Helping Fort Myers to Rebuild

The 2023 Hurricane Season is here, and it will run through November 30. Last year, two major storms hit Florida. Most of the season was calm; until Hurricane Ian devastated the western part of the Florida peninsula on September 29. Hurricane Nicole hit the eastern part of the state on November 10, which was officially after the end of the Hurricane Season. November storms are rare, but as Nicole showed us, they do happen.

Instead of talking about Walt Disney World today, I’d like to head about two and a half hours to the southwest. Fort Myers Beach was hit hard by Hurricane Ian, and if you’re thinking about taking a few days away from Disney, this area could really use your help.

My family and I love Fort Myers Beach. It’s our go-to when we want to get away for a daytrip or even overnight. The sand is gorgeous, the people are friendly, and there’s plenty of sunshine! The sunsets are breathtaking. My daughter has a musician friend who performs at local restaurants, and we will often catch a set or two and have dinner after a great beach day. We love the Fort Myers area so much that we even got Yoda, our dog, from a rescue there. He loves going back to play in the sand, even though he’s not a fan of the water.

We went to Fort Myers Beach to celebrate my husband’s birthday in September. It was a milestone birthday for him, and we wanted to go someplace special. We didn’t have to think twice about where we wanted to go.

A few days after my husband’s birthday, Hurricane Ian formed. At first it didn’t look like Fort Myers Beach would get a direct hit, but then the storm turned. No amount of hurricane prep could prepare anyone for the devastation. Hurricane Ian took over 160 lives.

When we were getting close to Mother’s Day, my daughter and I started to talk about how we wanted to celebrate. We decided that maybe it was time to go back to Fort Myers Beach. She checked with her friend, and he had a gig that evening. We decided to book a room and spend the night.

We had heard that many of the buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, and we saw much of it firsthand. The building for the restaurant where we had eaten for my husband’s birthday was gone, all that remained was one column. The entire Times Square area of Fort Myers Beach was unrecognizable. We had seen pictures, but seeing the damage for ourselves was surreal.

Do you know what else we saw? We saw beautiful sand that Yoda still loved to play in. We saw the gorgeous water that seemingly goes on forever. And we saw people who are resilient, determined to make Fort Myers Beach even better than before.

We had another near perfect day. We spent time on the beach, and then we headed to the restaurant where my daughter’s friend was performing. The building was gone, but they had found a way to continue. They used a trailer for food, a temp structure for drinks, and had tables set up on what had once been the patio. People were dancing to the live music (check out Wendall Ray on Instagram, you won’t be disappointed!) and having a great time. There was no hurricane or cleanup at that moment, just a chance to live life like Ian had never come to call.

I saw a reporter on a national show a few days after we were there. He was only showing the destruction, and was almost encouraging people to not visit Fort Myers Beach at this time. That bothered me. People ask what they can do to help after a disaster. One simple way to help Fort Myers Beach and the surrounding towns that were hit is to visit. Put money back into the community! Many restaurants that were destroyed are currently operating as food trailers, give them some business. We saw souvenir stores that were also running out of trailers, buy a t-shirt. The beach is still beautiful and the water is still warm. There are boat tours, water sports, and jet ski rentals up and running, you won’t run out of things to do. A visit to Fort Myers Beach will pump money back into the economy. More importantly, it will remind those who were affected by this devastating storm that people still care.

We already know when our next trip to Fort Myers Beach will be, we’re returning in a few weeks. Maybe we’ll see you there!