I'm already in Florida ahead of the 2005 Smalltalk Solutions show - spending a few days in Melbourne Beach, where my parents live. My daughter is enjoying a visit with her cousins, who live in Texas. We went out to the beach today - as you'll see in these pictures, it wasn't a great looking day today. Warm enough, and the water was nice (good surf too). Here's a shot looking north, up the beach:

That looks a lot different than it did last year. The dunes were a lot higher. Have a look at the other view, looking south:

Now, compare that to the post-hurricane shot that my parents sent me last year:

That driftwood was mostly buried before the hurricanes, and we used to use it as a towel rack. Now it's just gone. The sea bottom is different too - the drop off is closer to shore than it was last year. In general, you can really see the difference. Another thing I found interesting - lots and lots of the houses are still damaged (nearly a year later!). Have a look at these condos that are beachside, and part of my parent's neighborhood:

Apparently, only three of the units there are in use right now - you can't see it in the picture, but many of those units have been completely gutted. Finally, a happier picture - my daughter and her cousins going into the water with my brother in law: