Not a fall to cherish

Pinch me when it is over

Usually fall is the best time of the year on the coast. Back in 2011, I wrote a post, "Don't pinch, the weather might change." The weather was so great that I wanted to figure out a way to bottle it. There have been many wonderful fall seasons since then but 2018 has not been one.

It all started with Florence. On September 8, I wrote about waiting for Florence. Even at that date, we were thinking the worst. I commented about the potential of Florence compared to what we had experienced with other storms.

"We could be hit with much higher winds, a higher surge, and then far more rainfall than Irene."

Irene was no kitten and neither of us wanted to go through something worse. My comment was somewhat prophetic. Three days later we were already packing my wife's car to leave on September 11, just before they announced a mandatory evacuation for Carteret County. We did not make it back home until Wednesday, September 19. We came through Kinston that day on Highway 70. The next day Highway 70 was closed because of the flooding from the Neuse River. It stayed closed for a long time.

After we got back I wrote a post, Florence stayed too long. The title was an understatement. Florence changed the lives of many. I have heard it said more than once that it will take ten years before the worst hit places are fully recovered. As bad as some of the damage is here, we are fortunate that the Crystal Coast was not hit as hard as other areas inland and to the south and west of us. Some schools in Onslow County just resumed classes this past week, almost eight weeks after Florence hit.

I think the Crystal Coast will be in good shape by next summer. Having said that, there are some people who suffered much more damage than others and they will take longer to recover. However, it is important to understand Florence did not wipe out the Crystal Coast. Our roads are fine and in many places the power was only off for a couple of days or less. The butter in our fridge did not even melt. Work crews are busy fixing things. Some houses have been torn down, but those few homes are the exception here. There are many more homes standing which were taken down to the studs and are getting new roofs, insulation, walls and floors.

One of the best summaries of Florence is the one from the National Weather Service. The report can be viewed at this link. What I want to cover briefly is what a visitor will find on the Crystal Coast if they decide to visit.

First some good news. While I have only visited Third Street Beach and the Point area since Florence's visit, my initial survey did not find a tremendous amount of storm debris on the beach. This picture was snapped just after I walked on the beach near the Point. It was the only real pile of storm material that I saw on my walk. I saw even less on my short walk at Third Street. While we still have debris along secondary roads, the cleanup is going well and there is a huge difference now compared to how it was when we first came back about seven weeks ago. I suspect the beach is close to clean by now especially given mother nature has had her own clean-up crews out with some less damaging storms after Florence.

Unless there is a change in patterns, the challenge for visitors is our not-so-nice-fall weather which is out of character for fall in this area. There has been some wonderfully warm weather but it has been sandwiched between rainy/windy weather. This weekend, temperatures will dip to the mid-thirties along the coast Saturday night. I still haven't had that stretch of good weather that allows me to chase trout and drum on the river with my kayak in November. The sunny days have been accompanied by enough wind to bring whitecaps to the river and keep my kayak on the dock. However, some friends have caught fish in the surf. A neighbor got a 25" drum in the surf last weekend. Another neighbor got a 27" trout in the river this weekend.

Among the other good news is Neuse Sporting Goods shop in Cedar Point is now open. It is an amazing store. They do have a lady's section and the Christmas decorations are already up. While the Moore's Barbecue and Chicken by the new Walmart has been delayed by Florence and the rainy weather, I am guessing it will be open by December.

Clyde Phillip's Seafood also survived yet another storm. I talked to Jimmy just after I got back. He had moved his frozen shrimp inland and was back in business just days after we got back. His dock like many others was gone but they were working on it the day I visited. Our local produce stands including Winberry's opened relatively quickly also but they are quickly headed into the winter mode and only open limited hours with mostly sweet potatoes to sell.

On the down side, Santorini's between the bridges closed for good just before Florence got here. The building is being repaired now as it suffered a lot of storm damage. Angie's Lighthouse is also closed along with Riverside Steak and Seafood and the Ice House. Smithfield's and Golden Coral in Morehead City are still closed. Even Best Buy in Morehead City was damaged and has yet to re-open. That said there are still plenty of places to eat and there is no shortage of food or fuel.

I have to give a hats off to Michelangelo's Pizza and Subs in Cape Carteret. They were one of the first restaurants to reopen and until like many that were reopening, they were able to stay open until after 9PM in the evening. Bojangles closed at 6PM for a long time. I would also like to compliment Publix on the island. They were open and well stocked within days of our arrival back on the coast. Just before we came back we talked to a couple of families that stayed. Fresh food was in short supply so we borrowed coolers and brought four coolers of food to restock some folks. Publix being well stocked took away a lot of worries especially while Highway 70 in Kinston was closed.

Since Santorini's closed, we have revisited an old favorite, Bogue House. It is located in Cedar Point and we have enjoyed some good food there including fried chicken, barbecue, and flounder. So if you come to visit, you will not starve. All our fast food places are up and running on full schedules now. The grocery stores are now packed with food for Thanksgiving. Walmart and Lowe's Home Improvement look like Christmas has washed over them. The bigger challenge than food might be finding a place to stay. Some of the motels seem to have no vacancy signs out. Waterway Inn looks to still be in the recovery mode. Call ahead for reservations.

If you do come, you will find a fresh coat of pavement on Highway 58 almost to the bridge stoplight. You will still see some blue tarps but if the weather clears you will find that our legendary beautiful scenery has not changed. Bogue Sound is still as beautiful as ever. You will also find the people here are just as friendly as always. If you come down this weekend, you will find Swansboro holding its annual Mullet Festival so be prepared for traffic.

I would like to say goodbye to Frank Rush, Emerald Isle's longtime town manager. Frank is headed off to a new job in California. I will certainly be among the crowd of people who will miss his professionalism and dedication to the area. I hope his California job turns out as well as his stay in Emerald Isle.

One final comment, I have yet to talk to anyone who stayed for Florence who is thinking about staying for the next storm. As difficult as the evacuation was, I am glad we left. I am thankful to the folks who offered us a place to stay and even more thankful that we came back to a home and a neighborhood that only had very minor damage. Things are pretty well back to normal here except we skipped our fall gardening. We had water over our dock and up to our garage floor but unlike many places our dock is still there and we had no real damage to our house. That is a lot to be thankful for when you have had a storm like Florence come for an extended stay. I would also like to thank Mike's Weather Page for keeping me up to date and helping me make the right decision as we evacuated. Mike's live broadcasts on Facebook were just what I needed to stay ahead of Florence.

If you need more information, visit my Crystal Coast homepage or use this link to a contact form. The new home for my Crystal Coast posts is at this link.

David Sobotta