A Buffalonian travels!

As we’ve mentioned before, in order to be prepared you have to be informed, and after my recent trip to Florida, I was thankful for all of my time here at the Red Cross learning about preparedness!! For this Buffalonian who can count on one hand how many times she’s left New York, Florida was definitely a culture shock.  The beautiful palm tree studded streets and lovely ocean view was enough to make me feel like I was visiting a foreign land, and although it was difficult getting used to sitting on the beach, I managed… however; it is so HOT in the South!!



Photo courtesy of
www.destination360.com



Every day of my visit, the temperature was at least 100 degrees and muggy, and when I traveled up to visit Savannah, Georgia the temperature was a jaw dropping 107 degrees… I always thought people were just over exaggerating, but it turns out, thermometers really can go that high!! To top it off, it was smoky because of all of the wildfires burning throughout the southern states. 

Smoke can invariably cause allergies and breathing distress and extreme heat can cause dehydration and heat stroke, all of which I’ve researched and wrote about in this blog, so I was alert of how I was feeling and making sure that everyone I was with was:

·         Hydrated

·         Not outside when the smoke was particularly heavy

·         Taking the proper medication if sensitive to Florida’s environment

·         Taking full advantage of the cooling powers of the pool and ocean… with the buddy system in place of course!

Now that I’m back in Buffalo with a little more knowledge of the world and how things in other places work, I am much more informed, aware, and prepared, of the type of research and information people should look for before traveling so that they can be prepared for air quality issues, temperature differences and heat related emergencies, which I hope you are as well from reading!
If you’ve had any similar situations that you were or weren’t prepared for when traveling, please comment below so that your experiences can help others!