Gulf of Mexico – the suite life of travel

I had been waiting for my friend, and former boss, Bill to call when I checked into the Don Cesar Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bill and I worked together at the Tampa International Airport and he was from Hendersonville, Tennessee. Everyone loved Bill not only because of his southern accent, but although ten years older than most of us, he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to hang out with us.

I dropped off my luggage and hurried to the beach for a moment to take in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a full day of travel and I was so excited to pick up Shawna from the airport. I was hoping that she would be up for hanging out, but tomorrow, we would make the drive back to Miami to spend more time with her cousin and my best friend, Melissa.

Sitting at a table with a Mojito in hand, Shawna had called to let me know she had arrived but was waiting to in baggage claim as her luggage had not arrived. I finished my drink and began the short drive to the St. Pete-Clearwater Beach airport. Shawna had her second wind and wanted to find a place for dinner.

So excited to see Shawna, we found Jack Willie’s Bar and Grill in Oldsmar and ordered our dinner of wings and a salad. We caught up on how she was doing at the Montessori, reminisced about our girl’s trip to Turkey and discussed what we may want to do when we reached Miami.

I loved spending time with Shawna. She is intelligent, funny, spontaneous and a wonderful mother to her two girls and son. Never a dull moment with this girl and her positive spirit just gravitates you towards her.

After a long day of travel, Shawna was extremely tired and was not up for a night of karaoke, a favorite past time for Bill. She agreed to drop me off at nearby Peggy O’Neill’s Irish Pub and Eatery so I could follow up with Bill and reminisce about our time in Tampa. He agreed to bring me back to the hotel, so she left within minutes to rest for the night.

Bill was full of energy and could not wait to meet up again and catch up about all of our friends that we worked with at the airport. He was always such a support of my singing and so karaoke was such a fun pastime that we shared. If it wasn’t for Bill, I would not have had the opportunity to sing with a band that performed each week at the PGA Sawgrass. What an amazing experience. Bill and I had such a great time at Busch Gardens and Peggy O’Neill’s. We spent a couple of hours singing our favorite songs until it was time for the bar to close (of course). It was a lovely night that I will never forget.

Little did I know that it would be the last time I would spend with Bill Harper. A couple of years later, Bill passed away and it was such an incredibly sad day. A man that loved life and was the life of the party, he would surely be missed by all who had ever known him.

Have you experienced such a memorable event that you will never forget? Whether it was the last time to spend with a friend, a breathtaking view or an experience that would be etched in your mind forever, I would love to hear about it if you would kindly leave a message in the comments section below. Many thanks for reading about my favorite people and our reconnections. Wishing you many Happy Travels!

What to See and What to Do:

Peggy O’Neill’s Irish Pub and Eatery
13910 W Hillsborough Ave
Oldsmar, FL 33635
Telephone: 813 749 7192

Where to Stay:

The Don CeSar
3400 Gulf Boulevard
St. Pete Beach, Florida 33706
Telephone: 844 338 1501

Where to Eat:

Jack Willie’s
1013 St. Petersburg Drive West
Oldsmar, FL 34677
Telephone: 813 749 7932

Hurricane Gilbert made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula on September 14th, 1988 after destroying the island of Jamaica just a couple of days prior. It would go down in history as one of the worst hurricanes to hit the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

The beaches of Playa del Carmen following Hurricane Gilbert in 1988

During this time, I was working as a Purser on the SS VeraCruz and based out of Tampa, Florida. The cruise ship was scheduled to leave port with an itinerary to include Cozumel and Playa del Carmen for a five day voyage. It was determined that the hurricane would most likely continue its path heading west with a slight direction towards the north, but the Captain decided to set sail. In hopes that we would miss the hurricane, the ship headed north towards New Orleans with the possibility of docking in Progresso.

As you can imagine, our ship did not make it to Cozumel that week and no sooner did the ship depart out of the Port of Tampa, it was determined that the ship needed to head north towards New Orleans to avoid the hurricane. With swells reaching over 30 feet in height, we waited out the storm only to return back to Tampa. Gilbert would eventually hit the Yucatan Peninsula resulting in massive damage and destruction.

According to the website Hurricanes: Science and Society, there was $1 – 2 billion dollars worth of damage to Mexico alone. Ships were tossed ashore and 341 people lost their lives.

Hurricane Gilbert was documented as a category 5 hurricane that resulted in 83 ships sinking, 60,000 homes destroyed and 35,000 people left homeless.

It was later learned that the aftermath of the hurricane had an impact on Mexico again in 1989 when wildfires went out of control as a result of the debris left by the hurricane, burning 460 square miles.

According to the website source, there were storm surges that reached heights of 20 feet causing ships to be washed ashore.

Some of the ships were literally tossed out of the water, making contact with the buildings ashore. This created additional destruction to hotels, homes, and other coastal establishments.

I visited the ports of Cozumel and Playa del Carmen weeks after Hurricane Gilbert touched down. In addition to damaging the coral reefs and buildings, we couldn’t believe the condition of the beaches which looked as though they were under demolition.

The island of Cozumel and resort town of Playa del Carmen have long since recuperated from the destruction of the hurricane, but for those who were there or visited the Yucatan shortly thereafter, it will forever have a long lasting impact on their lives.

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Tag Archives: Gulf of Mexico

Bill and Shawna in Oldsmar

Hurricane Gilbert 1988: The Aftermath in Photos