After Harvey, nearly 6 months later.... Hundreds of high-end boats either stacked or piled up like Cordwood. It looks like a Salvage Company has only recently taken up this project.
That being said, much has occurred this past year. On top of the list is that our adopted Texas home was devastated by a Hurricane. One that made landfall squarely on Rockport, Texas. Everything about this has been weird talking to those who stayed or came back right after. The Storm moved from a 1 to a 4 in the space of two days. Most of the folks here opted to leave for places in Austin or San Antonio.
We were in Oregon as the thing blew in as a Cat 4. It's really difficult to not feel guilty when so many here lost so much. But its also truthful to say that our more personal belongings were left in a brand new Cargo Trailer we'd bought to empty out a storage unit, while I'd also just bought a boat that I had high plans for.
It's also hard to describe what it feels like imaging your substantial investment waiting patiently for a storm bearing winds of over a 130 mph to barrel in, in real time while you're a couple of thousand miles away. That if you were just there, but you aren't and you're just going to have to live with that. Can't get there in time if you set out now, and would likely be blocked from access very far away anyhow.
We cut our trip short and started the two thousand mile trip home mindful that if we arrived to soon, we'd be, in fact, blocked from access. Initially our understanding was nobody could get in here anyhow.
About a week earlier I'd found an NOAA flyover sight that allowed you to magnify over the area your House, Trailer etc was located in order to assess the damage. Though we could only see a small section, it looked like we might have had a bit of luck. Harvey Imagery We'd also found some FB postings about the condition of the RV park.
I had visions of all of our personal possessions either destroyed by water or missing entirely. The brand spanking new 14 foot Cargo Trailer we'd also purchased a few months earlier, utterly destroyed.
The boat I'd purchased that Spring sitting upside down in the road, or maybe in a Tree. As it turned out there existed a bit of damage but we were vastly more lucky than others.
We'd driven that day from the North side of Waco, stopped to check up on Danny in College Station. Though we'd thought we might stay overnight, a conversation with the Park Mgr, Owner, whatever convinced us she was attempting to gouge us beyond belief for simply one Night. So after a brief but nice visit, we opted to head for Rockport to find out once and for all how bad this was.
Fifty or so miles from the Coast, even in the Nighttime, we began to see the damages from Harvey. Even that far inland trees were laid over and some buildings had collapsed.
A few miles from our destination, we began to wonder if even after these past couple of weeks would it be possible to get to our lot.
Driving by some parks where entire rows of RV's were still lying on their sides. A Class A Motorhome on its top. It's difficult to describe the level of damage or the impression that leaves on someone just arriving. Debris piled twenty feet high on each side of the road in some places.
The road was clear and we managed to drive right up to our lot. The temp was hovering around 90 with almost the same level of Humidity. Mosquitos the size of bees, even at that time of night. I began to try and comprehend how miserable the night was to be until damn, if the Owner didn't roll up on his four-wheeler and told us Power had been restored that day and turned it on for us. When you hoped, but really thought that AC would be unavailable, this was a godsend. Not so lucky for the many it seems who were residing in tents in front of demolished homes.
Even now months later, not a viable apartment is available anywhere in the area.
One of the first things that struck me on my first drive around the next day.
Complexes containing tens and maybe more, as well as high end Condos, all destroyed. Not to the ground but with Roofs and Walls missing.
As it turned out we were unbelievably lucky. For some weird reason, the only damage the boat incurred was a bent Hand Crank mounted on the Tongue. The Cover, (ordered from Walmart) had even remained on throughout the Hurricane. Remember, these were 130 MPH winds. The collapsed Boat Barn is in the background.
Harvey Tested
This Oak Tree snapped off just a few feet from the boat.
The Rv survived, where about a third of those in the park were totaled out. Some of these Parks down here were completely wiped out.
Things were a bit shaken around inside the Cargo Trailer leading to a few broken pieces of China, otherwise everything else was bone dry. "Harvey tested" is the joke around here. I've tried to get the picture out of my mind of someone sitting inside an RV during this time. It really must have been terrifying. There actually were residents of two RV's here who refused to leave. I've since discussed this with a lot of folks who rode it out. It's not for me. Even the most substantial buildings collapsed. Two that were entirely made of Cinder blocks.
Somebody next to our outfit actually rode out the Hurricane. The second picture is a rather modest picture of debris leading to our Park. Much of it has already been removed. This is a Higher End Neighborhood.
Benefits to residents seem to have been mostly haphazard, according to the local News Outlets. I suspect they have a system of some sort.
Roughly 75 yards away this 5th Wheel was rolled over a few times.
We'd tucked our outside Chairs into the Cargo Unit. But we'd left the Fire Pit outside. It was missing of course and I considered the possibility that it was swimming with the fishes in the Bay located a half mile South of us. But a week later we noticed somebody had aquisitioned it to hold assundry shit. So we reaqusitioned it back. Bent up a bit but still works.
There are a lot of mysteries about Harvey, just in our little space. This Decked Stairs weighed at least 200 lbs, was situated next to the Boat. It was lifted into the air and slammed into Trees about 15 feet away with enough force to snap off one side. I spent two days repairing it.
Picture taken the night of our arrival
The condition of our Boat the Night we arrived.
We managed to get it up and going and the first few times took it out in Port Aransas. Where still many million dollar Yachts had sunk in their moorings. Nothing but a Radar mast above water. Or going by one half sunk. Pictures I'll never get out of my mind.
End of day along the Shrimp Channel
This is just a small blurb of what it was like coming back here. I could have taken pictures all day long of damage. Thankfully I didn't.
I'm struck though, by the almost supernatural characteristics of these things. I have been told by a number of folks that sustained winds of a hundred MPH was bad enough. Like a cruel game one might see only in a movie, Tornado's, over a hundred of them dropped down from the sky as if mounted on a drill press, did extraordinary damage, and then dissipated into the wind. The fate of the fifth wheel that had been rolled over and over near here. And likely the fate of a completely destroyed new home sitting high on piers amongst others just like it. While the ones on either side sustained little or no damage.
I'd like to say that we jumped in to volunteer to reconstruct the community, but just putting our small space back together took time and energy. We helped as we were able. And we've continued to live while this little town put itself together. And while Citizens assure us all the time that this is a once in a lifetime event, I don't wonder if that isn't Naivete and denial of the changes that are occurring in this World. Something to ponder.....Anyways......
And finally, I feel humbled and a bit pious at the number of folks here who rolled up their sleeves and just went to work rebuilding, helping and restoring. FEMA gave out some checks but there are a million stories there. Just as there are in Florida and Peurto Rico, just sayin.
Something to enjoy here.
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