Honeymooners Endure Hurricane Dean
Newlyweds stay in Mexico despite 160 mph winds.
Aug. 21, 2001 — -- Officials say most of the estimated 60,000 tourists in Hurricane Dean's path evacuated ahead of the storm, but some stayed behind to take their chances, including some newlywed Americans, determined to enjoy their honeymoon.
Dean crashed into Mexico Monday night packing winds of 160 mph. Fueled by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Dean is enveloping the entire Yucatan coast, from Belize to Tulum, to Playa Del Carmen to Cancun.
People up and down the Yucatan coast hunkered down as Dean started to make its way ashore. American tourists who couldn't or didn't want to get out made their way to hotels and shelters.
In Playa del Carmen, there were 12 people to a room in one shelter. Farther south in Tulum, much to the tourists' chagrin, stores even stopped selling alcohol.
One determined couple Paula and Kevin Washington said they had been looking forward to their Cancun honeymoon for months. They arrived Friday to celebrate their new marriage, completely unaware of the coming hurricane. Excited about the honeymoon they had been planning for months, the couple decided to weather the storm.
"I'm a little concerned. The hotel has made me feel safer though. They boarded up, shut everything down, I'm just waiting to see what's going to happen," Paula Washington said.
Beth and Kevin Clawson were married in Cancun on Saturday. Their wedding guests all left the next day, but the couple remained.
"We planned this trip since last January. We've been super excited about it for so long and when we get down here and everyone's talking about a hurricane the past four days. And we've been like this," Beth Clawson said as she held up crossed fingers. The technique worked.
This morning, after the hurricane moved through, the honeymooners were in good health and spirits, reunited by video with Beth's parents in Southaven, Miss., on "Good Morning America." Her parents, Cindy and Bruce France, were thrilled to see their daughter safe and were eager for the couple to get home.
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