On August 28, my small family which consisted of my father, mother, aunt, uncle, and myself evacuated, not having any idea where we were headed. We had never evacuated for any other storm, and never expected to have to. After a 12 hour drive to Pensacola, FL, which normally takes 3 hours, we were able to locate a hotel with available rooms. I will never forget the looks on our faces, or the way all of our jaws simultaneously dropped the next day when we woke up and turned on the news. The devastation was unimaginable.\r\n\r\nWe realized, at this point, that we were not going home any time soon. Obviously, staying in a crowded, understaffed hotel was not an efficient place to stay for a long period of time. We had no idea when we\'d be able to go home. We heard rumors of anywhere from a month to a year.\r\n\r\nThrough an internet search, we were able to find a Microtel Inn, located in Tifton, GA, with available rooms that had small kitchens and things you\'d expect in an apartment. We drove towards Tifton, a 6 hour drive, not knowing what it would be like there. We finally reached the place we\'d be calling home for the next month and a half. It was smaller than an average 1 bedroom apartment. There was only one real bed. The other bed was an extremely uncomfortable sofa-bed. There was only one bathroom. There was a small desk, and luckily free wireless internet. My laptop was our connection back to home. Many hours were spent on the small desk, reading message board posts, and news websites. The room was very small, certainly too small for 3 people. This led to much bickering and arguments. At this point, we realized how much we missed home, and how much we took home for granted.\r\n\r\nLuckily, we were able to return home in early October to find our home mostly intact, with only minor roof damage affecting one room.\r\n

Citation

“[Untitled],” Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, accessed March 28, 2024, https://hurricanearchive.org/items/show/31576.

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