The Dark Skies

Just showing you the contrast of the photos that I took. How amazing that a perfect day can turn up ugly in a matter of minutes. It is pretty scary for me if the weather is bad and I am caught driving on a busy highway. If it happens to you, would you stop on the side, put the blinkers on and wait for the storm to pass? I have seen so many drivers did that. Zero visibility on the road, of course ... you have no choice but, stop.

Weather Transition in an Hour

It was already dinner time. After traveling on a stormy weather from Orlando routing 528, hubby and I decided to drive towards Titusville. The rain had stopped! The sky is truly wonderful that time and as you can see in the photo below, the moon is showing up too.

Amazing how weather changes abruptly! There was no sign that few minutes ago, there was a hailstorm and the rain was blinding the commuters. Some drivers stopped on the side of the road. Check out the photo below, a happy bird is flying low in its easy glide.

There was a rainbow too. It was fading so fast but, I was able to take a shot.

Some areas in the Space Coast are still battling the storm at that time but in Titusville, storm had passed. Most people noticed the wonderful display of colors in the sky and I was not the only one who took pictures of the sky that time. In fact, I saw few friends posted photos on their Facebook wall.

I took the photo below before the storm. The dark clouds were heavy and lighting strikes every second. It was really scary especially for us that we were on the road.

The pouring rain is blinding us. I used the cellphone to see it clearer. There were hail falling on the windshield and it scared us the most. It seems that it was a long drive. Hubby was driving slow looking out the distance from the car ahead.

We really had no choice at that time but, keep on driving and watch out for other drivers. Some drivers have no regard for safety because they were driving so fast. Anyway, we arrived home safely. The sky is brighter and lovely. That's all that matters. Happy weekend everyone.

Hurricane Sandy in Cocoa Beach: The Frankenstorm

Why Frankenstorm? Hurricane Sandy is a monster Storm. The high winds and waves washed sand onto coastal roads in Port Lauderdale. Click the link, I was there last August and I saw on the news that the road was covered with sand and ocean water. That is unusual that the water surge goes to the streets. The storm left power outages across the area and left many traffic lights out of order. Hurricane Sandy is the largest hurricane in Atlantic history with a maximum gale-force wind diameter of 930 mi or 1500 km. That is so wide, almost a thousand! As of today, I saw on the news that Orlando International Airport has so many cancelled flights from Orlando to Northeastern United States. That should be the case! Safety First! Hurricane Sandy is a wicked storm and I hope everyone will be serious about the warnings. These are photos taken last Friday at Cocoa Beach Pier, Florida and our beaches felt the impact even though Sandy was miles away.

My husband and I went to Cocoa Beach to see the 12 ft waves which was reported by the local news. The Cocoa Beach Pier parking lot was FREE that day and surprisingly, the Pier was crowded. We went all the way to Mai Tiki Bar at the Pier's end. This place is 800 feet over the ocean making it a spectacular spot to view the big waves from the Atlantic Ocean. See the photo above.

I took this photo from the Boardwalk area. This is the East side of the Pier. It was raining and very windy. I can't use my ubrella because it could flip over easily. The wind gust is so strong. No one dared to surf because of the red flag warning and rip current warning. In Daytona, I saw on the news, one man jump and surf despite the warning. I bet he was alright.

The photo above was taken on the WEST side of the Pier. It really looks scary. The waves are coming so strong and pounding the pillars of the PIER. I was standing at the back of the Tiki Bar facing the ocean and taking the pictutures of the big waves. I can feel the place shaking every time the waves crashing the stilts.

We are one of the curious 20+ onlookers at Mai Tiki Bar about 1PM. Usually, this area has an entrance fee but, it was free that day. The Atlantic Ocean Grille and Marlins Bar and Grill are busy with diners too. Anyway, here is my husband posing a souvenir photo from Hurricane Sandy.

I bet this man is reporting his video in youtube hehehe.

Here is Brevard area, we have beach erosion and we have no major damage. I thank God for keeping our place safe from Hurricane Sandy. I pray that the people up North are ready to brace the impact of Frankenstorm.

Cocoa Beach Before Tropical Storm Isaac

When Floridians are bracing for Tropical Storm Isaac, hubby and I decided to check out the waves in Cocoa Beach. Eventhough we are not a direct hit, the waves in Cocoa Beach are bigger and we felt the strength of the storm. Cocoa Beach is located on the East Coast of Florida while the cone of the tropical storm Isaac is heading towards the Gulf Coast.When we arrived Cocoa Beach Pier, the parking was free of charge. For a typical Sunday afternoon, Cocoa Beach should be crowded with people, surfers, para gliders and jam packed with tourists. Today, there's few of us.Most people are just watching the waves and there are few surfers on the beach taking advantage of the big waves not minding the risks.The waters are rough but, no rain yet. We heard that by this time, 6,000 residents lost their electricity and it was a bit scary because TS Isaac is not in the US territory yet.Here's my hubby enjoying the sight of the surfers below. There was one brave paraglider also who was already far out from the shore.The picture above is the view of the shoreline of Cocoa Beach.

The Lady and the Beautiful Sky

I took this picture before the heavy downpour of rain yesterday. The dark clouds was scary to look at but, as it moves towards the blue sky in our area, I captured a calming photo below. The rain stops in few minutes giving my garden a breath of fresh air and my plants were happy with their soaking wet soil. We needed the rain because it was super hot here in Florida. We have 90's and because of the passing rain, it cools down.Take a look at the picture now. Have you seen the plane? Did you see the lady standing and wearing the V-neck styled dress? Well, hope you find them. Good luck!

Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene is currently pouring heavy rains in Puerto Rico right now! And as it moves closer to the US mainland, Florida can be on it's path. Now, the entire state is on alert on the weather report. As for us, we will not take it for granted. We are heading to the grocery today to stack up our pantry for hurricane supplies. My husband was here during Hurricane Charlie which hit Orlando and did severe damage. So, Floridians are not taking anything for granted especially about Hurricanes! I pray that this Hurricane Irene will not hit the US mainland.

Bad Weather in Orlando

If it's Hurricane Season, Orlando will always got a bad weather. The pictures below were storm clouds and it did rain so hard in some parts of Orlando. Other areas had only dark and scary clouds but, it fades away so quickly.

We were supposed to have our grocery at Walmart but, we decided to stop in Golden Corral to have dinner instead. We stayed less than two hours and when we went out, the storm clouds had passed.I took the picture of the clouds above the Golden Corral building. The wind blew wildly and we went in in a hurry before we will be caught by the rain.

The picture above was the scary clouds that started forming. It seems that it was ready to swallow us in whole!

Angry Sky

There is a tropical storm that will hit the Gulf Coast this weekend! Bonnie would definitely hit the spill site. According to the news, tropical storm warning was in effect for some areas in Florida and Louisiana. The places such as the west coast from East Cape Sable north to Englewood; also Destin-Florida to Morgan City-Louisiana, including Lake Pontchartrain.

Here is the picture of the angry sky in my area. It would be worst to the places I mentioned earlier. In every storm, everyone should take extra precaution. Be safe everyone!

Hurricane Ida

According to the weather news, Hurricane Ida was downgraded to a Tropical Storm early this morning. The storm is expected to weaken but the Tropical storm warnings are in effect from Grand Isle, Louisiana to the east of Aucilla River in Florida. At the middle place is where we live and our place is a direct hit. Some of the schools here were already closed early in the morning and some had an early dismissal after lunch.I am just waiting for a phone call from my supervisor if we have to report to work. The storm is expected to have a landfall anytime tonight. We should be expecting sustained winds of 30 to 50 mph and gusts of 60 to 70 mp so; I really wanted to stay home. It really depends on the announcements given by the Gaming Commission here in Mississippi so; we have to wait. In my place though, the storm is not bad at all. The storm band is not as bad as Fay or Gustav last year while I was in Florida. That was scary for me and this storm is nothing in comparison.

After the Hurricane

These pictures was taken a year ago while we are coming from Miami Airport. After Hurricane Gustav and Fay had a landfall in Florida, you can see some of the trees bend down. Therewere fallen trees in these area but, since I want to capture the beauty of the sunset, the bad scenery was turned into these beautiful caption.

Life is like this right? After the hurricane, the sun shines and bring back the beauty of nature. That even though we have problems, there is still hope.

Actually, that hurricane made some areas in Florida flooded for months.
Orlando was not really affected, not in my place. But, the heavy rain was really scary.
We had a black out many times on that day so, we move and stay in our friends house.
Anyway, this week Hurricane Bill is still heading towards mainland. I hope it will vanished before it hit the US.

The Old House

This is the old house of my father-in-law. My husband's home for so many years. It was August 29 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana States. The water level reached at the ceiling of the house. Everything inside washed out. Cars was destroyed too. My Father-in-law and his wife evacuate to his daughter's place away from the shoreline. Just click the pictures to see how devastating that storm was. Everything inside the house was destroyed. What was really heartbreaking was all the pictures and memories too were washed out to the sea. I visited this sight few days ago. It was really the best. The community is nice, big houses and his property was really huge. The back area has swimming pool and as you can see, the water level left a mark above the roof top. The pool was filled with dirt water and debris. Their two cars swept by the current. If you visit Mississippi right now, towards the Gulf Coast, there were still ruins left by that storm.

There was no single item in the house that can be salvage. All the childhood pictures of my husband were gone too. My sisters- in-law kept a few so, I have glimpsed of the handsome face of my hubby when he was younger (Smile). Can't believe I married a Hollywood star...LOL!

The backyard of this house was huge. Pool and a Dock Area for his boat. That was really a huge boat. I think I will enjoy living in this place than where we are right now. The property was surrounded by the bayou/lake and the Gulf of Mississippi. You saw the view before in some of my posts. The place here is nice. Overlooking the water. Fenced. With private boat dock. Well, the boat was also gone into pieces. They got insurance anyhow for everything but, not worth it. The memories they created in this house is too precious. My father-in-law don't want to go back because of what had happened. Every year, people living in these states listen to warnings and take it seriously.