It took a while for me to put this together, simply because of my personal situation and the fact that there is so much devastation here. Please keep in mind that these images are only a taste of what has happened here, most homes are now in an unlivable condition because the roofs were torn off and there is much mold and mildew setting in, making it unsafe to live in. Many homes lost more, including carports and half of the homes in some cases. Frances hammered us the first time with her category two winds and ripped off many roofs, then three weeks later Jeanne finished a lot of what Frances started. As I got out and drove south today I was very humbled at what I saw, and I thank god that my house only lost a few shingles. Many people here have nothing, but at least they are alive right? And just think hurricane season doesn't end until after Thanksgiving only to start up again in June. I will still be amongst the missing as I have family members that need me now, I don't spend much time online anymore. I am going to start off with a humorous image, this is Austing "wind surfing" hours before the hurricane hit in tropical storm force winds.

Well sunday morning, we are still having tropical storm force winds, but I just had to know how my relatives made out, so out the door and into the car I went. I has leaves plastered onto my car from the winds we experienced the night before. This is one moody shot taken from inside of my car, at a stop light on US #1 facing the river...

Well I soon found out that my relatives did not fair very well. The winds from Jeanne ripped off their roof including the rafters that held the roof on. BTW that first image is Austin not Austing.

Here is an inside view of their bedroom, note that the floor really isn't shiny, that is water and about three inches of it! :-S These images of the relatives house have been taken for insurance purposes in case you were wondering why I took them.

Kind of a humorous sign down the road from my house. Happy to see some people still had a sense of humor after going through this hell!

You couldn't stay at this Ramada unless of course you wanted a room with a view. The Radisson, the Holiday Inn and the Hilton are in much the same shape, closed for repairs and may reopen in six months...

Lots of businesses lost this last go round with mother nature. Here you see a gas station that won't be reopening anytime soon...

These next few images were taken in a nearby community where some of my students live, this community is mostly a retirement community, I have to wonder if this will become a ghost town... FEMA is still there providing meals and temporary housing and helping them in anyway they can.

Another image from this community, again this is only a sampling...

The torrential rains and twenty eight foot storm surge undermined this part of the jetty, making it unsafe to be on. Have you ever seen a 28 ft wave? I am happy to report that I haven't either.

This house didn't appear to fair too badly, but as you can see FEMA has been here installing their blue roof. The shutters on this house are built in for storm protection, these are what they call bahama shutters, after this year this is something I just might invest in.

One of my neighbors that is also a member of the blue roof program. I am sure that if you were to fly over in an airplane you would think that 80% of us Floridians had really strange taste in roof colors!

A common site when driving down both A1A and US #1, storm debris everywhere. Couches, chairs, mattresses, drywall, insulation, aluminum and of course tree branches litter the sides of the roadways everywhere. I am sure it will be some time before we are "back to normal" if there is anything you can call "normal" after this! Thank you all for viewing and any comments you may choose to leave. I hope that I may be back amongst you all and posting regularly one day soon. Brenda @};--,----

Yipes, this makes me glad the only thing I have to worry about is that I live 6ft below sea level, not up hurricane alley. Thanks for sharing these.

And I spend so much time winging about the weather here,but really I should be glad of it! Awesome images, I will stick to the good old Scottish rain and snow though and thank my lucky stars. Thanks for sharing

unbelievable! what a mess... TY for sharing... leave it to kids to make the best of it :] good luck!

Brenda, i'm blown away (oops...shouldnt have used THAT word!) by these images and your narrative. Makes me realize how much i have to be thankful for. We take so much for granted, and sometimes it takes something like this to make us realize that. Thanks so much for sharing. my thoughts and prayers go out to you, your family, and others in the same boat. huge hugz sheila

Excellent photo essay on the Summer of 04 Dee-Marie