Hurricane Dennis: Evacuation or Vacation?

Another hurricane evacuation sends the Holihans to Central Florida to stay with family. Living in the Florida Panhandle means...hurricanes. We have been extremely blessed and have not had any major damage. If anything, we have learned to make the most of a bad situation and have some good quality family time. Thanks to our family in Orlando and Seminole, our hurricane evacuations have been more like hurricane vacations and we are so thankful and appreciative. This last evacuation, and I say it that way because there seem to be many :-), we spent time at Trout Lake and did a lot of skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, and the newest hit and Bobby's favorite, wake surfing. Boy, does he love it!!! The perpetual wave, Good Times!! Rylee and I are both wakeboarding now and loving it. She pretty much tries all water sports and so far has impressed us with how fast she catches on. RJ has a little time before he will be ready but, I am sure it won't be long, he is a Holihan after all. While we were at the Lake we celebrated Aunt Carolyn's birthday. It was nice that the timing worked out that way and we were happy to be a part of it.

When we decided to evacuate, Bobby was told that he would be part of evacuating the planes from Whiting Field. He would not be able to drive with me and the kids. He flew to Virginia and spent the week finishing up his remaining flights, and overall, his training in primary. At the end of it all he was completely finished with primary and ready to select what he would be flying for the Navy. I drove to Orlando with the kids and Roxy, our dog. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I missed Bobby pretty badly. When he was finished he rented a car and met me in Seminole where we stayed with my family. Grandma and Grandpa got lots of time with the kids and Bobby and I were able to see Dave Matthews Band while we were there. We also celebrated Maryann's birthday. It was a blast and I was so happy that he finally joined us.

Unfortunately, for many, the hurricanes in this area have not been as kind and we are continuously grateful that God has blessed us and we have been spared.