Saturday November 12th 2016

Today I drove south along the coast from St Augustine about 30 miles to Flagler Beach. The weather in this area was cloudy and cool around 70 degrees, but the cloud cover broke as I got further south. In the Flagler Beach area it was partly cloudy in the high 70s.

It is now five weeks since hurricane Matthew went up the coast. As you drive along the coast wind damage is visible. Tarps cover roofs, siding is missing from houses and trees show signs of significant damage. Water damage is also evident. Beach access stairs are broken or missing. Side roads between route A1A and the beach show evidence of being underwater or sand filled. The area around the Matanzas Inlet seem to have been rearranged some. It looks like the channel to the ocean is in a different position. I base this supposition on my memory of the area from August, so I could be wrong. The point is it looked different.

I stopped my journey down the coast at Flagler Beach because I know A1A was washed out by the storm south of where I reversed direction. The pictures were shown on TV after the storm. The time estimate to get it fixed was long although they were trying to expedite the repair. A1A is detoured through residential streets.

The hurricane had bands of winds as it moved north. The visible damage seems to reflect that characteristic. For a mile or two you see very little evidence of damage, then it reverses. For the next few miles there is a lot of damage visible. All of this points out just how powerful and devastating a hurricane can be, but there is still an element of luck when it comes to impact to an individual’s property. All the more reason to evacuate before the storm arrives.

View south along the beach at Marineland

View north along the beach at Marineland. Note that the sky to the north is overcast.

I stopped at the beach just south of Marineland to checkout the ocean at low tide. This is more of a fishing beach than a swimming beach. One guy was fishing and a couple of groups were sunbathing. There several sandpipers feeding in the surf that kept my attention for a few minutes. How they keep from getting pushed or dragged by the wave action is amazing.

Sandpiper feeding in the surf.

The highlight of the trip back was spotting a Bald Eagle on top of the sign for the Fort Matanzas National Monument. This is a protected wildlife area. I wasn’t able to stop and take a picture, but it was a nice observation. I don’t think of eagles as native wildlife in Florida, but they are with a large population in the state.