People are going back to Sanibel.
The city doesn't know how many people have made it back. Bridgit Stone-Budd, who lives with her mother, Linda Miller, husband, Dan, and dogs, reported that things have been quiet.
The residents and workers were backpacked and ready for the worst. They returned to the barrier island that they left before Hurricane Ian struck.
Quiet now reigns, save the occasional thundering of a helicopter or humvee. There are no smells anymore. Diesel, drying sewage, and hot plastic have replaced the sun-warmed salt air.
The green wall of native trees that shaded the main drag looked like it had been blowtorched. The wind ripped open grand homes, pushed cars into mangroves, boats onto lawns, and left a trail of trash.
The raised causeway that used to connect the island to the mainland was destroyed by the storm. The post office was occupied by an alligator. The damage assessment has yet to be released.
There is a letter to Sanibel Island.
Work has begun on the Sanibel Causeway. The contract for bridge repairs was awarded by the state of Florida.
There are other storm-pummeled Gulf barrier islands. Saint James City, Pineland, and Bokeelia are all located on Estero Island.
Sanibel has a median home value of $703,800 and a per-capita income of $90,146.
Sanibel is a year-round island with a population of almost 6,400 that rises to some 30,000 in season, and has always attracted well-heeled visitors, including Johnny Depp, Eric Clapton and NBC weatherman Willard Scott. Randy Wayne White stayed for the storm with his wife.
White told the Times that he wouldn't have missed it for the world. I was there. I enjoy history.
There are many islanders who are different from the rich folk stereotype. Joyce and Dick Houston, who have known each other since they were 16 years old, were walking home. He was an engineer and she was a tai chi teacher before they moved here.
Laden with tote bags, coolers, and thermoses, they were heading to their trailer in the park. The tropically funky palm- and orchid-adorned island retreat was known for its collection of exotic parrots.
The Houstons have been on the island for 25 years.
I asked, 'You know what?'. Joyce wants to live here one day. She said that she and her husband sold their beach house in Delaware and bought a mobile home. Their home is on a lot with a mangrove creek in the background.
They redid their trailer with a custom kitchen, barn door, and white-painted wicker. They decided to have some of the best years of their lives.
One of the people they loved the most was their neighbor, a bird named ADA. She said that she gives her chicken hearts every day.
Then she feels a sensation of fear.
I have them in my freezer, so you can imagine what it will smell like.
Once at their house, where half a bottle of Glenlivet had floated out to settle under an ixora, Dick lifted himself up through a porch window and pushed open a door.
There was mud on the floor from the storm. The maze was made even more difficult by the oozing mud. The Houstons squeezed past overturned couches and stepped gingerly over glass and a shell frame. Soon, they would be snapping open the trash bags and throwing things away.
Joyce said that the place didn't have insurance. It's too old.
She said that they have each other and that they are not sure what will happen next.
The first 12 hours on Sanibel were very successful.
Jeff and Noah went back before the opening. The father and son went to the island in a kayak.
They came back in the afternoon from Bunche Beach. The kind of plaques that restaurants hang on their walls after a good review in the local paper were found on Noah's backpack.
The Sanibel Deli and Coffee Factory was opened in 2008 by Noah's dad, Jeff, and one of the clippings is a story from the day they opened.
When we were one of six restaurants in Lee County with perfect health department scores, we grabbed that as well.
They used a kayak to get to Sanibel. Jeff said the landscape changes were strange. It took me a long time to realize where we were. The area used to be grass and a fishing pier. All the way up, it's opened.
He wanted to go to the place where he has spent the last fifteen years of his life.
I didn't start from the beginning. I worked seven days a week for years and years, but I don't know how I'd put it on the dollar. He said that it affects your life and health.
The kitchen is trashed and the deli building is still there. It's been destroyed.
He didn't know what the future would be. I don't know how someone would say, "Go ahead and start cleaning up."
The Weigels aren't quitters, something that's becoming obvious to everyone on the island.
Sanibel has been great to us and supported us through a lot of things. The community is tight. It will be a long time, but we will get through it.
Billy's Rentals owner Billy Kirkland has become a hero to those who have lost a vehicle. You need a bike. He told people to take one at the meeting. "If you want a bike, please stop by, I don't have to help you," he said.
Despite the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, Sanibel'sROW is not going anywhere.
The resident force of nature will tell you that wire baskets and wheels are lifesavers on the streets.
This morning, dreadlocks barely corralled behind a cerise scarf, a bright tangle of bracelets on her wrist, she was checking homes for friends who had phoned in desperate pleas.
We don't own the roads. She said that the roads belonged to the military and first responders. You're not even there, those trucks blow by you.
The restaurant was damaged, but not beyond repair, despite the fact that all the food was lost.
She said that they filled a Dumpster with a lot of chicken and there was a lot of sludge. She said they are on the same grid as the fire house.
She uses her TikTok videos to look out for her neighbors and write about hurricanes.
It isn't time to panic, it's time to prepare
The panic has started. You should stay safe later that day. It was a Hurricane of a Lifetime.
He is coming.
The power went out at 4 a.m., then at 12:22 p.m., and finally at 1 p.m.
Her post-storm posts include the landing of heavy-lift CH-47s, the establishment of military checkpoints, and the arrival of water and supplies. She said that the SCCF is assisting a lot.
She considers herself to be among the blessed and fortunate despite occasional kisses from her puppy.
From the bottom of the porch everything is trashed. That includes their vehicles and Dan's work truck for his construction company, but the upper stories are still usable, she says.
Sanibel Island residents return to survey the damage from the storm.
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