# Putting The Pieces Together



## Capt. Kris Kelley (Jun 2, 2004)

*Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Ghost Writer Free - Authentic Mid-Coast

1-888-618-4868 - TEXT 361-648-3474 E-MAIL: [email protected]*

We're coming up on 6 months since Hurricane Harvey dominated the headlines and impacted so many folks. News cycles these days move quick and yesterday's tragedy can sometimes be a distant memory. Here just off ground zero I'm constantly reminded that folks are still putting the pieces back together. Construction and roofing are still going on here; some institutions like Barkett's Restaurant will never reopen. On an adjacent property, a relative of a Seadrifter is living in a travel trailer behind their business because she lost everything in Rockport.

So when I was approached to provide the backdrop for a wedding here at the lodge for some folks that lost it all in Rockport, my reply was let's do it! The amount of work and logistics in a wedding is unbelievable so offering the lodge was the easy part. The following piece was written by their best friend and Maid of Honor, Mrs. Candice Maddux:

_My 2 best friends got to have the most amazing gift bestowed upon them yesterday! Neither one of them is materialistic or selfish by any means, so when hurricane Harvey ransacked our hometown in Rockport just 2 months before their wedding date... destroyed their home, demolished the wedding reception venue & mangled the front yard of the Fulton mansion where they were planning their ceremony & tear down their home what other choice did they have but to cancel their beautiful day???

She returned her perfect dress, called off the photographer, cake, decor... they had to scrounge every penny to find a new home. Thankfully, after a few months they were able to become first time home owners & things were getting back on track... but by 2018 they still werenâ€™t married.

My wonderful, amazing, & unconditionally loving mother could not stand to see my 2 childhood best friends not get the day they deserved. She called in the cavalry, & boy did they out do themselves! My famous uncle Troy gathered his extremely talented troops & got the photography/cake/ & wedding decor donated!! He made beautiful flower arrangements, & Iâ€™m sure much more behind the scenes magic that I donâ€™t even know about!

My mom, Betsy, got the Venue donated by Kris & Wendi Lorraine Kelley at Castaway Lodge; she organized the DJ; funded by Beviâ€™s siblings; Shaunna, Crystal, Robert, Heather & their families. She put in all the man hours & minor details to make the day perfect!! She cooked all of the side dishes funded by Ryan & my dadâ€™s catering provided the delicious BBQ! My mom also paid for our hair to get done by my hairstylist, Tiffany Gonzalez & she did a beautiful job!!

The Judge who married them heard about their story on Facebook & graciously gifted her services to them as well!!

All in all, it was such a beautiful day for such deserving people whose only desire was to have their close friends around while they celebrated their love for one another. & a few small town heroâ€™s made that possible for them!
I could not be more thankful for the day that my newlywed best friends received & none of this would have been possible without your love & support!! Please know how eternally grateful I will forever be for these gifts for them!_

We were proud to help out these folks and like so many that lent a hand to people they didn't even know, it's what makes Texans unique. The Texas Coast can be a brutal place and the natives have the scars to prove it.

*Capt. Kris Kelley
President/CEO
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
1-888-618-4868 *


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## BayouBonsaiMan (Apr 14, 2009)

Beautiful! Thanks for helping make their memories!


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## BretE (Jan 24, 2008)

Outstanding!!!


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## Capt. Kris Kelley (Jun 2, 2004)

Thanks for the kind words guys! Tight lines.


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