- 2 days ago
Escape to Florida - Season 1 Episode 12
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome to Florida.
00:02Florida life, nothing quite like it.
00:04Home to theme parks, golden towns, and over 400,000 Brits.
00:09I absolutely love it here.
00:10Who've made the Sunshine State their new home.
00:13This is what sold me out. Yeah.
00:15Like, because it's stunning.
00:16Who wouldn't want to live here like this?
00:18They've swapped drizzly winters and gas bills for new careers
00:22and seemingly endless fun in the sun.
00:24Cheers, big ears!
00:27It's our little piece of paradise.
00:28Get it right and life in Florida can be like a dream come true.
00:33Every evening do this with your glass of wine.
00:35But getting here and staying here takes hard work.
00:39I do pinch myself every day.
00:41Grits. We've just lost the starboard motor.
00:44And determination. Good job, well done.
00:46These are the Brits who've made their own Escape to Florida.
00:55Today on Escape to Florida, horse whisperer Laura and her parents throw a 4th of July bash.
01:01We're having a party!
01:03And help one party goer with a surprise proposal.
01:07He's nervous. I'm nervous. I'm nervous enough for both of you.
01:12Publican Sean and his wife Onya's dream life on the water...
01:16I feel like a new man after being on the boat for a few hours.
01:19...is in turmoil after a hurricane devastated their home.
01:23The water started forming through the walls.
01:26You could hear gurgling, bubbling.
01:28Oh man, I can't even describe it.
01:30And movie director Damien finds that shooting in the Florida Everglades...
01:34It's so beautiful, man.
01:36Every film should have a fog rainbow.
01:37...comes with a safety warning.
01:39We don't have alligators in Liverpool.
01:48Apollo Beach and Florida's Gulf Coast.
01:50Where having your own boat isn't a status symbol.
01:52It's a way of life.
01:56It's unassuming driving past the front of these houses,
01:59but then when you throw around the side,
02:01most people that like water will get a boat docked.
02:05Why not?
02:06Why live in the water if you're not going to take advantage of it, really?
02:09You know?
02:11Publican Sean and his wife, Anya, are both from Oma in Northern Ireland.
02:16But their paths didn't cross until they reached America.
02:21We actually met at JFK Airport.
02:25They started a family in New York,
02:27but moved to the Sunshine State 25 years ago
02:30and now run the Salty Shamrock Pub.
02:34I was pregnant with our second child.
02:36We were right in Queens.
02:37Not the greatest place I didn't think to bring up a child.
02:40So we said, let's go down to Florida.
02:44It's been a while since I got this boat wet.
02:47The boat's name is Grace, the Celtic Queen.
02:51Here we go.
02:52That's her now, hey?
02:59Because of the weather, there's more opportunities here
03:01to do the things that we love to do.
03:03Fishing, boating, swimming, kayaking.
03:12Today, Grace, the 33-foot catamaran, is on her first voyage
03:16since being put in dry dock for safekeeping during the last hurricane season.
03:21The weather patterns here in Florida can be quite severe.
03:25Living on the water, you don't take nothing for granted.
03:29Six months ago, two hurricanes, Helene and then Milton, battered Apollo Beach.
03:36You look over there behind us, you see where the hurricane took the three out.
03:41He's lost part of his dock.
03:43There's two houses that have been totally demolished down here.
03:47There's a casualty of the storm, a sunken boat.
03:51We've never had a direct hit Apollo Beach, not in 100 years.
03:54But we got smacked with two hurricanes within two and a half weeks,
03:57three weeks of each other.
03:59That boat could be from anywhere.
04:01That boat could be from St Pete, which is 25 mile that way.
04:05It could be from Tampa, which is about 15 miles.
04:08It could be local, you know, it could be from anywhere.
04:12When Helene struck, Sean and Anya were at home directly in its path.
04:18Helene was such a huge storm.
04:22The noise and the wind, that's scary.
04:24You don't know if your roof's going to stay in your house,
04:26what you're going to lose outside.
04:28Helene devastated our home.
04:31We've been out of our house almost six months,
04:33as it goes through the process of being repaired.
04:37Sean and Anya's life has been turned upside down.
04:41So the run out in the catamaran is a welcome relief.
04:46I feel like a new man after being on the boat for a few hours.
04:51But we've got still so much to do.
04:54Whilst their boat can return home to the dock at their hurricane-damaged house,
04:58Sean and Anya remain uprooted in temporary accommodation,
05:01as renovations continue.
05:04It's a two-bedroom condo.
05:06We were lucky we had it to go to, actually, you know.
05:08Many people had to stay in mobile homes, hotel rooms.
05:13We got the basics.
05:15We got a bed.
05:16We have a bathroom.
05:17So consider ourselves blessed.
05:20I miss the house so much.
05:21I miss sleeping in my own bed.
05:23I miss cleaning the pool.
05:24This did the job for now, but you can't wait to get back.
05:27Especially for the head, you know.
05:29It's just been very, very unsettling.
05:32And what's worse, they're seeing less of their nine-month-old granddaughter, Margot.
05:37I can't have her over at the condo because it's small.
05:41She doesn't have a room of her own.
05:43Boxes.
05:43Boxes everywhere.
05:45Sean and Anya are doing everything they can to get back into their family home.
05:50You can see light at the end of the tunnel now, you know.
05:53Let's get this all done and make sure that Margot has a lovely home to come to when she's visiting.
05:59A new house, new beginning.
06:05In Groveland, central Florida, it's another busy day at the stables, run by Laura and her mum and dad, Diane
06:13and Huey.
06:15I'll start opening doors.
06:21Everybody gets soaked feed.
06:23We don't like anybody to get dry feed, so they don't choke.
06:27Some get lots, some get little.
06:31Huey and Diane ran a village post office and local shop back in Scotland.
06:36Before the draw of the Sunshine State saw them up sticks and moved to Florida with Laura 20 years ago.
06:42The post office opened their eyes about working for yourself.
06:47The setting up of a business is a lot easier here.
06:51Back home, there's so much red tape.
06:54We decided that we're going to sell everything and make the move over here so that there's no going back.
07:00In 2012, the family bought 65 acres to make a living from Laura and Diane's first love, horses.
07:09Tito, when you come, bubba.
07:12In the rocks, eh, you next, babe.
07:14When I was just tiny, I used to pretend I was on a horse and I was always running, running
07:19and running and galloping and on a horse, on a horse.
07:22I just loved them.
07:24Huey is tasked with maintaining the whole estate.
07:28I've learned a wonderful phrase over the last 50 years, and that's, yes, ma'am.
07:38It's a big job.
07:40Besides the stables, the family also host weddings and are about to start hiring out Huey's very own Tiki Hut
07:47as a separate party venue.
07:49There's a lot of work involved. What a close family. We all just chip in and do what we have
07:55to do.
07:56The family are planning a big bash to launch their latest venture.
08:00We're having a party! We love parties at Huey's Tiki Hut.
08:06They're hosting a 4th of July celebration to promote the venue for hire.
08:11We left the UK 19 years ago and we've embraced the culture.
08:17You happy with that? Yep, that's better, yes.
08:21We're immigrants, but not only do we want to be part of it, but we want to provide our community
08:26with somewhere to come and celebrate.
08:29The party's free for the local community, but it's costing Laura and her parents $2,500 to put on.
08:37We are going all out. We want people to know who we are and what we do.
08:43It will be money well spent if they attract future bookings for the venue.
08:47There's an old saying that you have to speculate to accumulate.
08:52The venue is off the beaten track, so Huey's got the vitally important job of putting signs on the main
08:59road so party guests don't get lost.
09:05In the past, we've had people who are running up and down this road here.
09:09They don't know exactly where they are, so that's why I'm putting the sign and just staging them all the
09:15way.
09:15Make it, and I don't mean this in a bad way, I make it idiot proof.
09:19Make it idiot proof for me and everybody else will be fine.
09:27Job done. Party goers can't fail to miss that one, Huey.
09:32All the signs are just heading back now.
09:37Oh, Huey.
09:39I've just run over the sign that I put up, did you not notice?
09:42Yeah, we noticed Huey, we noticed.
09:44It's one of them days.
09:48Well, that's easily fixed.
09:50At least the refreshments for the party will make it back in one piece.
09:55What happened there?
10:02The groceries fell out the back of the car because I had the boot open.
10:08Hey, no use crying over spills. Energy drinks.
10:12I'm sure I closed up.
10:13It's back to the tiki hut to complete party preparations.
10:28On the Atlantic coast, an hour north of Miami's hustle and bustle, lies the more laid back oceanfront community of
10:36Delray Beach.
10:38Known as Florida's village by the sea, it's a cultural home that draws artists and creators from all over the
10:45world.
10:48Including Liverpudlian film director Damien and his Floridian four-legged friend, Mookie.
10:54Mookie is my roommate, but she does not contribute towards the rent or to buying food or to picking up
11:02her own poo.
11:03That's all me.
11:04Mookie.
11:05This is part of my morning routine.
11:07We bike and then go for a swim.
11:10We've been doing this every day for the last seven years.
11:13I really enjoy having Mookie in my life.
11:16I've traveled all around the US on and off for 30 years.
11:20But Delray is special to me because I just love the interesting kind of art scene.
11:26I love the ocean.
11:30Boss bike, isn't it?
11:33I actually put about $1,000 into this bike over 10 years because I keep having to replace stuff.
11:41For $1,000 I could have had a bike that wouldn't rust, but it's got so much character I don't
11:46want to buy a new bike.
11:51Damien first came to the US on a student study visa when he was 22.
11:57Hey, Mooks.
11:58Wait for me.
12:00I studied photography at university in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
12:04Hey, Mooks.
12:08I'd always been creative.
12:10Even as a kid I used to write little short stories.
12:12And I was like, oh, yeah, I could be a filmmaker.
12:15That would make sense.
12:16You put everything together.
12:18When he was 27, Damien got a big opportunity.
12:23I moved to New York City and got a job in the film biz.
12:29I lived in Manhattan.
12:30It was amazing.
12:31It was absolutely fantastic.
12:34But just a year later, his dream of making it in the movies was shattered.
12:39I took up rock climbing.
12:40I loved it.
12:41But I wasn't a very experienced rock climber.
12:43I clipped into the wrong rope.
12:45I stepped off and I fell 75 feet.
12:50Damien broke his back in the fall.
12:53I almost died.
12:54I didn't know if I was going to live for about three days.
12:57I didn't know if I was going to walk for four months.
12:59And it was scary.
13:01It was really scary.
13:03You want to go for a swim?
13:04Yeah.
13:06The sea swim is so important to me because I am partially paralyzed.
13:10I lost some of my bodily functions.
13:13So to pee, I have to use catheters.
13:16And I can't run.
13:19So that's my cardio is when I get in the ocean.
13:22It's just what makes me grateful to be alive.
13:27They put two 18-inch steel rods either side of my spine.
13:32So I feel it when it's cold.
13:34I'm much happier in the warm weather.
13:41Today, Damien makes movies and TV shows from his studio in Delray Beach.
13:46And he's working on a new feature film set in the Florida Everglades with his business partner Ian.
13:53So the only way to get here is via kayak or paddleboard.
13:58It's just properly wild, you know.
14:00One of the things that we want to show people is the beauty of the nature here in Florida.
14:06Tomorrow, Damien is traveling to remote parts of the Everglades.
14:10He needs to find out if it's safe and practical for a crew of 30 people with all their camera
14:16and lighting equipment to film in.
14:18I'm excited because no one's shot a movie out here because everyone thinks it's too difficult.
14:24Or too dangerous.
14:26We're going to the wilderness.
14:28It's not like being in Sefton Park in Liverpool.
14:31There's stuff out there that can kill you.
14:33Yes, there's alligators. Yes, there's snakes.
14:36It's also gigantic and beautiful.
14:38So let them think that they can't film out here and then we'll be the first.
14:42This is ambitious, but to stay in Florida, I have to run a successful business.
14:48So one of the things we're trying to figure out right now is how would we shoot this.
14:54I already messaged Benji to see if Mookie can come and he said no because she will get eaten by
15:03alligators.
15:05Oh, no Mookie for you.
15:12200 miles north in Groveland in central Florida, preparations continue at Laura and her parents' stables for tonight's 4th of
15:22July party at Huey's Tiki Hut.
15:25So it's going to be chicken, steak, hamburgers, hot dogs and ribs.
15:30Right, okay.
15:32While Diane confirms the menu with Chef Freddy, one of tonight's guests has arrived early.
15:38I have a long time without seeing him. Like two months? Yeah, three months.
15:43That's Rodolfo. His girlfriend's horse Blitz is stabled here and he has a favour to ask Laura.
15:49You know I want to propose to Avery?
15:52I do, yes.
15:54So, I was talking to her dad. He told me, where is the place where you always see her happy?
15:59Okay.
16:00And I said, with her horse.
16:02Ah, okay.
16:05Rodolfo met Avery over social media just four months ago.
16:09I saw where she's located.
16:13Miriam Kansat.
16:14I bought the tickets and I told her, okay, I'm visiting you next week.
16:18I immediately fall in love with her.
16:20I said to her, you are the one. I'm going to take you to Florida with me.
16:24She told me, okay, but if I move there, I have to move with my horse.
16:27I said to her, I got you.
16:31So, yeah, I was thinking about if we can do something here for her.
16:36But, like, kind of surprised, you know.
16:38Oh, my God. Okay. You guys are coming to the party tonight, right?
16:42Yeah, but she thinks I'll be late because I work, okay.
16:47But the truth is I can come way, way, way earlier.
16:50We can hide you.
16:51Yeah.
16:52That would be perfect.
16:53That sounds amazing.
16:54That sounds amazing.
16:55Cool. Oh, this is going to be fantastic.
16:57And she has no idea at all.
16:59No.
17:01Laura gets Huey and Diane on a case of organising Rodolfo's surprise.
17:06So, the game plan is he'll hide behind the screen and let's set something up behind.
17:12Like, we've got one of those big will you marry me things.
17:15Pop the screen and Rodolfo will be there.
17:17We'll just need to dig out the box with all of that stuff in it.
17:20Is that the royal we?
17:23That's the royal we, but could you go and do it within the next ten minutes?
17:27Yes, I can.
17:29Diane and Huey's own love story got off to a rocky start at a village football match back in Scotland
17:3553 years ago.
17:37I've got the ball, I'm running up the field and I got hit in the butt and it was like
17:43a big stone.
17:46And I'm saying, you know, she threw the stone at me.
17:52Why did you throw a rocket?
17:53Because he was opposing team.
17:57These days, they're on the same team.
18:00If there's an event, it's us that does the decorating because we want to make sure that it looks good.
18:06We don't ever, ever, ever want to let anybody down.
18:09I wouldn't care if I was up to all hours of night as long as everything was perfect for you.
18:15That's one of my passions and I love to do all the foo-foo.
18:20I'll pull the screen up and just let Rodolfo walk out after I've said, is there anybody in the Tiki
18:29bar called Avery.
18:34I only remembered that name, would I?
18:39If helping a friend pop the question whilst also launching a new party venue isn't enough to keep Laura on
18:45her toes, she's still on duty at the stables, where one of her horses is due a check-up with
18:51the dentist.
18:52Laura's amazing. Laura can juggle five, six balls at the one time, where me, I can't walk and chew gum
18:59at the same time.
19:00This is Archer. Archer is the newest addition to their family.
19:04Archer came to us as a rescue. He had broken his coffin bone, the main bone in a horse's foot.
19:12Archer hasn't been ridden for 18 months because of his injury.
19:16So Laura needs to get him used to wearing a bridle again.
19:20But he's given her cause for concern.
19:23We could see when we put the bit into his mouth, he wasn't entirely comfortable.
19:27We need to make sure that there is nothing inside his mouth that's hurting him.
19:33Laura suspects it could be a problem with Archer's teeth, so she's called the vet to get to the roots
19:38of the problem.
19:40Right, Archer. Big smiles, please. Good lad.
19:45Horse's teeth continue to grow throughout their life, often creating jagged edges that can cause painful ulcers.
19:52The vet is looking to make sure that if there are any sharp points in his mouth, she is going
19:57to file them down and remove them.
20:03The horse is sedated. It's not painful to have their dental work done.
20:09But the noise is what normally makes the horse scared.
20:14After just ten minutes, Archer has a fresh set of smooth pearly whites.
20:19This dental was definitely necessary because he had ulcers on the inside of his mouth, in the front and in
20:25the back, because the sharp points were everywhere.
20:28Archer's got the all clear from the vet to be tacked up with a bridle and take the bit between
20:33his teeth again.
20:34He was an exceptionally good boy. After being off, he is going to have his first ride.
20:4575 miles south, horses aren't the ride of choice in Apollo Beach. It's golf buggies.
20:54It's a street legal, yeah. It's a street legal.
20:58It's got to have a wiper. You've got to have a sign on the back. And basically that's it.
21:03We would use the golf cart a lot to get around Apollo Beach.
21:06You can get to your doctor, you can get your grocery store, your dentist, the gyms, all in the golf
21:12cart.
21:12Normally they do 25, 27. This thing does about 37 mile an hour.
21:19I got it super.
21:20I love the golf cart as well. Apart from when I've just washed my hair.
21:25There's one of our neighbours there.
21:30Everybody needs a golf cart. Yeah, it's great.
21:34Publican Sean is on his way over to his hurricane-damaged home.
21:38While his other half, Anya, hangs back to work on their business accounts at their temporary condo.
21:44And keep the cash flowing for their repairs.
21:48Most of these houses got flooded.
21:51This was like a war zone for months after the hurricane because the whole streets were just covered in debris.
21:58This is an RV here. There are people still living in it. Yeah.
22:01Another one there.
22:03And this is the house here.
22:06Sean has been calling upon family and friends to help him with the renovations.
22:11We made a decision not to bring in a contractor because the prices they were charging was just ridiculous.
22:16There was a lot of gougers. They knew they could charge whatever to help you out.
22:21I'm taking advantage of very vulnerable people.
22:23Well, that's basically it.
22:24You had to watch out for those guys, so did most of it ourselves, you know.
22:30I've ripped out all this here, so we're just basically going to concrete this whole thing and pave it, you
22:37know.
22:38Every day there's always plenty of stuff to do.
22:41Before Hurricane Helene made landfall, Sean and Onia took the gamble of riding it out rather than follow evacuation advice.
22:50When you do get hit by a hurricane, sometimes it takes weeks to get back.
22:54Since we have a business, I wasn't prepared to wait that time.
22:59People called us crazy, but there's too many elements out there for us not to stay.
23:03And it got to the point when the water was coming in, if he did want to leave, he couldn't
23:08leave then.
23:09It was too dangerous.
23:10The water started in the front door first, and then it started coming here.
23:14And then when you're up over your knees in water, there was not a lot you could do, so.
23:18We opened up a bottle of wine and just watched it happen, you know.
23:24I had waves in my pool. There was a white cabin.
23:26It was the wildest thing you'd ever seen.
23:28And then the noise inside the house.
23:30The water started flowing through the walls.
23:33You could hear gurgling, bubbling.
23:34Oh, man, I can't even describe it.
23:37We tried to save what we could in here.
23:40We lost a lot of personal belongings.
23:43We lost all our furniture.
23:44We threw out four containers full of debris.
23:51Back at the condo, Onia's still coming to terms with the personal and mounting financial cost of the hurricane.
23:58These are new things we had to replace.
24:00Oh, my Lord, I lost so many books.
24:02That was one of the biggest heartbreakers right there.
24:05We lost it. Got some personal stuff, probably anywhere from $75,000 to $85,000.
24:10The house, that's a whole different story.
24:13About a quarter of a million, all together.
24:16Touch base Friday with me, Sal, all right? I'll have some money for you.
24:20With bills to pay, Sean's keen for him and Onia to return home,
24:23even if renovations continue around them.
24:27There's still so much work to be done.
24:29But with two homes, there's only two of us.
24:31So it's of the utmost importance to get in the house now.
24:36As soon as we get running water, we can literally start moving boxes in.
24:39And I hope to God that we'll be living in this next week, you know?
24:57Liverpudlian film director Damien is in the Florida Everglades.
25:02He set off early from his home in Delray Beach, 100 miles north, in search of filming locations for his
25:08new movie.
25:10People just don't know that this is what Florida looks like.
25:14They have no idea how beautiful it is.
25:19Damien's guide for today in the Pine Glades area of the Everglades is his friend Benji, a scientist and conservationist
25:26at the park.
25:28All right, so this is going to be our start.
25:33But some of the locals might make the areas they visit too dangerous for a film crew.
25:39You could get bit by a snake, you could just step on stuff, but I just like being barefoot, you
25:44know?
25:45I live by the beach, the soles of my feet are basically leather.
25:48Out of respect for my good friend Benji, I'm going to put some sneakers on.
25:55Damien needs to find and photograph stunning settings for scenes in his movie.
26:01The wildflowers, I think, are such a great kind of start, because what do people think about when they think
26:06about the swamp?
26:07You know, muddy, scary.
26:09Yeah, none of this.
26:11None of this.
26:12I'm going to go over there because the sun is just about to come up and the sun actually won't
26:16wait for us.
26:19I don't think it will anyway.
26:22It's so beautiful, Benji.
26:25Oh, there's that fog rainbow, Damien.
26:27Yeah, okay.
26:28Yeah.
26:29Fog rainbow.
26:31I don't know where fog rainbow is, Benji, but I want to get one.
26:39When the sun comes up, it throws these sun rays through this fog layer.
26:44It's a lot more golden than, you know, the rainbows that you see with the pot of gold.
26:48Yeah, there it comes.
26:50So beautiful.
26:53I love it.
26:54Damien's getting all the angles.
26:56We've lost him in the woods.
27:00In terms of location, this is ideal that the scene is three men beginning their journey stepping out of the
27:07mist as the sun comes up.
27:10There's potential here for sure.
27:13But Damien also needs to ensure that film kit can be moved around on the terrain and that it's manageable
27:20for him after breaking his back in his twenties.
27:24You know, I forget that I have a disability, you know, and my back will hurt at the end of
27:29a long day.
27:30We've had rain, but you can still stand on the ground, so it's not too difficult to shoot here.
27:36Where are we going next?
27:37One of my favorite places, and that is the swamp.
27:40Fantastic.
27:46At the stables in Groveland in central Florida, guests from all over the local community are starting to arrive for
27:54the 4th of July celebrations of Huey's Tiki Hut.
27:58Hello, how are you? How's it going? Good to see you.
28:03Thank you for coming, darling. Thank you.
28:05The first rule of having a party is invite the neighbors and then they can't complain about the noise.
28:11Former Scottish Postmaster Huey has dressed to impress for the day that's in it.
28:16I've swapped the celt for this firework shirt.
28:20OK, but that's just for tonight.
28:24But daughter Laura's back at the stables, checking in on Archer after his dental work.
28:30How are you feeling? What's happening with this mess? Are you feeling better?
28:34Laura's somewhat of a horse whisperer.
28:37I feel good.
28:38And she's looking for messages in Archer's body language that tells her he's comfortable and able to take the metal
28:46bit of the bridle between his teeth.
28:48He's not showing any signs of being in pain.
28:51He just let me know that he's happy. He's relaxed.
28:55So let's try and just seat it as far back as we can.
29:07Looking good. Looking good.
29:09You ready?
29:11Laura's happy for groom Tilly to take up Archer's reins for his first ride in 18 months.
29:19Stay there. Sit up. Hold him there and try and pick up the canter from there.
29:26Let him have a look. See what he thinks.
29:30Looks to be a wee bit more comfortable in the mouth.
29:34So he has given us the answer.
29:37He enjoys jumping. He likes doing what he's doing.
29:42Good boy.
29:46Whatever we did with the dental work, he is, um, he's a lot better.
29:51Do you want to leave it at that then?
29:54Ten out of ten.
29:55I had a happy horse.
30:00After a quick change, Laura joins Mum and Dad back at the Tiki Hut, where the party is well underway.
30:08How are you doing, Paul? Thanks for coming.
30:11This is my nephew.
30:12Thank you, sir. Thanks for coming. Thank you.
30:15Hello, my darling. Give me two shakes of a lamb's capuche.
30:20Diane's free bar is proving very popular.
30:23I'm going to get more vodka because it's running out already.
30:28So is the food.
30:29Oh, my God.
30:31And the Tiki Hut, as a venue for hire, is getting lots of interest too.
30:36Technically, we're taking bookings now, but this is our soft launch kind of thing.
30:41I know. It's gorgeous.
30:42Loads of people I don't know, I haven't a clue who they are, but they're coming to the bar,
30:46they're loving it and saying, wow, I didn't know this place even existed.
30:51Anybody I know, I'll recommend this.
30:54It's like marketing for us, so we're hoping it brings some business in.
30:59See, the Scottish know how to party.
31:01We do.
31:02So far, the party's a big success.
31:05But Laura and her parents have also been enlisted to help their friend Rodolfo pop the question to his girlfriend.
31:12We have a surprise happen tonight that involves Avery.
31:16Oh, OK.
31:17So we need to watch for her coming in so that we can get ready.
31:21And he's got a touch of pre-proposal jitters.
31:24There's a lot of people, so...
31:27A little bit more nervous. Everything is good.
31:31He's nervous.
31:33I'm nervous.
31:34I'm nervous enough for both of us.
31:40Aw, man.
31:42A passing storm won't help Rodolfo's collywobbles.
31:46I hate the rain.
31:48I hate it with a passion.
31:50We had enough back home to last us a lifetime.
31:54We don't need it yet.
31:56His girlfriend, Avery, is on her way to the party.
31:59And Rodolfo's hoping his proposal doesn't prove a washout.
32:04Happy for a new light.
32:13Back down in Apollo Beach,
32:16after six months in temporary accommodation,
32:20Sean and Anya are about to take their first small steps
32:23to get him back into their family home.
32:27We have the plumbing in now.
32:29That was the final thing we were waiting for.
32:31We're going to start slowly but surely moving our items
32:34and our personal belongings back to the house.
32:37They're returning what they managed to save from the hurricane,
32:40and Sean's loading all the essentials first.
32:44All me bourbons.
32:45Uh-oh.
32:46Me collectors.
32:48Not much of it left.
32:52That will do.
32:53Of course, we're all at many.
33:09Oh, I'm looking forward to it so much.
33:11I can't wait.
33:13I can't believe that the day has arrived.
33:16It seemed like it was never going to get here.
33:22Fixtures and fittings are still going in.
33:24But when the work is complete, the house will be transformed.
33:30This house has just been completely remodelled.
33:32It was an opportunity after the storm to go in and cut everything.
33:37All the doors had to be replaced,
33:39and this whole bathroom here had to be gutted.
33:42This is the tub with the grandchildren and everything.
33:44I'll be washing small children in that.
33:47We loved the house we were in,
33:49but basically we turned a really bad, bad negative with the hurricane
33:53until the chance to build a house we really wanted.
33:55This is our entertainment wall.
33:59With the changes we're doing to the house,
34:01it's like a new home now.
34:02Hopefully in a day or two we'll be watching TV.
34:06Their dream home is emerging from the flood water,
34:09and Sean wants to keep it that way.
34:12Were we prepared for this?
34:13Absolutely not.
34:15This was definitely a wake-up call for us.
34:18I have to come up with a plan for future floods, you know,
34:22so we're going to block up this whole wall, completely close it in.
34:26We have windows, big windows, to maintain the view.
34:29All these were entryways.
34:31There's four of them just here in the body for water to get into the house.
34:35I'm eliminating these four and bringing it down to one door here.
34:39I'm trying to future-proof the house.
34:41We're not there yet.
34:42Our focus has been getting back into the house, the renovations.
34:46My excitement will be whenever I can jump in that pool
34:49and put on some Christie Moore and relax a bit, you know,
34:54without a conscience, without saying it should be working.
35:00When he's not fixing his house are lumping boxes,
35:04Sean runs the Salty Shamrock in Apollo Beach.
35:07Who's the baby?
35:09Where's the baby?
35:12Where, after a long day, there's time to catch up with son Ogie,
35:16his wife Gabby and granddaughter Margot.
35:19How's everything going?
35:21Not bad. We should be in there in the next day or two,
35:23and we can see the end of the line, hopefully.
35:26Come on over to Graham.
35:28Oh my goodness.
35:30We can't wait to see her in the pool.
35:32We'll start her wee swimming lessons.
35:34What do you think, Margot?
35:36She's thinking it's a great idea.
35:39It's very, very important to make memories of Margot in this house.
35:43This is what we're working towards.
35:44It's just going to take a little bit more patience,
35:46and then we're going to get in.
35:47Cheers, everybody.
35:48Sláinte! Margot, cheers!
35:50Cheers!
36:06Down south, Liverpudlian movie director Damian is heading deeper into the Everglades with his friend and guide Benji.
36:14He wants to use the swamp as a location for his new film.
36:18But he needs to keep one eye open for any surprise appearances from the reserve's most famous predators.
36:25Big alligators over 10, 12 feet that you definitely need to be paying attention for.
36:32You ready to go swamping?
36:33Let's go swamp chomping.
36:35Yes, sir.
36:41Just right here, before I, you know, we get into it, I might just take a couple of pictures.
36:47I'm really seeing pure wilderness right now.
36:50But I love, I love the light bouncing off the water.
36:53And I could imagine, again, you know, my characters just walking through this.
37:01Visually, it's stunning.
37:03But it's quite difficult walking in this terrain for anyone.
37:06It's going to be a little bit more challenging for me.
37:15Man, I am so glad I have this dish.
37:25There are multiple habitats in the Everglades.
37:30It's important for me to showcase all of them.
37:34Go hard or go home.
37:36While Damien's been happily clicking away, Benji's expert eye has made a discovery.
37:42The middle of this sawgrass clump is cleared out.
37:45And something big went in there.
37:47You're right.
37:49Basically, they made it a little home here.
37:51Right.
37:52This is probably a nice place to hang out, secluded from everything for a few weeks.
37:55And especially, you know, the really big alligators out here.
37:58But yeah, this isn't fresh.
38:00Yeah.
38:00So we're still all good.
38:01We're still all good.
38:03After being that close to an alligator's dead, you'd think Damien would want to get back to dry land.
38:10But there's one final location he wants to see that might make a spectacular finale for his film.
38:18I may just sit down when I paddle board.
38:20Because of my balance issues, I fall off a lot on paddle boards.
38:25I don't want to be falling off with the gators.
38:27Let's go, man.
38:33What's over there?
38:35Back to me is interesting.
38:37Yeah, we can go over there.
38:38Just don't go over any 12-foot alligators.
38:41If you know that there are gators in the area, you have to be vigilant.
38:45Oh, something big moved in there.
38:48They're out here, man.
38:51You're not going to feed them.
38:53You're not going to take a selfie with them.
38:55You know, you've just got to be sensible.
38:58Oh, there's one.
38:59There's a friend.
39:00It came up maybe 10 feet in front of me.
39:03We should leave him alone.
39:06Spectacular, man.
39:07It really is.
39:07This is very different from where I grew up.
39:10We also don't have alligators in the building.
39:16After a successful day scouting beautiful locations, Damien is confident he can go ahead and shoot his movie.
39:24It was a really, really good day.
39:27Just phenomenal being out here, you know.
39:30When Damien fell from a rock face aged 28, he thought his dream of movie making was over.
39:37That one incident, you know, that one moment in time completely changed the course of my life.
39:44It gives you a perspective that most people don't get.
39:4927 years on, Damien's not let his injuries call a wrap on his comeback.
39:54I can either feel miserable about this or I can live life to the fullest.
40:04It's now been nine months since Florida was battered by two hurricanes in the space of a few weeks.
40:13In Apollo Beach, work on Sean and Anya's hurricane-damaged house is finally complete.
40:20They are fully settled back in to what has now been transformed into their dream Florida family home.
40:27Oh, who's that?
40:30And today, they're welcoming back a very special visitor.
40:33Who's that?
40:34Hello.
40:35Their granddaughter, Margo.
40:37Hello.
40:37Welcome.
40:39Huh?
40:39How you going?
40:40Uh-oh.
40:41Look at you managing the steps.
40:43It's such a relief to be back in our own home.
40:47Yeah!
40:50There's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but it's a whole new chapter now.
40:54Are you coming to swim?
40:55Are you going to the pool?
40:56Are you going to go into the pool?
40:57Shall we go and get your wee outfit?
41:05It's wonderful to have our pool back and to be able to take Margo in it.
41:09She just loves being in the pool, don't you?
41:11And you love Nana's glasses.
41:14Don't you?
41:15Margo, she's showing her wee personality now.
41:19She's such a delight.
41:20Hello.
41:21Who's coming in?
41:22Who's coming in?
41:24Papa.
41:25She started to say Papa now, which is pretty amazing.
41:30Where's he going?
41:32Boo!
41:36Ah.
41:39After months of renovations and upheaval, Sean and Anya can finally enjoy life in the Florida sun again.
41:47I really have missed this here.
41:49Where we can relax and let the hair down and just enjoy these hot, hot afternoons.
41:57We worked hard to get to this position.
42:01Are you going to get in?
42:02Yeah, I'll do it.
42:06It wasn't easy, but we can look back and say, yeah, we did it.
42:14Whee!
42:15Whoo!
42:16We're very proud of this house and the home that we built.
42:20Oh, thank you.
42:23Ah!
42:24Yes!
42:25Get him out here!
42:26Hey!
42:27Well, they said this was a 100-year storm, but you know it's going to happen again.
42:31Kick your feet!
42:32Kick your feet!
42:33Kick your toes!
42:35It could happen this year or it might be another 15 years.
42:39If it hits again, we'll deal with it again.
42:41Is that good?
42:43Is that good?
42:47Is that good?
42:49In Groveland in central Florida, the sudden damp ore hasn't dampened spirits at Laura, Diane and Huey's 4th of July
42:57party.
43:00Soaking.
43:02But the passing storm hasn't helped their friend Rodolfo's nerves before a surprise proposal to his girlfriend Avery.
43:10Okay, she's right there.
43:12Ooh!
43:14Well, if you say no, start crying. What else?
43:20Nervous? We're ready.
43:23The path of true love doesn't always run smoothly.
43:26Huey and Diane can certainly vouch for that.
43:30Diane likes an old Elvis song.
43:32True love travels on a gravel road.
43:36We've had their ups and downs and stuff like that.
43:38She said to me, if I had a murdered Jew on the honeymoon, I would have been out a long
43:42time ago.
43:47Oh dear.
43:49Time for Huey and Diane to put their proposal plan into action.
43:53Hello!
43:53Hi!
43:54How are you? Come and get a drink, darling.
43:57What would you like?
44:01You're looking lovely.
44:03The rain's going to ruin my hair though.
44:04I know. I know. The rain's terrible, isn't it? The rain's been terrible.
44:08I understand that there is a lady called Avery. Avery, could she identify herself?
44:19You want to step forward, please?
44:23All right, Avery!
44:26There is a gentleman who would like to ask a question.
44:31For my real life princess.
44:42I have been crying this whole time to find a special moment for you.
44:47Since the day that I met you, everything in my world changed.
44:51You became my best friend, you became my safe place.
44:55And today, I want to ask you, if you want to be the rest of your life by my side,
45:02will you marry me?
45:23I'm shaking. I had no idea anything was going to happen.
45:28Could I ask everybody to be upstanding, please?
45:33And make a toast to Rodolfo and Avery.
45:40That was amazing. Amazing.
45:43Half a century after their own life together began, Huey and Diane have set another young couple on their way.
45:50You set this all up?
45:52Yeah.
45:53All of this?
45:54Well, Laura helped me.
45:56They're a couple now. It is the next chapter of their life. It really is.
46:01Knowing you've helped somebody at the last minute, that gives me a lot of satisfaction.
46:07It does make you feel proud. It does, you're like, wow.
46:12We are going to party till everybody's ready to go home.
46:15It could be Tuesday.
46:20Bye.
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