08/25/2026
Nine years ago today, Hurricane Harvey made landfall.
And somehow, it still feels like yesterday.
I remember trying to hold everything together and be brave while waiting and wondering if we would even have a home -or a hotel - to come back to. Watching from afar as Harvey tore through our little island was one of the most helpless and stressful experiences of my life.
What came afterward, though, is something I will never forget.
Port Aransas came together.
Neighbors helped neighbors. Businesses helped each other. People showed up with food, supplies, tools, trailers, generators - whatever they had. We cried together, cleaned up together, rebuilt together, and somehow kept finding reasons to laugh together.
Shark Reef Resort was damaged, but we were still standing. And as Port Aransas began the long process of rebuilding, our rooms became temporary homes for local families who had lost or couldn’t return to their own homes yet.
For a while, we weren’t just a hotel. We were part of this strange little displaced community of people all trying to figure out what came next. I made my rounds every morning and evening, checking in on all 109 families.
Harvey changed Port Aransas forever. Some families never returned. Some businesses never reopened. Buildings disappeared, new ones took their place, and the island we came home to wasn’t quite the same island we’d left.
But the heart of this community survived.
Nine years later, I’m incredibly proud that Shark Reef Resort is still here. I’m proud of the people who refused to give up on this island, and I’m proud that we were able to fill even one small chapter of Harvey’s devastating story with a little bit of hope, shelter, community, and resilience.
Port Aransas rebuilt because people fought for it.
And nine years later, we’re still here. ❤️
