Weekend Reflections: Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene, a category 4 storm, unleashed its fury Thursday, causing significant damages. It made landfall near Perry, Florida late that night, leaving tremendous destruction in its wake. The Florida Gulf coast - Bradenton, Longboat Key, Anna Maria, the Tampa Bay area, Cedar Key, Steinhatchee - bear the brunt of it. This morning reports are coming in with pictures of historic flooding and landslides in the foothills of TN and NC. It is heartbreaking to see so much devastation. CNN mentioned that at least 45 people were killed across five states. You can read more here.

To add insult to injury, many beaches and homes were rebuilt just last year! Storm surges are the scariest, as you can see in these videos below. The first is of Cedar Key, the second on Steinhatchee. We never stopped at Steinhatchee, but many cruisers, especially those who do the Great Loop, stop there as they cruise from Mobile Bay to Florida.

Just last week we were in the Florida Panhandle and had driven to Apalachicola for lunch, stopping at Mexico Beach. Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm, had devastated the area back in 2018. We were happy to see the rebuilding of the small town coming together nicely. Beaches were restored with the planting of sea oats to protect the dunes from future storms and erosion.

At Apalachicola, we ambled around town to find many businesses closed, likely due to Covid. Our favorite place, The Seafood Grill, is now a different restaurant. We settled for Hole in the Wall where we had fabulous fried oysters and shrimp.

Fried oysters and hush puppies

Our next stop was St George Island State Park. Dr Beach selected this beach to be number 1 beach in America last year, and we are not surprised. Miles of undeveloped beaches with fine white sand beckoned us to swim in the inviting warm waters of the Gulf. A yellow flag was flying indicating medium hazard; the slight breeze felt wonderful. Visions of the Cape Cod National Seashore danced in my mind when I saw the wind swept dunes.

Sand dunes

Nice facilities with restrooms, showers and pavilions for picnics

Cape St George Light

During our vacation in Panama City Beach, we ate at a popular restaurant called Schooners, a popular spot to watch and celebrate the sunset. When we turned onto the street where Schooners is located, this was what greeted us.

Shocking is an understatement. OMG, what happened here? We later learned that it was a tornado's doing. Which is even scarier because you never know where it's going to hit.

View from the beach

Schooners

No doubt lives have been changed. We pray people are safe and hope for the best.

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday Through My Lens and Art Journal Journey.

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Exploring Panama City Beach and Pensacola, Florida, part 2

The highlight of our week's stay in Panama City Beach is no doubt the exciting Blue Angels! We got up early and drove almost 3 hours to the Pensacola Naval Air Station to see them practice.

We were fortunate to have great weather that morning. The Blue Angels awed us with their famous aerobatic maneuvers, performed with utmost precision and accuracy. For the uninitiated, the Blue Angels are "the Navy's flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy." You can read more about them on Wikipedia here.

 

After the airshow, we cooled off at the Naval Aviation Museum, admiring the collection of planes and soaking in the history. The amazing Navy veteran Liutenant Cash Barber, who celebrated his 100th birthday in May, was regaling visitors with stories of life in the navy and flying the amphibious aircraft, the "Catalina" during World War II. 

We stopped at the Pensacola Light around the corner for a picnic. Just as we were finishing lunch, it started to rain. Alas, no visit to the lighthouse. Or the Gulf Islands National Seashore, much to our disappointment.

Entrance to Pensacola Light

The next few days found us in Panama City Beach, where we swam and reveled in the warm, clear waters of the gulf. Thoughts of buying some tools to scoop up the blue crabs crossed our minds.

We enjoyed the glorious sunsets. A perfect ending to our vacation.

sunset at Schooners Restaurant 

sunset at SpringHill Suites, near the PCB Pier

Have you seen the Blue Angels?

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday, Image-in-ing Through My Lens and Little Things Thursday.

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Tropical fruits in Florida

Updated: 8/12/25

This summer has been brutally hot, with temperatures hovering around 100°F for nearly two weeks straight. Thankfully, some much-needed rain this week has brought a bit of relief and slightly cooler days.

Unfortunately, the intense heat took a toll on the tropical fruit trees at my aunts’ garden — this year, there was no harvest to speak of. No sweet mangoes, no fruits to share or savor.

The post below was written last August, during a very different summer — one filled with abundance, sunshine, and plenty of tropical delights.

Original post (Sep 5, 2024)
This summer may have brought the heat, but more than anything, it will be remembered for the incredible bounty of tropical fruits from my aunts’ backyard garden. July was especially sweet — quite literally — thanks to the overflowing harvest from their three mango trees.

For weeks, they shared crates of juicy, golden mangoes with extended family and friends. One tree in particular, a Thai variety known as Nam Doc Mai, stood out. It’s well-known for being a “prolific fruiter,” and it definitely lived up to its reputation.

The Nam Doc Mai mango has a thin pit, silky fiberless flesh, and a flavor that’s intensely sweet — almost candy-like. Its creamy texture is reminiscent of the Ataulfo mangoes you’ll find in local supermarkets, but with a richer, more fragrant flavor that speaks of its tropical roots

The two bigger mangoes are Nam Doc Mai mangoes

Not sure about this variety, but they were sweet too!

The next month, we were blessed with a bounty of another fruit - longan, a cousin of the more popular fruit, lychee. The lychee trees had succumbed to some sort of disease, much to our disappointment. But the longans were simply fabulous! You peel the brownish skin to reveal translucent juicy flesh with a small black seed. They too were very sweet.

Mouth-watering longan, a cousin of lychee fruit

Several years ago, my aunts gifted us a longan tree and a mango tree. While we’re not sure what variety the mango is, both trees seem to be thriving in our yard — healthy, green, and growing strong. We were excited to see our longan tree bearing fruit for the first time this year — we counted ten in total. But after Tropical Storm Debby swept through, only two managed to hang on.

Even though they weren’t fully ripe, we decided to pick them anyway — and to our surprise, they were already sweet and flavorful. It was just a small harvest, but a hopeful sign of what’s to come in future seasons.

 This 7-year-old tree produced but 10 longan fruits!

On weekends, our relatives love visiting the Pinellas Farmers and Flea Market in Clearwater. It’s a bustling spot filled with energy, flavor, and a touch of nostalgia.

Hawker-style stalls serve up authentic Som Tum (Thai green papaya salad) and refreshing sugarcane drinks — instantly transporting you back to the street markets of Southeast Asia, if only for a moment.

The tropical fruit selection is just as impressive: coconuts, jackfruit, dragon fruit, sugar apples, rambutans, mangosteens, durian — and of course, more sugarcane. Some are imported, but many are grown right here in Florida.

For anyone missing the sights, smells, and tastes of Asia, this market is a must-visit weekend stop.

Durian and dragon fruit

sugar apples, Mangosteens, guava

Jackfruit vendor

Vendor selling coconut drinks

Served over ice, this coconut water is so refreshing!

At the Pinellas Farmers and Flea Market, you’ll also find a wide variety of Asian vegetables and herbs like Thai basil, culantro, and galangal — essentials in many Southeast Asian dishes. Beyond food, the market offers a colorful selection of tropical plants and flowers, perfect for home gardeners or anyone looking to add a bit of greenery to their space.

turmeric, ginger, red chili, cucumbers

Thai eggplant

Nam Doc Mai Mango plant

With any luck (and more forgiving weather), we’re hopeful that next summer will bring a better harvest. Here’s to sweeter days ahead — and maybe even homegrown tropical fruit of our own.

Have you tried any of these tropical fruits?

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday and Altered Book Lover.

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