Well Hurricane Matthew was a very interesting experience, but I’m glad that everyone is ok and that campus didn’t get hit too, too hard by the storm. While I did want to experience a hurricane first-hand, once Matthew was projected to be category 3, if not 4, I realized that this wasn’t a joking matter.

While not on the East Coast of Florida, the waves and wind were super strong in Venice Beach Thursday before Matthew hit.

In the days leading up to Matthew, there was some uncertainty about my travel plans and where I would go in the event campus was evacuated. Thankfully, my friend offered to house me and like nine other people at her house in Venice, FL. While the six hour drive was really long, we tried to avoid going on I-4 Thursday morning, we all managed to make it in one piece. Pro tip: If you’re traveling in a car convoy, walkie talkies definitely make the drive so much better.

Once we got to Venice, I helped my friend make dinner for everyone and we later did a Wal-Mart run. What made the ride to Wal-Mart amazing was that her dad owned a limousine so rode in it. After he got back to her house, night had fallen so we tuned to Weather Channel to see Matthew slowly make his way to Daytona Beach. I tried to stay up to watch the storm, but I was wiped out from driving so I went to bed. In the morning, I checked Facebook to see if everyone I knew in Daytona was ok. Thankfully they were and the damage wasn’t as bad as originally estimated.

Siesta Key Beach was so surreal: Everyone just stood on the white sand watching the sunset. There was no yelling, people were well mannered, it was definitely a far cry from the beaches at New Jersey.

The next few days involved driving around, visiting the local beaches, and trying out some local restaurants. All in all, it was a nice mini-vacation under the strangest of circumstances. I even learned how to swim…sort of.

This past week, Embry-Riddle finally got to host their homecoming event.

After returning to Daytona the following Sunday, I went back to my apartment and was pleased to see no major manage in Port Orange or the surrounding area. My roommates were ok, despite opting to stay in Daytona during the storm, and everyone was slowly returning back to the Daytona Beach area.

I don’t know what kind of paperwork was filed to allow this, but I was impressed.

With Fall Break coming up, I am not so sure if I need another break. However, I’ll be traveling to Tennessee with my roommate so there’s that to look forward to. Adventure never waits I guess. Until my next update, stay safe, and remember to be curious.

I never got free pizza 🙁