As ready as we're gonna be for Milton. Well, as long as the roof stays on, we should be good. Fortunately, we live in a newer home (built in 2021-22) so it's up to code as far as winds go. We've got impact glass for all the windows and shutters over the lanai. In fact, I just went to a nursery today and picked up a few pieces of sod so my boys have somewhere to do their business on the lanai.

We're nowhere near the coast, so we're not in a flood plain. We're a solid 17 feet above sea level, and the house is raised up 4 or 5 feet above street level. The roads flood when we get a good rain, but water never comes near the house. One of the nice things about Cape Coral is that we have more miles of canals than any other city in the world (including Venice, Italy). So while it does help the storm surge come further inland a bit, the canals really help with runoff so whatever water does come down has a place to go.

We should be good with power. Funny story: when I first moved to Florida back in 2013, the first thing I did was install a whole-house Generac generator in case of a hurricane. Never needed it once. I stayed home during Hurricane Irma. We took a direct hit from Irma. Never lost power once. Didn't need the generator.

Flash forward to 2022. I'm now living in a rental with my fiance during Hurricane Ian. No power for a week. Fortunately, I had a little portable generator to power the essentials, but I had to drive down to Naples every day to get fuel. No bueno. So the first thing I did when I bought this house was - you guessed it - install a generator. I ain't playin' that game again.

Got plenty of food and water. We've got a whole-house water filtration system, and a reverse-osmosis tank under the kitchen sink for drinking water. Got 5 cases of bottled water in the garage. Plus, I have a countertop water distiller in case water service is OUT out. I've got 10,000 gallons of pool water in the backyard I can use to flush toilets or filter if it gets that bad. Got plenty of canned and dry food. Plus, I bought one of those giant tubs of emergency rations - just in case.

I should be good with Internet this time. Hopefully. During Ian, I had Xfinity Internet at my house. It went down almost as soon as the storm started. Lost my cell service too (Verizon). Had nothing for days. Fortunately, my fiance was on T-Mobile and she had service. Now, I've got Comcast Business Internet with a cellular backup. Hopefully, that's better. I also have an emergency Google Fi phone and an actual landline [gasp] now. So fingers crossed that one of them works. Oh, and I bought one of those nifty emergency satellite text messaging devices. Got it for when we're out on the boat, but it'll also come in handy after a hurricane.

And, finally, I've got plenty of ammunition in case there are any people who decide to try to take this opportunity after the storm to do bad things. I've read reports of looting and such after hurricanes before. Homey don't play that. I've got two dogs and multiple firearms. Bye, Felicia.

Anyhow... if you are in the path of Milton, don't mess around. Get prepared now. If you're by the coast, move inland now. Lee County (where I live) has already issued mandatory evacuations for flood zones A and B. We're in D, so we're fine.