Welcome to Dan Jacobs Beach
Rentals Home Page.
October 26, 2008. You can see some updates and
"on the ground" photos we've taken at
www.caplenshores.com.
We're doing our best to recover Caplen Shores. Only time will
tell. Thanks again to all who have called and written with their
thoughts. This has helped us in our recovery immeasurably. For
that we are forever indebted.
September 17, 2008. Hello Friends and Family. Thanks for all
the phone calls and emails. Sorry I haven't been able to
answer them all just yet but I will. Everything is gone.
I'll get back to everyone within the next week or so with
updates. See my notes below the picture.
Here's the photo. More to follow.
  
Thanks to everyone so much for your kind words of encouragement
by phone and email. If I havent returned your email or call, I
hope to soon,. Heres an update for you about our properties on
the Bolivar Peninsula as I know them as of about 11PM, Tuesday,
September 16, 2008. I apologize if there are grammatical or
spelling errors in my letter, but I wanted to get it out as fast
as possible.
The best news is that Jeanne and Bill are OK. They
unintentionally got stranded on the peninsula when the water
rose faster than forecast. If you dont know remember them,
they have been taking care of our properties for almost the full
10 years that we have had the pleasure to allow guests to enjoy
them. They rode out the storm at a bayside house (Murphys)
near The Ships Wheel. I spoke to Jeanne this afternoon.
According to Bob Anderson, who built Caplen Shores, it appears
that Sandy, who rents a house from Jeanne, works at Rancho
Carribe and sometimes helps with cleaning our properties, was at
the Rancho Carribe Golf Course club house, and was washed away
during the night when the clubhouse broke up. We have not heard
from her. Jeanne and Bill left their dog and cat at Caplen
Shores, so they have been lost as well. I really thought Caplen
Shores had a good chance of survival, but obviously not. I
spoke to Jeanne around 10AM on Friday morning and told her I
really thought she should get out. She said they had planned
to, but the water came up much faster than anticipated and they
could not get out. They drove to Rollover, but it was already
covered with water at 2PM, about 5 hours before the first real
increase of the storm surge in Galveston. As you probably have
figured out for yourself, Hurricane Ike has made Ray Nagins
storm of the century a couple of weeks ago, look like an
afternoon thundershower. Of course I do not want to belittle
what Hurricane Katrina brought to poor Waveland, MS. In both
cases, the vast destruction in Waveland, Crystal Beach and
Gilchrist were overshadowed by their larger, more newsworthy
neighbors of New Orleans and Galveston. What most people
havent realized yet, is the total destruction of Waveland is
much the same as the Bolivar Peninsula, except about double. My
personal estimate is that at least 2000 homes were totally
destroyed. And yes, many, such as mine, were personal
residences, not second homes as many in the media proclaim. I
havent been able to get onto the peninsula yet, but hopefully
will later next week. I lost many personal items in the storm.
One of the things I regret the most is a little brown teddy bear
that a child left years ago that I was hoping would be returned
to its rightful owner someday when they returned. Due to its
wear and tear, it was obvious that it was well loved. Most of
the items I had were replaceable except one picture of my
daughter Jennifer, which is not replaceable, as was the Rowe
Jukebox at Caplen Shores which garnered hundreds of favorable
comments.
I have not been able to find any photos or videos of Caplen
Shores anywhere until today (Tuesday). I have posted them on
www.danjacobs.net
I have seen a few shots of where Stingaree and Gulfview were,
but as far as I can tell, they are gone. The best video (kind
of eerie) is
http://setxhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=20921
Let's look on a brighter
side for a moment, OK? Go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io4oOBOpfeA (Hayes
Carll)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGLck42anbo (Ezra
Charles)
Jeanne said before they were evacuated by helicopter, on
Sunday, they walked from Ships Wheel to Caplen Shores (about 7
miles). She said all of the houses in Caplen Shores are gone.
One of the best parts about the Bolivar Peninsula is the
friendliness and camaraderie we have with our neighbors. We all
accept that hurricanes are a part of living in what many,
including myself, consider to be paradise. Rebuilding will
obviously be a challenge, but rebuild I will. I love The
Bolivar Peninsula and have since I first visited there as a
child more than 50 years ago. As I have told many of you, I
have visited 107 countries in my career as a pilot, and one of
my favorite places on the planet is Bolivar. Although my
philosophies have been challenged somewhat, I still consider it
to be my home. Just like Thailand after the tsunamis and the
Gulf Coast after previous hurricanes, we will rebuild bigger and
better. The best news is that I am well covered for my loan
amounts by both flood and windstorm insurance, something that I
cannot say for many who have lost everything, so I should have
no issues that many persons have faced with their insurance
companies in a debate over whether their damage was caused by
wind or flood. Unfortunately, the appreciation we have enjoyed
in the past 4 or 5 years wasnt covered, but thats just part of
having homes in what I consider to be paradise. Many were not
covered by flood insurance due to its cost. I have filed my
preliminary claims and hopefully they will be processed in a
nominal amount of time.
In my lifetime, there has been an order of enjoyment. In my
case, it was being there for the birth of my daughter,
Jennifer, and watching her grow into a wonderful young lady. Second has been spending time with Teresa, Third was
rolling down the runway at 180 MPH as captain of a Boeing 747
Jumbo Jet to fly halfway around the world with 500 people
onboard, and the fourth was a tie between listening to a Rolling
Stones album on the deck at Caplen Shores and reading the guest
books for our beach properties.
We have become personal friends with many of our guests through
the years, some in person when you arrive, and most by phone.
I know that Jeanne has met most who have been our guests at
Caplen Shores. There is good reason to believe that I may be
able to rebuild a property that will satisfy your requirements
before next summer Again, I have no reason not to rebuild. I
really enjoy being able to even have a tiny part in bringing
families together.
I welcome your phone calls or emails at any time; however, I
may take a couple of days to return some during the next week or
so.
Your Friend,
Dan Jacobs
281-772-1650
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