Destin 2024: They Joy Between Francine and Helene

Ah, traveling – the art of packing your life into a suitcase and hoping you didn’t forget the charger. It’s the universal quest for selfies in front of famous landmarks and the relentless pursuit of ‘authentic experiences’ that look great on Instagram. But what is the best thing about traveling? Is it the food, the people, the sights? Nope. It’s the stories you come back with, the kind that start with, “You’ll never believe what happened to me in…”

As we were on our latest trip, we were traveling down the interstate in southern Alabama on I-65 on the way to Florida through the peripheral rain of Hurricane Francine. I was staring aimlessly out the window. I saw on the side of the road a dark sedan with a woman full-fledged arm swinging from above her head… stabbing someone she had pinned down on the passenger side of the car. Now there’s a story I will never know the details of. And after calling 911, I will never know what happened next. Unsettling, yes. Ruining our trip, no.

Unfazed, a few hours later we rolled into Destin a couple of hours before we could check into our condo. So, our first stop was at a favorite place of ours, Destin Seafood & Ice. We picked up a pound of gulf colossal shrimp that they steamed for us and ate them at a table poolside at the community. That sweet deliciousness we had been longing for since our last trip. Neither of us cared that we got stares because we were in street clothes rather than swimwear like everyone around us.

Chris started not feeling well on the drive down there. We chalked it up to the change in climate and all the humidity. He was mostly feeling sinus pressure. That was Saturday. By Monday he had a steady running nose, body aches, and a fever. Tuesday evening, I spoke with my nurse sister who suggested that it may be COVID. We hadn’t even thought about it. He hadn’t lost taste or smell. And while he didn’t feel good, he didn’t feel like death warmed over. It was too late to get a test since they roll up the sidewalks at night except for the bars. On Wednesday morning he went to a store, and two drug stores to find a test. I guess they don’t believe in testing for COVID in Florida. Anyway, as soon as he took the test, we knew he had it. We didn’t have to wait for 15 minutes as the package said. It lit up like Christmas within a minute. I felt a major face palm.

We had been all over the place enjoying ourselves meeting people from all over the country, besides locals. My husband is one of the most outgoing people I have ever known. He stops and talks to everyone – I love that about him. I so hope that we didn’t spread the crud.

We couldn’t help but feel terrible. Can people get it from swimming in the same pool or the balmy gulf waters that we floated in on our pool noodles we brought from home? Can fish get COVID? Too much think about – handshakes, door handles, and elevator buttons.

We self-isolated and canceled our dinner reservations. We didn’t want to be those people who didn’t care who they pass it to. Instead, we had delivery and spent the rest of our time social distancing on the beach. I didn’t start feeling any symptoms until that Friday. And it did feel like a sinus thing coming on. It was a lot milder than the last time I had it, but still worked its way into feeling like I had the flu. So the Saturday drive home was miserable for me. I didn’t test positive until Sunday. The worst of it was this past Tuesday and Wednesday with fever, chills and body aches in bed sleeping a lot. Even though we both ended up sick, we got lucky as far as the weather staying between hurricanes Francine and Helene. And we made the best of it.

The last few days we’ve been watching the storm. Chris texted a friend we made whose condo we stayed in to check on them. Even though we both ended up sick, we got lucky as far as the weather, being in the Florida panhandle between hurricanes Francine and Helene. Helene pushed its way through and past us here in Northern Kentucky yesterday. We had our power go off and on a couple of times yesterday. Again lucky. There are thousands around us without power for the second day today because of all of the downed trees.

Prayers to everyone affected by the storms.

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