GOODBYE IS A HARD WORD TO SAY SOMETIMES

Went to Grand Isle to clean my camp for the last time.  The closing is this Thursday and I'm feeling such relief that this ordeal is finally ending.

After spending 4 hours cleaning the front yard and the upstairs deck, everything looks good.  The damage from Tropical Storm Lee was worse than I expected.  It brought about a foot of water into the front yard and almost 2 feet of water into the back yard.  Many things floated away and some things floated into my yard.  Mostly the neighbor kids' toys.  There was a layer of sand covering my downstairs floor that I had to sweep and then hose down with water.  That took a couple of hours.

When I was done with the cleaning I went through the house to see if there was anything else I wanted to take.  So I wound up packing a couple of bags full of stuff to take home with me.  Watched a movie and slept for the last time in my bed.

This morning I had breakfast and packed the van and walked the dog and did a last run through in the house.  I stood for awhile in each room and let memories flow of the good times I had painting and decorating and relaxing and sharing with friends.  I sat on my hammock swing on the deck and remembered all the times I enjoyed that swing at night while listening to the roar of the Gulf in the distance.  I remembered the first time I grew flowers and was in awe of their beauty and how well they grew in sand. 

Then I let it all go.  Walked out the back door and grabbed one last item off the wall just before walking out.  It is a sign that says, "Welcome To The Beach."  I think I'll hang it on my coach when I get to the Texas Gulf Coast in November.  I closed the door behind me and thanked the house for everything.

Goodbye is a hard word to say.

I stopped at a friend's house but he wasn't there so we headed out to the Marina near the bridge that takes us to the mainland.  I just had to see the Gulf for at least a few minutes so we parked and took a walk.  When I'm in my coach I stay at the State Park at the very end of the island.  However, the rest of the 7 mile island's beaches are free.  This particular spot has a huge parking area and no one was there.  Took my camera so I could snap a couple of shots of Xi Shi Quan.  She loves the beach.

I was shocked to see the damage done to the beach and the new levee.  In one section, the beach has been swept away.  A large section of the levee is damaged.  It was built using a large tube filled with sand and then buried under more sand about 15 feet high.  The tube is now exposed.  It resembled a huge, dead sea creature that had been washed up on the beach.

We had a nice walk and Xi Shi took a dip in the Gulf and then we went back to the van and continued our trip back to Houma.  Got home about noon.  Unpacked the van and had some lunch.  Feeling good.