Once we were able to get back on the island, we made our way to the cottages. We were thrilled that they were still standing, but we knew there was quite a bit of damage. The cottage blocking our driveway came from the beach front.

We first needed to get the area in front of the steps cleared of debris. Thanks to a county worker who was cleaning up the school, we were able to have a path cleared to the buildings.

Once we got through the debris, we could not get into the buildings because the locks were frozen.



We came back with a saw and were able to open the doors.

Once we entered the cottages, we saw the damage the water had done. Many displays were ruined by the 7 feet of water that had entered the cottages. We tried to save some of the artifacts but most were damaged too badly to retore. 

We hired a company to clean out both cottages and treat the buildings for mold. As you can see, the water level was pretty high. In the annex we lost all of our records as the filing cabinets we purchased were fireproof but not waterproof. 

We have gone through the remaining artifacts, have cleaned what was salavaged and have begun to think about reimagining the museum.

Before Ian, we committed to have the old deck replaced since it was dangerous. We contracted with Ducker Construction to do the project, but they did not have time to begin before Ian hit.

After the storm, once the area was cleaned up, we were ready for the deck. We decided to go with pressure treated wood rather than the plastic wood since we were spending so much money on repairs. We got the deck replaced for about $27,000.



Once it cools down, we will have a painting party to seal the wood.