LIVONIA, Mich. – A family of Livonia natives are among the many people who will be making their way back to Key Largo following the hurricane.
The Ensign family is originally from Livonia but moved to Key Largo a few years ago. They booked a trip to Disney World, but found out during their trip that Hurricane Irma was coming. They decided to stay in a family vacation home in Orlando for refuge from the storm.
"It's the first time a really bad storm looked like it was coming and it made us nervous," said Keely Ensign.
Keely's mother, Linda Jokinen, came to Orlando to help Keely with a leg injury, but didn't realize she would be stuck in a hurricane.
"There was a lot of wind. I slept through some of it, but the walls were shaking," Jokinen said.
The Ensign family invited their good friends, the Matthew family, to stay with them during the storm.
"All of us pulled together and got our kids and belongings and anything that was important that we could shove into in a vehicle and hurried up and got out of dodge," Eric Ensign said.
"We're all looking after each other and taking it day by day and just doing what we can to stay calm," Gemma Matthews said.
They have a very full house.
"We've got a dog, a cat, and a partridge and a pear tree, I think that's the only thing we're missing," Gemma Matthews said.
Their 6-year-old son, Dylan, has a little bit of Detroit pride.
"I cheer for the Lions when all my other favorite teams are not gonna be playing," he said.
They are headed back to Key Largo first thing Wednesday morning and realize their area was one of the most damaged from the storm.
"Leaving your home is never something you want to do and fleeing from a storm that we really couldn't flee from was trying to say the least," said Dan Matthews.
They are not sure what they will be faced with tomorrow when they return home.
"The biggest anxiety is not knowing what your home will look like," Dan Matthews said.
However, they plan to stick together and get through it.
"We're gonna rebuild and put it all back together," Eric Ensign said.
Ensign has a construction company in Key Largo, "Ensign Construction LLC," and will have to make sure his properties are also secured.
Dan Matthews has a fishing charter company called "Miss Chief Fishing Charters," but he believes he will not be able to work for a while due to the hurricane and will work with Ensign.