Ugh! Good luck OO, Tandoori, and all others in the path! And Godspeed to all the disaster responders, police, firemen, and ambulance workers.

Been busy getting the kids off to school. Accuweather says 75 mph, glanced at the news this morning, and it said 85 mph.
Does anyone know if the plane has been out since this morning and we've received an updated forecast?

Good luck to Olive Oyl and Tandoori Girl, and all our friends affected by this weather!!! Please do what you must to stay safe and sound! We lived through Hurricane Fran here in Raleigh (turned at the last minute - so unexpected!) a few years ago............ NOT fun to experience. STAY SAFE, all!

From an interview with a holidaymaker in a news report about the hurricanes:

"I've never been in a hurricane before," a US visitor from Las Vegas told the news agency. "I'm kind of excited."

I hope the cameras are still on him/her when Bonnie/Charley get to wherever they are. Their excitement may fade away fairly quickly!

A day or two after a blizzard in 1989, I went to get groceries when the streets were cleared. I couldn't figure out the big gaping section on one of the shelves until I read the tiny tag underneath. All the prune juice was sold out!!

After that same storm, one of my co-workers said, "There wasn't a nacho chip to be found!"

As a labor and delivery nurse, we all heave a collected sigh when a large storm is approaching. We know in 9 months time that we will be working overtime to keep up with the storm babies.

To everyone in the path of the storm(s)... be safe, dry, and warm.

I have a great little Italian deli near me with loads of great gourmet goodies. The owner commiserates every hurricane when everyone goes to Publix and buys out all the pork n' beans. Jeezo, I'd hate to be eating those beans for a couple of days. What's everyone thinking?!? Go for the gourmet stuff!

I've got so much work to do, I'm wrapping up a budget that was due last week. So I'm going to settle in. I was in my house last time (1985) and didn't evacuate. I'm four blocks from the bay and the water got high two blocks away but it was fine where I am (C zone -- so I don't have flood insurance, gulp).

My La Quinta reservation is for Friday -- and yes, I knew when I booked it that it was the 13th, the clerk and I both laughed at that.

At my Sunset Beach rental (TI), we've not had any flooding since we bought the house. I can only pray that this is not our time.

Everyone be safe. Know your evacuation routes. Know the safe spots in your house (small bathrooms are good). Fill your tubs with water. Stay clear of fallen power wires. Charge your cell phones.

Most important -- have your pets close at hand if you need to evacuate. NEVER leave them behind.

Now -- back to the budget.

We're charging up our two way radio's as well. Taking one to my parent's home and keeping one with us, as we'll be staying nearby at my brother's home.
If the phone lines go down, I'm hoping we'll be able to check on our parents using the radio's.

So much for my plan to settle in with my budget. I'm off to the beach to sandbag the door. The tenant says the word is that TI and the barrier islands will be forced to evacuate. I plan to pile the furniture on the beds and tables and counters and hope for the best.

OO, landfall's not expected until 2P tomorrow. You'll surely have time to take care of the boats.

Be safe, all.

Those of us in HurricaneLand a little farther up the eastern seaboard are keeping fingers crossed for y'all. Stay safe!

A couple of last minute tips:

Have your car filled with gas.

Have plenty of food and bottled water for your pets.

Keep your important papers close by in a waterproof container.

I would go ahead and throw a couple of blankets and/or sleeping bags in the car in case you need to evacuate quickly.

Good luck to y'all and hope you know we are thinking about you. Stay safe and dry!

Update from Sunset Beach (Treasure Island):
Well, Tandoori and Blacktie, there is practically zero beach on our Gulffront to hold any surge back. We are scheduled for renourishment, but it hasn't arrived yet. Meanwhile, Bonnie has whipped up the Gulf to surfer frenzy level, so there's no wiggle room on our beaches. I'm trying not to worry. Just heard that it's been 80 years since Pinellas has had an actual direct hit. Is that good or bad? I've lived here (3 houses from the Gulf) for 21 years and have only been evacuated once, in the 80's, for Elena. Lots of near-misses but no actual evacs. Hope our luck holds out again. Irony: my kid was supposed to camp on Ft DeSoto all weekend. I have a Priceline res at the Hyatt downtown Tampa for Sunday night HA! should have made it Friday and Saturday, eh?

The shelters here are a joke - only as a last resort. We will take our pets, our daughter, our parents, and go to our seafood restaurant inside the city - at least we won't starve right?

Stay safe everyone! God Bless.

One more, get some cash. ATM's won't work if the power is out.

TG, the SS Beach folks are a tough lot, as noted, so they will survive quite nicely. I trust the more risk averse managed to get some sleep, we're only just into the H season, four months to go. Too soon for H burnout. BTW, is Jeb still in state, or has he gone right to higher ground?

Joan, they just rebuilt that beach less than two years ago. Yes, you are scheduled for more rebuilidng. Good luck, and don't wait too long to head inland. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the SSB luck will hold. Take care.

TG...The only thing we should have done that we didn't was get the sails off and they are way too much for me to manage alone. They are lashed but that's it. DH isn't even thinking about the boat now I'm sure--the least of his worries. Aside from buttoning this place up, unless things change we'll have to move our guests elsewhere. I am happy to say our palms got their hurricane haircuts yesterday. We've got some that tower over our casita and had been flinging fronds and berries everywhere recently.

Still hoping that if it moved west during the night last night, it'll keep moving further west now and it won't be so bad. I don't know when high tide will be around the beaches...it's at 1 PM on the bay, an hour or two before Charley is scheduled to pass, and to make surge matters worse, we are alomst at a new moon so tides will be extremely high under the best (non-hurricane) circumstances.

Was thinking about you Joan. I hope you and your home are safe! Birder too with her new home, and Hibiscushouse.

OO, posted a boat message for you.

joan, if you haven't had a direct hit in over 80 years, you still aren't due. Every 100 years is the average.

If max sustained winds are over 70mph for a direct hit, I would evacuate.

I was in Hugo.

First, you hear the trees start to snap. Then you wonder if they'll fall on your house. Then you lose power.

It's not fun and it is the worst thing I've ever lived through. No way jose.

I feel sorry for all those residents in the keys not leaving. Especially Key West. They are four feet above sea level with zero protection from storm surge.

Hate to sound like doom and gloom but this is serious.

I think this will make or break any of us Florida Newbies...the Yankee is watching the weather channel or some such, I am thinking of what to pack in a water proof box, how much dog food to pack and where is all my jewelry that I hid ????
OO...we are 4 hours away if you need to come in this direction.
Thank you everyone for all your kind responses, for your encouragement, for your advice based on having Been There!
Some people experience through life, some through reading about it...I wish I were just reading about this one, but I will endeavor to be as cool and strong as the rest of you AND you know who you are!!
Stay safe and I do hope that we all show up here in a couple of days, laughing about how those Two Storms Blew Right Past Us ~~~
love and be safe!!!
Scarlett

Ugh, sounds like they expect it to be a nighttime storm. :( I hate those!

Joan
Just remembering the month we stayed on TI and daily walking Sunset Beach and buying fresh seafood at your restaurant to take back to our condo and cook. Hate to think of all that beauty being damaged but mostly just pray for your, Tandoori Girl and everyone's safety, especially with the double wallop of Charley being close behind and a definite hurricane.
Olive:
How do you prepare your lines for a 10' surge? No way! Good Luck!