Old Seagrove & Mack Bayou areas
We checked on our house on Hickory Street in Old Seagrove today. We are the third house back from the beach and our house had absolutely no damage. Power was on. We saw no damage on any homes in the area other than those directly on the gulf. As others have said, it really doesn't look half as bad as when Ivan hit. For instance, the ground isn't completely covered with leaves leaving bare trees. The homes in old Seagrove that aren't on the beach look great.
Gulf front homes in some areas are really in bad shape. The Gulf front homes near Hickory all seem to be ok, but the dunes have been hit hard and the homes are much closer to the edge than they used to be. Someone asked about the big house on the beach at the end of Hickory (Doodle's house) - it appears fine, but is much closer to the edge than it was and there is a large vertical drop down.
Our home is located on the mouth of Mack Bayou and it did well. The water didn't come over our seawall this time, like it did with Ivan. We estimate that the bay rose about 2 feet less than it did with Ivan. We have power and water. The house is fine, but our pool screen house collapsed. We think it was weakened with Ivan. Other houses in the area seem to be in great shape. Some of our neighbors have power, others don't. Again, there really is a lot less debris on the ground and since we don't have our neighbors' docks in our backyard this time, there will be less cleanup.
Publix in Sandestin is open and is busy.
Let me know if you would like me to check on specific houses in either of these areas.