whipped the large glass again and again. i reached out grasping one edge of the window to prevent it being torn off, and got the siding in my hand. i pulled it loose and the wind instantly snatched it. the siding looked like a leaf as it spun toward the waves and disappeared under the water.
as the wind increased the internet failed, then the power and cell service. i was glad to discover that my phone contained an actual fm radio receiver. i remember when the radio announcement came about the mandatory evacuation. i had just rented the most expensive place i've ever stayed. they did not state where the evacuation busses were taking people. i knew that if the roads were damaged i would not be able to come back. i decided to stay. the ground under the condo was three meters above average high tide level. the condo was on heavy concrete foundation pylons. i taped a crack in the round window near the loft ceiling and did a lot of deep breathing meditation. i was the only person in my building when it hit.
i calculated the speed of the hurricane and the predicted speed after landfall, when 3:00 pm passed i believed the worst was over. but then the south edge of the storm caused the wind to reverse direction, and that wind pounded the house in the opposite direction and the paintings clapping against the wall. several times i got in the closet looked out through a slit and watched the big windows. it felt like the house would torque and crumple. the winds gradually reduced over the course of hours.
the next morning the sky was sunny and no hint of hurricane. i biked as far as i could along several roads. all roads were closed except to the caravans of emergency vehicles already arriving. all the rv parks were vacant. one car remaining caught a falling tree. soon the red cross delivered coolers of food and the national guard posted sentinels at the fire station. a man who still had cell service let me call my family and invited me to work at the red cross food service.
within five days my own cell service was up again and i resumed work. there was much destruction everywhere, yachts lifted up and dropped sideways onshore. and i heard that a lot of people could not come to carrabelle because all the roads were blocked. red cross continued to deliver supplies and people without food came from all around to eat at the makeshift drive through. i met everyone in the town in just a few hours. i found a way to get to carrabelle beach and resumed my evening tradition of swimming and watching dolphins. i was happily surprised to find art supplies at one of the unfortunate franchise stores including a canvas stretched over a wood frame and some acrylic paints! i painted a little sandpiper, those cute birds that run back and forth to escape the waves on the beach.
news poured in that mexico beach was wiped out. and yet another tragedy occurred. i heard from my sister that mom had a terrible accident and was in the hospital in nc. i already had a ticket back to cambodia by then. i could not even leave carrabelle because of the road destruction, and family said i should wait until mom stabilized to try a visit. overall, this was one insane month to look for a new home in the usa.
when it was time to pack up, i couldn't leave the picture. it was a symbol of joy and madness. so i hid it under the microwave, along with quite a lot of beach desiderate i accumulated that month. in my imagination everything is possible, and i knew that i would go back to carrabelle for another adventure. november was the beginning of a round the world journey which i did not plan. i first went back to cambodia, then on to spend two months in borneo, at a place called kota kinabalu. i went there as a substitute for palawan to avoid the immigration and violence in the philipines.
i found the best snorkeling and great vegetarian food in kk. i also stayed a week in a 100% muslim community at koala terengannu and learned to admire the devotion and way of life of the people there. i found the best snorkeling and great vegetarian food in kk. i also stayed a week in a 100% muslim community at koala terengannu and learned to admire the devotion and way of life of the people there.
after months of concern in april of this year i was able to visit mom in nc. this trip i followed a new route flying through qatar, which is how i circled the globe by accident. we played scrabble as usual, and i was glad to be there for dad's birthday party. i then bought a scooter there and drove down the coast of nc, sc, ga, and florida, meeting friends and family i've not seen in years. in may 2019 i returned to tallahassee completing an unintentional round-the-world tour in six months.
i met many new friends along the way. i feel that this life is a great blessing and i am most grateful for everything!
i did indeed return to carrabelle after my visit with mom and dad. although it was a brief visit, i accomplished all my plans in a nutshell. the inn was booked so i could only stay a couple of nights. i worked online at carrabelle beach and changed the oil in my new scooter at the picnic shelter. one tedious footnote in the story... my new scooter is excellent, but it's a somewhat rare italian model and i had to order an equally rare oil filter in order to do the change. i shipped the oil filter to my po box in carrabelle and it was there when i arrived. the inn would not allow me to check in till 3 pm, so in the four hours beforehand i changed the oil and filter at the picnic shelter on the beach. i am efficient, baby! ha ha.
i was bit disappointed that i could not book seahorse again when i arrived this year in carrabelle. it was summer and everything was a lot more expensive, and there was much less availability (in part because many places in nearby towns were destroyed by the hurricane and people who normally went to places like mexico beach now seek lodging in carrabelle). therefore, on my way out of town i visited seahorse in stealth, having determined from the leasing agent that no was was renting that day. and to end this story on a happy note...
upon entering seahorse i was very happy to find my sandpiper painting waiting patiently for me under the microwave where i hid it last year! on that day fortunately i had plenty of room in my scooter to carry my super souvenir from the carrabelle hurricane! now the sandpiper has travelled around the globe with me, and last night i found a frame at the sakura thrift store and hung the picture in the window at rachana guesthouse!!! (second row of pictures above).
june 2019
i am now back in takeo province and getting ready for the next journey. i hope to snorkel at borneo again soon and meet this friendly fish face to face!