What started as a relaxing vacation in the Bahamas took a turn for the worse for a Hot Springs couple after they were stranded at their island resort during Hurricane Irma.
Lisa Irwin and her boyfriend, Kevin McClellan, planned to spend seven days relaxing on Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas, but their trip was unexpectedly extended by three days after they were unable to evacuate due to the hurricane.
They were aware of the hurricane before they left for the Bahamas, but decided to continue with the trip despite the storm brewing in the Atlantic Ocean.
"When we left on our trip (Irma) was way far away, and with storms like this you never know which direction they are going to go. As we continued to watch, we saw it was coming right toward us," said Irwin.
They two arrived in the Bahamas on Sept. 2 and spent the next several days enjoying their vacation, until they were informed the resort was being immediately evacuated on Sept. 6.
"We were coming up from the pool when (the resort staff) came up and just said, 'You guys got to go pack your stuff. You guys are being evacuated immediately,'" she said.
Despite having to leave three days before scheduled, Irwin said she was ready to go home. As it turned out, it would be six more days until they would be able to leave the island.
When they arrived at the airport, it was "pretty chaotic," and things worsened after three hours of waiting, when she and 58 other people found out they would not be leaving the island.
"We spend three hours waiting in a crowded, hot airport only to be turned away and told we had to ride out the storm," she said.
They returned to the resort, but the next day they were brought back to the airport for a plane that never showed up. At that point, they realized they were just going to have to "ride it out."
A total of 59 resort guests and even more locals were left on the island to await Irma's arrival, but luckily it shifted to the south and headed toward Cuba.
The island did not completely escape the effects of the storm, however. Irwin said winds were blowing as fast as 125 mph, and 4 to 6 inches of rain fell on the island.
They had fully prepared to spend the majority of the storm hiding in the bathroom of their hotel room, but when the storm actually passed through they were able to remain in the common area. They even opened the shutters on the windows a few times to watch the palm trees swaying in the winds.
"There was a bit of debris scattered about the island, but we spoke with the locals and they said overall it didn't cause any severe damage in that area," she said.
Once the storm passed, the couple was able to resume a diluted version of their vacation. By Monday, they were on the golf course sipping tropical drinks.
"I feel very fortunate, very fortunate. It was definitely one of those things you don't forget, and like I said, we were very lucky," she said.
On Tuesday morning during breakfast, they were informed an empty plane was 30 minutes out, on its way to pick up the remaining 59 resort guests and take them back to the mainland.
They quickly gathered their belongings and headed to the airport for a third time and were finally able to board a plane back to the United States. They arrived in Little Rock at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, eager to return to Hot Springs.
Their unexpected extension did cause Irwin to miss one day of appointments at her job as a stylist at a local salon, but her boyfriend fortunately still had a few days off work.
Despite a few hiccups leaving the island, Irwin said she was pleased with how the resort handled the situation, and even believes they played a major part in chartering the plane that brought them back stateside.
"My story is really nothing compared to what other people have been through. I can't even begin to imagine," she said.
Local on 09/14/2017