CajunDiva
Contributor
At times like this, sometimes you've just gotta vent. I feel your frustration . Trust me...I am not in any way trying to make light of the situation you and many others are in. Not being allowed back to your home when you feel so close must be absolutely horrible - the most frustrating thing ever. I pray that the lower Keys will recover in record time.
I live in south Louisiana. We're no strangers to bad hurricanes. Remember Katrina? Rita? And then there was the great flood of 2016 (Yep, last year) that wiped out many homes here in Cajun country. We've had lots of recent experiences with tragedy. Heck, we were even in Key Largo when Irma decided to head our way and we were helping friends move boats Tuesday evening before evacuating at 3:30 Wednesday morning. It felt awful driving away not knowing if everything would still be there when we returned. And I felt very, very helpless.
Ever hear of "compassion fatigue"? After you get to a point, you just get tired of feeling helpless and you HAVE to do something. For me that means trying to find a bright side. That's how I roll. Yes, it's going to be a long haul, but the Keys will recover and recover well. Even better than before. As previously mentioned, the only route into the Keys is through Florida City. I'm happy to know that when dive tourists are allowed back in and want to go and help out by spreading their tourist dollars around, at least Key Largo will be ready for them. Because that means that not much longer after that, Islamorada will be ready for them. And then Marathon and Key West. It's gotta start somewhere.
It's gonna take TONS of patience (which is the hard part!) and LOTS of hard work. And most of all...compassion for those who have lost so much. Without hope, that's an impossible task. So I have hope. And I am a cheerleader. And I love the Florida Keys. So I am proud to share the great news that Key Largo will be ready for you when tourists are allowed back in.
And in the mean time, here is the latest post from Rainbow Reef Dive Center - including drone footage:
Dear Customers, Friends and our Families: We have spent the last couple of days putting the dive center back together so we can take you diving again as soon as the lift the roadblock at the top of the Keys. Right now they are only letting residents and business owners in, but much progress has been made and they are hopefully just a couple of days away from opening up the Keys to everyone again, at least the upper Keys anyway. As you can see, we still have some work to do, but the boats are ready to go, the compressors are hooked up and we are refilling our tanks and air system. We hope to see you soon.
I live in south Louisiana. We're no strangers to bad hurricanes. Remember Katrina? Rita? And then there was the great flood of 2016 (Yep, last year) that wiped out many homes here in Cajun country. We've had lots of recent experiences with tragedy. Heck, we were even in Key Largo when Irma decided to head our way and we were helping friends move boats Tuesday evening before evacuating at 3:30 Wednesday morning. It felt awful driving away not knowing if everything would still be there when we returned. And I felt very, very helpless.
Ever hear of "compassion fatigue"? After you get to a point, you just get tired of feeling helpless and you HAVE to do something. For me that means trying to find a bright side. That's how I roll. Yes, it's going to be a long haul, but the Keys will recover and recover well. Even better than before. As previously mentioned, the only route into the Keys is through Florida City. I'm happy to know that when dive tourists are allowed back in and want to go and help out by spreading their tourist dollars around, at least Key Largo will be ready for them. Because that means that not much longer after that, Islamorada will be ready for them. And then Marathon and Key West. It's gotta start somewhere.
It's gonna take TONS of patience (which is the hard part!) and LOTS of hard work. And most of all...compassion for those who have lost so much. Without hope, that's an impossible task. So I have hope. And I am a cheerleader. And I love the Florida Keys. So I am proud to share the great news that Key Largo will be ready for you when tourists are allowed back in.
And in the mean time, here is the latest post from Rainbow Reef Dive Center - including drone footage:
Dear Customers, Friends and our Families: We have spent the last couple of days putting the dive center back together so we can take you diving again as soon as the lift the roadblock at the top of the Keys. Right now they are only letting residents and business owners in, but much progress has been made and they are hopefully just a couple of days away from opening up the Keys to everyone again, at least the upper Keys anyway. As you can see, we still have some work to do, but the boats are ready to go, the compressors are hooked up and we are refilling our tanks and air system. We hope to see you soon.
