Several years ago, I flew from California to Atlanta, Georgia to visit my twin sons and their wives. Landing at the airport at around 8:30 pm, I immediately felt the sultry difference from our cool California, coastal weather, to the hot southern August night. There had been storms in the Atlantic recently and the air was especially heavy. I called my husband to let him know I had landed and that we were heading down to the Gulf.
He was alarmed that we had decided to go through with our birthday fishing vacation as the news in California was warning of a pending hurricane and potential evacuations. I assured him that there was no such talk in Atlanta and that reporters were probably sensationalizing the story out in California.
We were going to the Gulf of Mexico off Dauphin Island, a popular tourist location, just below Mobile, Alabama. It had taken months of planning and great expense to pull it off. I promised my husband that despite all the preparations, I did not want to be foolish and told him we would keep a close eye on the local news for any mention of pending hurricane danger.
Charter fishing had been a birthday tradition I started when the boys were 13 and we took our first deep-sea fishing trip together off the coast of California in Morro Bay. That particular year, back in 1992, the weather had turned for the worse and we found ourselves fishing in seas with waves cresting at 30 feet, well above the height of the boat. Having never been deep-sea fishing before, we assumed it was normal circumstances…until we reached shore and discovered several boats had capsized, people drowned, and we should have never been out in that weather. we had escaped death in the eye of the storm. This trip to the Gulf would prove similar.
We had to drive to the Alabama coast (about a five-hour drive from Atlanta) as soon as I landed, in order to stay on schedule for our trip. Meeting at the airport, the kids all piled in the rented mini-van with all of our luggage and gear. We made the long, tiring drive, down to Dauphin Island and arrived at around 3:00 am. We had a condominium rental and the kids had the key so we let ourselves in. The plan was to get a few hours of sleep, before we had to get up at 5:00 am because our charter boat left the dock at 6:00 am.
Unfortunately, I was unable to sleep. I was sick with the flu the week prior and was still not feeling well. After the all day flight, and the five-hour drive, I was too exhausted and keyed-up all at the same time… sleep eluded me. While everyone napped, I started unpacking and getting stuff together for breakfast. It is funny how my mom-mode kicks in as soon as I get around the kids (I say kids…in truth, they were all in their mid twenties).
As each one stumbled in and grabbed some fresh brewed coffee and a bite to eat, we decided to check the weather. There had been a storm forming in the Bahamas earlier that week and we needed to keep an eye on it. The storm at this point was not considered a serious threat to the Gulf coast, however. If there was any concern at all, it would not be until late Monday or Tuesday anyway, and we were leaving sometime Monday morning.
We got to the docks wondering if the boat would venture out with a storm brewing. When we arrived, after much discussion between long-time residents and boat captains, they determined it was safe to go out. As we made our way across the Gulf, the waters were choppy, but the skies were blue and the fishing went off without a hitch…except for a severe case of seasickness for me.
I had never been seasick before this trip but with a lingering case of the flu, it proved to be too much. As I spent the majority of the trip trying not to throw up in front of my family, everyone else happily fished away, catching a good haul and instructing me on remedies for seasickness that included drinking beer (word to the wise- alcohol is not a cure for seasickness I don’t care wat anyone says).
Back at the condo later that evening, we went out to an all-you-can-eat restaurant and enjoyed the largest plate of cracked crab legs this side of Louisiana. By this time, I was surprisingly hungry and had an empty stomach…even though I was still not feeling great and was tired after being sleep deprived for 48 hours…enjoyed the world famous Crab Shack feast.
When we woke the next day, Sunday, we again checked the weather report. By this time, there were growing concerns for the storm and talk of possible evacuation. We had planned to tour the historic Fort Gaines but checked with locals to see if there was any sign of unease for the mounting storm. Everyone seemed to be going about his or her daily business so we decided to continue our tour.
That night we had another great dinner of seafood and finally, a long night of much needed sleep. Before going to bed, we made one last check on the weather channel to see what the report was for the growing “tropical storm”. It had been bumped-up a level from a tropical storm to a category 1 hurricane, but was not scheduled for landfall until late the next day and there was no mention of imminent evacuations. We went to sleep unconcerned and grateful for overdue rest.
Very early the next morning, I awaken to the sound of something slapping the window near my bed. As I groggily rolled over and looked out in the still dark morning, bemoaning the fact that I had been ungratefully disturbed, I saw a palm frond violently beating against the window as showers of water sprayed hard on the glass. Shaken and alarmed, I quickly got up and bolted outside to see what I thought would be a raging storm.
As I opened the door, I was confused…the sun was just rising on what appeared to be a relatively calm, dry morning and no one about. I went around the side of the condo to the window where I had observed the action and laughed as I saw the sprinkler system had come on and was pelting the window with water.
The palm bush happened to be located next to the air conditioning unit and the forced hot air whipped the leaves against the glass. “So much for the storm”, I laughed out loud. I felt like a naive tourist and overprotective mom….until I glimpsed down the road and saw large waves in the distance.
“Huh”…I thought to myself…”I didn’t realize the Gulf had such big waves”. Coming from California, high surf is the norm…but I did not think the Gulf had large waves. I later learned, under normal circumstances, the Gulf is usually calm and smooth, but not that day.
As I went inside I turned on the weather channel, and was shocked, based on the quiet outside, to see the hurricane status was upgraded to a category 3. It was bearing down with a vengeance on the Gulf region. I quickly got everyone up and we decided it was time we left the island. The waves I had observed were the beginning of the destruction that would soon follow as Hurricane Katrina was soon upgraded to a category 5 hurricane as we locked the condo door behind us.
As we drove over the causeway that connected Dauphin island to the Alabama mainland, the waves spilled over the road…several feet above normal sea level, splashing up the side of the van. People were now frantically loading cars and boats in an effort to evacuate as they were caught off-guard and unaware by the ensuing weather.
On the drive back to Atlanta, soon all traffic heading south consisted of scores of law enforcement, emergency vehicles, utility crews, and news vans. We knew something big was happening in our wake, and we discovered, later that day, we had left with not a moment to spare. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was historical.
We had no idea just how fortunate we were at that time. As I sat in the Atlanta airport waiting for my flight back to California, after saying goodbye to the kids (mom-mode again, tears and all) I watched as one of the most violent and life-threatening hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast. It was as if I was watching a surreal movie unfold in front of my eyes on the airport monitor as news stories flashed images of the destruction.
Groups of travelers sat in shock witnessing people frantically trying to escape from an area my family had been in, just a few hours prior. Many passengers were told that inbound flights were being canceled all over that region…an area some of them called home.
When I arrived in sunny California and called my sons to let them know I was safe, they told me that it was a good thing we left the island when we did. Friends who lived there told them that within two hours after we left, the causeway was completely flooded and there would have been no escape. We would have been trapped… in the full force of Hurricane Katrina. Once again we had potentially escaped death in the eye of the storm.
I thank God for the awakening I received on that fateful day as the palm branches and sprinklers jostled me out of a much-needed slumber after being sick and sleep deprived for several days. Looking back now, I wonder who knows what our fate would have been on that early Monday morning, August 29, 2005 as the world witnessed one of the worst natural disasters in history to hit the United States as hurricane Katrina category 5, wrecked havoc on the Gulf coast.
To this day, as I plan fishing trips with my sons, I always think about how we have narrowly escaped tragedy twice on our yearly birthday celebrations. I also wonder why the news in California was more informed 1000 miles away from the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, than the local news. A question that still remains unanswered to this day.
