“Everyone who knows me knows that the beach is my happy place. The feeling of my toes in the sand, the sound of the waves crashing at the shore, shells scattered on the beach. Being able to look out at the ocean, mesmerized about how endless it is. I’m never sad at the beach!

For the last five years we have traveled to Florida for vacation in the fall. It’s a great summer send off before the colder weather gets here in New England.

As we vacationed on the beaches in Naples and Ft. Myers Florida last September, we were aware there was a hurricane approaching, possibly headed in this exact area.

We headed home on September 24th and just days later Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida as a high end category 4 hurricane. There was major flooding and damaging winds. The storm surge was an incredible 10-15 feet at Ft. Myers beach.

The devastation was surreal watching it on television and social media. My heart ached for the people who live and work in that area. The beautiful beaches, homes, hotels and businesses were all destroyed in one form or another.

Beautiful beaches that were days earlier so clean, so picturesque were now filled with debris.

Having recently just visited the area for the first time since that deadly storm, a lot of the damage is still noticeable almost a year later. Beaches have slowly opened, although they look different. Many homes and businesses are still boarded up. It will take a lot of time to recover in that area.

I’m so grateful to have my Dune Marina Gold filled necklace, which I had made back in 2022. It’s filled with shells from Ft. Myers Beach and is a constant reminder of the happy memories I have spent there, and will continue to make in the future.”

-Karen Zangari

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