Florida - Seashells by Millhill

Sunset Photos at New Smyrna Beach

Flagler Ave on the east coast of Florida as the sun sets. Photo taken from the beach.

Just before Hurricane Nicole showed up to ruin the local beaches, my daughter came to visit from New Hampshire. She definitely chose the right week! While she was here we had sunshine and warmth. A few days later the beaches were pummeled by the storm.

She arrived on a Tuesday, and we had to go to the beach that evening. These are a few of the photos I took from New Smyrna Beach at the end of Flagler Ave. where Breakers restaurant is located. We walked a little just so she could enjoy having her toes in the sand!

Flagler Ave and Breakers at night from the beach.

New Smyrna Beach Florida at night — Looking south down the beach at low tide

life guard tower at night Flagler Ave. — The lifeguard tower

The lights on the second floor of Crabby’s Restaurant were shining in the darkness.

Crabby’s restaurant lit up at night — Crabby’s

A few days later we went back to this part of the beach to walk and swim. A storm moved up from the south and we all hid under the pavilion to stay somewhat dry.

At this point I didn’t even know about Nicole and the damage the storm would do to this area. My son and I visited this same area the day the storm arrived (overnight) to get some pre-storm photos. You can see here how low tide should look, and the difference when the storm was approaching.

While my daughter visited, we went to the beach three times, went boating once, and visited the boat ramp park to swim. She was able to get her fill of saltwater and sunshine!

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Beach Waves as Hurricane Nicole Heads to New Smyrna Beach

Views of New Smyrna Beach before Hurricane Nicole arrives and the waves and high water levels.

It is November 9th and Hurricane Nicole is headed toward Florida. We rarely get an East coast hit by a strong storm, so my son and I took a ride to see the waves at the beach.

Usually I stay home and do nothing when a storm is approaching, but this one is taking forever to arrive. We’ve had wind and occasional rain since yesterday afternoon.

I checked the tides on my phone on the way to Flagler Ave., and found that it was about 1 1/2 hours from LOW tide.

This water is very high for low tide.

I did not get photos, but as we drove along Riverside Drive, the water was higher than I’ve ever seen it – even at high tide in the river. The boat ramp and small park were both roped off along the river so we couldn’t stop and get photos. Because this was nearing low tide, I’m guessing the place will be flooded once high tide arrives.

Breakers

I really don’t know how Breakers Restaurant manages to remain throughout all the storms it’s seen. (Someone on Instagram mentioned that the owners at one time invested a lot of money into a sea wall for Breakers.) We visited Breakers and had food and drinks after Hurricane Charley came through. Frances and Jeanne came right after and eventually I think Breakers had to close due to damage.

beach waves hurricane Nicole — Beach Ramp

The bottom corner of the pink building has some noticeable damage. I don’t know if it was from Hurricane Ian, but a lot of the coastal buildings have not recovered fully from Ian. That hurricane just passed through a little over a month ago.

Beach ramp at Flagler Ave closed for Hurricane Nicole — Access to the beach closed

It is almost 5PM as I type this and Nicole is hitting land around midnight as far as I know. She is bringing 70mph winds and along with high tides along the beach, there will be lots of damage. My house is as ready as it will be. I hope I can sleep through the wind, but I really hope the power stays on.

Stay safe Floridians.

Update: Power stayed on for us. Haven’t seen the beaches, but I know they took a pounding.

Hurricane Ian Flooding

Water covers the road in my neighborhood as far as I can see.

Hurricane Ian, landfall September 28th and 29th, 2022. Hurricanes take time to arrive, time to pass, and can take lots of time to clean up after.

My flooding photos from Hurricane Ian are nothing compared to what so many others are dealing with. Many areas are still underwater and homes, businesses, and vehicles have been flooded out.

We were lucky that the water stopped rising before it got near the house, and the then went down very quickly. Still, I will add my photos, taken from the road and front yard on Thursday as Ian moved away from the east coast of Florida.

Looking at neighbors across the flooded road

Hurricane Ian flooding — Looking at neighbors across the flooded road

Wednesday night, September 28th the storm wind and rain picked up and blew all night long. During the night we could see the water rising to the little trees out front. The next morning the wind had died down so I put on my rubber boots and went out to talk to the neighbors and take these photos. Not long afterward the wind picked up to 60 mph gusts again and blew most of Thursday. I think we were in what remained of the eye of the hurricane.

Our area of Florida, a few miles inland on the central east coast, got something like 26-28 inches of rain between Wednesday night and all day Thursday. Some places got more! We were lucky that our house sits high enough in a state that is nothing but FLAT.

Once the power and internet goes out, it’s hard to know what is happening. Now that I have it back (only 4 days without – many thanks to the electric companies who came to help restore it so quickly) I can see news and all the destruction on the Gulf coast. I have no doubt that Sanibel and other areas will build back up, but WOW, that will be some work.