As winds from passing Hurricane Michael pushed tides higher on Florida’s Gulf Coast, floodwaters rose in some parts of Southwest Florida.
The colorful bungalows on the edge of Sanibel Island – just before it becomes Captiva – were filling with water on Tuesday afternoon.
Nearby stood The Mad Hatter, now surrounded with debris-filled water. Kurt Jarvis co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Michelle.
“There’s not a lot of vegetation in front of these bungalows, and that’s where the water started to come up. Once it got over the sand dune, there was nothing stopping it, so…" Jarvis said. “I would say it was knee-high within a half hour.”
This wasn’t the first time this had happened though. This time last year, the tides also rose around The Mad Hatter.
“Believe it or not, we stayed open," Jarvis said. "We walked people through the kitchen. They were happy to do it.”
This time, some water got in through the entrance, and what used to be the parking lot now resembled a wading pool. So, the reservations for the night were cancelled, and Jarvis went back to loading more sand bags at the front door.
Post-high tide here on Captiva, where the effects of #HurricaneMichael are being felt in the flood waters this afternoon. @wgcu pic.twitter.com/SlsvxuiDdS
— Rachel Iacovone (@racheliacovone) October 9, 2018
Past the bungalows, at one of the entrances to Blind Pass Beach, Millard Everhart stood with his bike resting against his hip, as he watched the waves crash a few feet away from the road.
“My wife, today, sent me this picture of water near the Castaways I believe, just down the road," Everhart said, outstretching his phone.
The former judge’s wife got the photo from Facebook. The couple spend most of the year here at their home just two miles south of the flooded area.
“I walked out a few paces, close enough to get my running shoes wet," Everhart said. "And, then, I retreated back here.”
Like many Sanibel residents, Everhart’s brush with the waves was the closest the water got to him on Tuesday. On this narrow island, the difference of not even blocks but, sometimes, just yards can be what decides whether the waters rise around or inside a home.
