FRANKLIN COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — While many left ahead of Hurricane Isaias, a grandfather and his grandson stayed on St. George Island for a family vacation — watching the storm move through the Big Bend firsthand. In Eastpoint, a tornado also touched down, damaging a few homes, according to Franklin County Emergency Management.
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Michael Kinsaul and his grandson, Isaiah Freeman, came to St. George Island for a family vacation, but as the hurricane moved through the area, they watched the wind pick up and the tide rise.
"You activate all the chill the water, the smell the fill of it, the wind, the sand burning your legs when it run run by," Kinsaul said.
Kinsaul said he has been coming to St. George Island for more than three decades. The island holds deep family memories for him, and he said he always wanted to experience a storm there.
"I came down here when I first got married 31 years ago we've been coming every year since then sometime in the spring sometimes in the fall I always wanted to be here during a storm. I mean, to see it on TV is it's all right, but nothing like being here in person," Kinsaul said.
For his grandson, it was a first encounter with a hurricane.
"That's pretty cool. I've never actually experienced a hurricane before I've been through tornadoes. I've never seen a hurricane though," Isaiah Freeman said.
The storm also brought dangerous conditions to other parts of Franklin County. According to Franklin County Emergency Management, a tornado touched down in Eastpoint. Officials said it damaged a few homes, but no injuries have been reported.
Franklin County officials are asking residents to stay alert as crews check for damage and clean up after the storm.
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