Ed and I evacuated inland to the outskirts of Punta Gorda to our good friends Jean and Danny. They have a large house and gave us a bedroom and we holed up for Irma and there was no guarantee we wouldn't get hit hard or endure a storm surge since we were just a few miles from the harbor. Lucky for us Irma turned inland, lost intensity.

We were nine in all, four adults, five kids, ages 9 to 18, and Jean made prep to get us on the roof if it was necessary. I would have needed a hoist from the top of the ladder because I am not tall. Me and the 9-year old. I am so relieved it didn't come to that.

We have the cats with us and they have been kept in the bedroom because there is a dachshund in the house and they might have holed up somewhere and we would not have been able to find them.

Our friend, Nadine, got back before we did and checked on our house and it is okay, and that's a relief second only to our survival. We are still here and will go back tomorrow.

I am using the laptop from hell so will sign off now and post more when I am home. We have power here and at home, so we are lucky on every level.

xx, Teal