Dennis - should I cancel trip on 7/16?

Re: i know this is not.....

thanks 25 views in under 2 minutes and no reply :/

With all due respect it's kinda hard to say right now. The peeps that are in it right now may or may not have power and since the storm isn't over yet they probably aren't driving around to see if it's safe to come down.

Re: i know this is not.....

Do you suppose it's possible that viewers don't have a clue about Carillon, because they are still hunkered down? You have six days left to plan. Give the locals a break!

Re: i know this is not.....

My sister is in the same situation. She planned to come down from July 15-August 15. I'm gonna report back to her as soon as we can get there, hopefully by Tuesday.

Re: i know this is not.....

Carillon Beach.........but can someone please tell me if we should cancel our plans for coming down on 7/16?...........8 hour drive

or do you think its ok execpt for some beach debris......

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE.

Come on down, Surf's up.

Re: i know this is not.....

From what the news stations have shown...100,000 without power but it sounds like they are concentrated in counties west of 30-A.

I went down after Ivan last year--you'll want to check on power, services (restaurants open again? gas plentiful in the stations again?) and walkovers 🙂.

Expect beach debris. And hurricane debris piled neatly along the road every so many feet waiting for trash pick up.

Also blue skies and that great 30-A feeling. 🙂 .

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

Carillon Beach.........but can someone please tell me if we should cancel our plans for coming down on 7/16?...........8 hour drive

or do you think its ok execpt for some beach debris......

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE.

Patience, Grasshopper, patience...

Give it a day or so. I myself am nervously awaiting to see how access routes fared, since coming down/over/back requires access. Darn thing looked like it went straight over the Escambia Bay Bridge.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

I'm planning to come to the area on the 16th as well and think it will be fine. As long as there's electricity, a pool, and a beach all should be fine. It's interesting to see the beach after a hurricane -- I came down a few days after Ivan last year and the shells were plentiful (We usually don't have many shells in our area) -- it was really fun and I found some real beauties that are now in our living room at home. But you also need to be careful on the beach a bit because there may still be a lot of debris. But I'll be there with children and will tell them to be careful but have fun exploring. The big question to ask Carillon beach property owner/rental company is whether there is beach access since the walk-overs may be damaged from the storm. Ask them how you would get to the beach. Then don't worry about it and come down and have a good time. Take photos of the beach to show your friends and then compare them with photos you take of the beach a year or two from now to show people how the beach naturally changes over time.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

I'm planning to come to the area on the 16th as well and think it will be fine.

Email me on Tuesday and if I have T-Mobile service, I'll answer.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

Paula, Good post. The cup is definitely half full (or more)! I am coming down in the morning to check on our house in Seaside. If it all looks fine, then my family will come down later in the day.

I am eager to get down there and spend some time and count our blessings that we survived so well! :lol:

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

Thanks much, PhdPhay, I may email you on Tuesday. I read on another thread that all the beach access from Rosemary Beach to Cottages at Camp Creek are gone and that the beaches are quite a mess. I'm assuming this will be the case for most/all of 30A. We still plan on coming down in a week as long as the pool is up and running -- and there's no reason to think it won't be.

I'll be bringing some spackle to patch up the holes from the plywood, but won't paint until November. And I'm sure there'll be some cleaning up to do as well.

And, Land Lord, I definitely feel the cup is half full (or more) for those of us whose property didn't get damaged (I'm assuming mine didn't get damaged, but I don't know for sure yet). I'll certainly be disappointed if we can't get to the beach easily since we have a nice quiet beach (we'll find an access somewhere on 30A I'm sure -- there were ways to get to the beach after Ivan, though it sounds like we have to be even more careful at the beach this time). I hope the shelling is good if we can get to the beach. It was indeed awesome after Ivan. Hope the shells are still there in a week.

Looking forward to seeing some photos of the area.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

Thanks much, PhdPhay, I may email you on Tuesday. I read on another thread that all the beach access from Rosemary Beach to Cottages at Camp Creek are gone and that the beaches are quite a mess. I'm assuming this will be the case for most/all of 30A. We still plan on coming down in a week as long as the pool is up and running -- and there's no reason to think it won't be.

I'll be bringing some spackle to patch up the holes from the plywood, but won't paint until November. And I'm sure there'll be some cleaning up to do as well.

Ditto. We're not gonna repaint from the boarding up until after hurricane season is over.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

It will be interesting to see if we can get to the beach and how. Fortunately there's a lot going on on 30A anyway (outdoor concerts, outdoor movies, and other activities) so we'll be busy. But would love to get to the beach especially if the storm blew in some shells. Sounds like the dunes are very unstable in several areas, and people would be well advised to not use them for safety reasons as well as for protection of the dunes.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

I don't have any confidence that people will stay off the dunes. They will want to get down to the beach if they paid to be there. Our last renters stole one of the "Stay off the dunes" signs, but forgot to take it with them when they checked out (along with a pack of cigarettes - our house is supposed to be a no-smoking rental). I guess when you break one rule, you don't mind breaking others.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

I don't have any confidence that people will stay off the dunes. They will want to get down to the beach if they paid to be there. Our last renters stole one of the "Stay off the dunes" signs, but forgot to take it with them when they checked out (along with a pack of cigarettes - our house is supposed to be a no-smoking rental). I guess when you break one rule, you don't mind breaking others.

I was on a walkover during Arlene, watching the beach, the dune repair, and the walkover wash away. This was in the Seacrest-Camp Creek area where the damage was horrific (preparing me for this week, I guess). Next day or so, some Mom was letting her boy rampage up and down what any moron could see was a critically eroded dune on a devastated beach, barely holding onto the last crumbs of sand left from the scraping project. I nearly cried. But I was polite about it when conveying my request.

Not a chance they'll stay off. Never have understood it.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

Walton County should give the landlords some stock literature to give renters about how to treat the dunes and the importance of staying off them. The average person may not understand how precious they are.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

I hope the shelling is good if we can get to the beach. It was indeed awesome after Ivan. Hope the shells are still there in a week.

To the glass half full lady, Paula - hope you find lots of nice shells and LOTS of washed up sharks...
If everyone (including us dreadful rentors and tourists) will take an extra large bag for debris in addition to a shelling bag - the beach will soon be safe and sparkling again. I was in Grayton State Park a month after Ivan.... (Ivan completely demolished and scattered my uncle's lifelong Gulf Shores home and all his belongings across the Panhandle ---sounds like they got hit again) ...There was still plenty of opportunity for eveyone to do their part cleaning up. My friends thought I was an enviro-nut 😀 ,
but before the end of the trip, everyone pitched in. When you love a place like we all love the Grayton area, its the least we could do. I just wish we could keep hurricanes (and the uneducated) off the dunes. ...But that's the ever-changing nature and force of the ocean.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

To the glass half full lady, Paula - hope you find lots of nice shells and LOTS of washed up sharks...
If everyone (including us dreadful rentors and tourists) will take an extra large bag for debris in addition to a shelling bag - the beach will soon be safe and sparkling again. I was in Grayton State Park a month after Ivan.... (Ivan completely demolished and scattered my uncle's lifelong Gulf Shores home and all his belongings across the Panhandle ---sounds like they got hit again) ...There was still plenty of opportunity for eveyone to do their part cleaning up. My friends thought I was an enviro-nut 😀 ,
but before the end of the trip, everyone pitched in. When you love a place like we all love the Grayton area, its the least we could do. I just wish we could keep hurricanes (and the uneducated) off the dunes. ...But that's the ever-changing nature and force of the ocean.

Great idea about bringing a shell bag AND a trash bag. Will do. So will the kids. Be careful of the trash, though, because some may have nails or other dangerous things in it. I'd like some locals to give opinions on clean-up and safety during clean up.

Re: should I cancel trip on 7/16?

Carillon Beach.........but can someone please tell me if we should cancel our plans for coming down on 7/16?...........8 hour drive

or do you think its ok execpt for some beach debris......

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE.

Hello! I just posted elsewhere.. but I heard Carillon overall is in good shape.. some minor flooding on a couple of streets (Sandyshore and Seahill).. not sure if any houses were damaged. The beach walk overs were damaged and the beach suffered. But overall, the power was back on and the houses, etc looked to be in good shape.
Even if you can't enjoy the beach, it has three great pools (one overlooking the beach) so you should still be able to enjoy your trip. Keep in mind, this is second hand knowledge, I haven't seen anything myself. You may want to call Carillon Rentals for more information on Tuesday. Also, several units in Pinnacle Port (condo next door) were destroyed.. but it's located much closer to and lower on the shore.

Hope this helps!