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Post by Memo on Aug 29, 2019 22:09:40 GMT
Our son is in Orlando/Kissimmee area in the Disney College Program. We're from Arizona, so this storm is freaking me out. Our son has high-functioning autism, so I'm trying to get him to understand the gravity of the situation, but he's more worried about his free time, oof. I know that they'll be safe at their Disney apartments (or so seasoned parents have told us), but I really wanted him to sign up for the ride out crew for his resort so I know he would be safe, have a generator and lots of food! I've sent him supplies via Amazon, but hoping it's enough.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Aug 29, 2019 22:54:27 GMT
Some basic info: -If you cannot get sandbags, fill heavy duty plastic bags with water and tie off tightly. You can take heavy duty plastic bags (like leaf bags) and cut them open on the long edges. Pull open. Put in front of the lower 1/4 of your door on the outside. Tape -- with duct tape -- the bag to the door. Then put the water bags on top of the plastic against the door. This will help prevent any water egress from the bottom of the door, which seems to be the most common issue. -Also, if you cannot buy water, fill up containers you already have -- no need to buy! -Get granola bars and other snack items that do not require cooking. Try and eat any perishables you have in the fridge before teh storm comes and you lose power. -Put any outside stuff inside if you can -- avoid it becoming a projectile. -If you do live in a mandatory zone, I would recommend paying a lot of attention tomorrow and consider leaving before you are forced. From experience, I can tell you that if it starts to look bad by Saturday am, the highways become parking lots, gas is hard to find (and then is nowhere to be found), and hotels raise their room rates (yes, that is against the law and they do it anyway). By hte time evac becomes mandatory, shit is very deep - do not wait for it.
I am picking up and going to my dd on the gulf coast as the current model shows the east coast being hit. Although we do not live in a mandatory evac zone, I have sat out enough hurricanes now to know that if I don't have to, I don't want to. So I am leaving tomorrow before the roads get impossible and gas cannot be found.
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zella
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,884
Jul 7, 2014 19:36:30 GMT
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Post by zella on Aug 29, 2019 23:41:35 GMT
Thankfully I was able to get a flight from Tampa to Atlantic City for Saturday morning. Glad to hear that, Jen. Are you in Tampa right now?
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Post by jenjie on Aug 30, 2019 0:15:39 GMT
Thankfully I was able to get a flight from Tampa to Atlantic City for Saturday morning. Glad to hear that, Jen. Are you in Tampa right now? Right now I’m on the auto train passing through Rocky Mount, NC. My destination is Hudson, FL. Dropping Dd off to college. I was supposed to stay til Monday and fly out of Orlando. Spend the weekend getting Dd settled and and visiting with friends.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 2:04:15 GMT
I am in Jacksonville. Just moved here last year. Trying not to freak out, but I have no idea what to do to get our house prepared. If it looks like it is coming anywhere close to us, we are leaving. No freaking out necessary, but some knowledge and preparation is key. You could download the app for your local news. You could download a list of things to keep in a hurricane kit or bin if you're staying home. We left 2 years ago when it was coming straight for our area here. We drove to Pensacola and then Alabama, for safety. Depends on what zone you're in, knowing the evacuation routes, etc. Our complex here doesn't allow us to even tape our windows so we felt like we were sitting ducks. We're a bit prepared though. We have enough bottled water (25 gallons), a shortwave radio, food we don't have to cook, candles, current meds, masks in case the air/water is tainted, candles. These are the staples that most people down here have. Honestly, we've only created our bin after the last major hurricane here (we're here for 8 years). Just keep up on the weather so you know what to do! Good luck. BTW, we still don't know if it'll hit the east coast, or go south and curl up around the gulf coast again. We're watching; not freaking out. I'm from NY, where we don't freak out about hurricanes.
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 2:11:56 GMT
Not good timing for us. If it heads to SW Florida there's no way DH or I can put up the hurricane shutters (DH - hip replacement surgery, and me with my swollen eyelids from surgery yesterday. Neither one is supposed to be bending over.) If it hits the Atlantic coast that should slow it down enough for us. I'm hoping it just veers in a northeastern direction and becomes a fish storm. There are still a few blue tarps around here from Irma, thanks to insurance company issues. I don't remember which town or county of FL you live in, but if you were near us, we'd help out if we could. DH & I are in a similar medical position. I'm having surgery in Tampa on the 5th so I hope it'll still be on. And DH has a PET scan set up at Moffit soon too (& probable major surgery soon). We can't physically do too much, but we made sure to have the meds we'd need for a week. I hope that you can get help if you need shelter. You could call SHINE and ask for suggestions (or have your husband call). Wish we could help you!! Be safe!
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 2:24:52 GMT
This is dd’s college orientation weekend. Her school is a half hour from Tampa. I was scheduled to fly out of Orlando Monday morning but the school is encouraging parents to leave Saturday morning. i want to fly out of Tampa Saturday or Sunday morning. ] I tried calling spirit yesterday and they said they couldn’t help bc thy didn’t have a weather advisory yet. Now they do. I’m currently on the auto train waiting to leave the station. We are just hanging out for another hour before we take off. It’s so quiet in here - our car is almost empty, which means we can stretch out across two seats later when we want to rest - but it’s so quiet I’m afraid to get on the phone and disturb the other passengers. How stupid of Spirit airlines when FL has already been deemed an emergency for this weekend. I think it'll be all cleared out after Monday or Tuesday, depending on the water levels and damage. They should have just changed the orientation at this point! Hope it all goes well. We're about 45 min from Tampa if you need anything!!
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Post by beachbum on Aug 30, 2019 2:24:53 GMT
Not good timing for us. If it heads to SW Florida there's no way DH or I can put up the hurricane shutters (DH - hip replacement surgery, and me with my swollen eyelids from surgery yesterday. Neither one is supposed to be bending over.) If it hits the Atlantic coast that should slow it down enough for us. I'm hoping it just veers in a northeastern direction and becomes a fish storm. There are still a few blue tarps around here from Irma, thanks to insurance company issues. I don't remember which town or county of FL you live in, but if you were near us, we'd help out if we could. DH & I are in a similar medical position. I'm having surgery in Tampa on the 5th so I hope it'll still be on. And DH has a PET scan set up at Moffit soon too (& probable major surgery soon). We can't physically do too much, but we made sure to have the meds we'd need for a week. I hope that you can get help if you need shelter. You could call SHINE and ask for suggestions (or have your husband call). Wish we could help you!! Be safe! Thank you so much, you are so sweet to think about us when you have so much on your plate. We're a couple of hours south of you, in Cape Coral. I grew up in Indian Rocks Beach, closer to you. I'm not worried at this point, I doubt that we'll get more than a 1 or maybe a 2. A 1 would be a longer than normal summer thunderstorm! We've had some major storms this summer (when the news reports 600 or 700 lightning strikes in 15 minutes you know you won't have to add water to the pool!!! Only thing that gives us pause is a storm surge - the houses across the street from us are on the Caloosahatchee River. 15 foot storm surge would be a killer for us. If it looks like a surge is coming we have friends we can stay with that are away from the river. I hope all goes well with you and your surgery goes as planned. Will be thinking about you.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 2:31:42 GMT
We haven't been in our house quite 6 months, and we're already facing our first hurricane! Doesn't look like there's any need to evacuate. We're outside of Tampa, inland and elevated 60+ feet, so we should be fine. We have most of our supplies already. We still need cash and to check our prescriptions status. We need to bring in the stuff on our patio. We don't have any trees on our lot, but our back neighbor does, so we'll have to be aware of that. We've ordered an alternative to sandbags from Amazon; they should be here tomorrow. We're only allowed 10 sandbags from the county, and we have 3 sliding glass doors onto our patio plus the garage and the front door, so ten sandbags wouldn't do much. We're currently draining some water out of the pool. Our neighbors have lived here for 20+ years and they all say they've never had any major damage from hurricanes. Right now I'm glad we chose Tampa and not the east coast! We're on the Gulf coast, right outside of Tampa also, and lived here for 8 years. I don't buy that about the gulf coast not getting slammed from hurricanes, tornados, etc. like the east coast does! With the last hurricane (Irma), there were many houses ruined right here!!! Water levels were very high, draining was terrible, and we're not even in the most vulnerable zone. That being said, I hope you don't get damage and you're safe. Just keep tuned into local weather bc anything could happen. And BTW, our rental insurance and our car insurance both increased after the last hurricane bc USAA said that FL was a "high risk" area for storms and damage.
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 2:34:37 GMT
I don't remember which town or county of FL you live in, but if you were near us, we'd help out if we could. DH & I are in a similar medical position. I'm having surgery in Tampa on the 5th so I hope it'll still be on. And DH has a PET scan set up at Moffit soon too (& probable major surgery soon). We can't physically do too much, but we made sure to have the meds we'd need for a week. I hope that you can get help if you need shelter. You could call SHINE and ask for suggestions (or have your husband call). Wish we could help you!! Be safe! Thank you so much, you are so sweet to think about us when you have so much on your plate. We're a couple of hours south of you, in Cape Coral. I grew up in Indian Rocks Beach, closer to you. I'm not worried at this point, I doubt that we'll get more than a 1 or maybe a 2. A 1 would be a longer than normal summer thunderstorm! We've had some major storms this summer (when the news reports 600 or 700 lightning strikes in 15 minutes you know you won't have to add water to the pool!!! Only thing that gives us pause is a storm surge - the houses across the street from us are on the Caloosahatchee River. 15 foot storm surge would be a killer for us. If it looks like a surge is coming we have friends we can stay with that are away from the river. I hope all goes well with you and your surgery goes as planned. Will be thinking about you. Thank you!! Glad you have friends down here!! I still can't even talk about the lightning here since we lost our neighbor /friend to that hit on Clearwater Beach recently. We all have a bit of sadness + PTSD when lightning hits now.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 2:40:12 GMT
Glad to hear that, Jen. Are you in Tampa right now? Right now I’m on the auto train passing through Rocky Mount, NC. My destination is Hudson, FL. Dropping Dd off to college. I was supposed to stay til Monday and fly out of Orlando. Spend the weekend getting Dd settled and and visiting with friends. Sending you a msg!!!
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Post by quinlove on Aug 30, 2019 2:43:09 GMT
Florida peas ~ please, please, please be safe. Sending good vibes to all of you. ❤️
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Post by jenjie on Aug 30, 2019 2:57:57 GMT
This is dd’s college orientation weekend. Her school is a half hour from Tampa. I was scheduled to fly out of Orlando Monday morning but the school is encouraging parents to leave Saturday morning. i want to fly out of Tampa Saturday or Sunday morning. ] I tried calling spirit yesterday and they said they couldn’t help bc thy didn’t have a weather advisory yet. Now they do. I’m currently on the auto train waiting to leave the station. We are just hanging out for another hour before we take off. It’s so quiet in here - our car is almost empty, which means we can stretch out across two seats later when we want to rest - but it’s so quiet I’m afraid to get on the phone and disturb the other passengers. How stupid of Spirit airlines when FL has already been deemed an emergency for this weekend. I think it'll be all cleared out after Monday or Tuesday, depending on the water levels and damage. They should have just changed the orientation at this point! Hope it all goes well. We're about 45 min from Tampa if you need anything!! Well they have a few hundred students and parents who already made travel arrangements so I don’t fault the school. But I’m not happy with *Spirit (edit - I accidentally said Southwest n was quoted. My mistake!) . I ended up calling from the train. I was on hold almost an hour and the more time passed, there were no flights available. I’m fortunate that I’m between Philadelphia and Atlantic City and AC was an option. Otherwise I don’t know how soon I would be getting home. And the boys start school Wednesday. I’m mostly irritated that I did my due diligence by calling yesterday, got the runaround, and got stuck on an earlier flight than I would have preferred.
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Post by jubejubes on Aug 30, 2019 3:06:52 GMT
But I’m not happy with Southwest. I ended up calling from the train. I was on hold almost an hour and the more time passed, there were no flights available. I’m fortunate that I’m between Philadelphia and Atlantic City and AC was an option. Southwest is a great airline and they really cannot be blamed for having you put on hold for a longer time period. It would have been easier for you to go to their website and make a reservation. I have had reservations on a SW flight and needed to make changes. I made them and then later that day, when it wasn't as busy at the call centre, I called and the agent was able to sort everything out. As long as it is done within 24 of booking, they are great to sort things out.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 3:07:12 GMT
How stupid of Spirit airlines when FL has already been deemed an emergency for this weekend. I think it'll be all cleared out after Monday or Tuesday, depending on the water levels and damage. They should have just changed the orientation at this point! Hope it all goes well. We're about 45 min from Tampa if you need anything!! Well they have a few hundred students and parents who already made travel arrangements so I don’t fault the school. But I’m not happy with Southwest. I ended up calling from the train. I was on hold almost an hour and the more time passed, there were no flights available. I’m fortunate that I’m between Philadelphia and Atlantic City and AC was an option. Otherwise I don’t know how soon I would be getting home. And the boys start school Wednesday. I’m mostly irritated that I did my due diligence by calling yesterday, got the runaround, and got stuck on an earlier flight than I would have preferred. Sent you a msg with my contact info. I'm literally 2 min from Hudson if you need anything!!!
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Post by jenjie on Aug 30, 2019 3:16:30 GMT
But I’m not happy with Southwest. I ended up calling from the train. I was on hold almost an hour and the more time passed, there were no flights available. I’m fortunate that I’m between Philadelphia and Atlantic City and AC was an option. Southwest is a great airline and they really cannot be blamed for having you put on hold for a longer time period. It would have been easier for you to go to their website and make a reservation. I have had reservations on a SW flight and needed to make changes. I made them and then later that day, when it wasn't as busy at the call centre, I called and the agent was able to sort everything out. As long as it is done within 24 of booking, they are great to sort things out. Sorry I have no idea why I said southwest! I meant to say Spirit. I see what you’re saying though. I’m not a traveler really and this is my first solo flight. I was afraid to book a new flight when I needed to reschedule the one I already had. I didn’t want to get charged for 2 flights. However if they hadn’t blown me off yesterday this would be a non issue.
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Post by jubejubes on Aug 30, 2019 4:01:51 GMT
jenjie So glad that it wasn't Southwest. Spirit is well known for not being customer friendly. Their schedules are difficult to work with, as they only fly into their various airports on certain days of the week and not daily. They are a budget carrier and I would only travel with them if they were the only last possible option. I was told by a Spirit customer agent that fares are even cheaper if you go in person, well in advance, to the airport to book your trip. Apparently even cheaper than booking on-line. Safe travels!
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Post by jenjie on Aug 30, 2019 4:07:41 GMT
jenjie So glad that it wasn't Southwest. Spirit is well known for not being customer friendly. Their schedules are difficult to work with, as they only fly into their various airports on certain days of the week and not daily. They are a budget carrier and I would only travel with them if they were the only last possible option. I was told by a Spirit customer agent that fares are even cheaper if you go in person, well in advance, to the airport to book your trip. Apparently even cheaper than booking on-line. Safe travels! Thanks! 😊
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 30, 2019 4:37:40 GMT
Thankfully I was able to get a flight from Tampa to Atlantic City for Saturday morning. My daughter-in-law is just outside Tampa... You 'knew' her DH... Wait, how old is your DD.? My grandsons are almost 19 and 21.. Seriously I have flown Frontier from Trenton/Mercer into both Tampa and Orlando. Only had one delay issue a few years ago.. No fancy interior of planes.. They also fly in and out of Philadelphia... They charge for things just like Spirit does... Nice staffing!!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2019 4:50:29 GMT
Life long south eastern Florida resident. Been through many storms and it is very unpleasant. We are still about 2-3 days out and there is no way to predict absolute landfall. Think of Hurricane Andrew which was predicted to hit the Florida Keys. Residents evacuated north to Homestead and Florida City, the storm turned and that Category 5 storm made a devastating landfall in Homestead/Florida City. So far they are thinking landfall will be around Brevard County due east of Orlando which is 120 miles or so north of West Palm Beach. Way too soon to say. One thing, please, please avoid drinking alcohol during a storm. My D/H was a deputy sheriff and the stress/alcohol fueled accidents and issues were tremendous. Plus, you need every ounce of judgement and wits during the storm as emergency services are suspended once the wind speed increases to a designated speed. Hate this but it is the price for paradise..... Stay safe! I live in Brevard County. This storm is expected to make landfall 10 miles from my home. Wow! That map. Be safe!
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Post by jenjie on Aug 30, 2019 8:46:06 GMT
Thankfully I was able to get a flight from Tampa to Atlantic City for Saturday morning. My daughter-in-law is just outside Tampa... You 'knew' her DH... Wait, how old is your DD.? My grandsons are almost 19 and 21.. Seriously I have flown Frontier from Trenton/Mercer into both Tampa and Orlando. Only had one delay issue a few years ago.. No fancy interior of planes.. They also fly in and out of Philadelphia... They charge for things just like Spirit does... Nice staffing!! How are they doing, revirdsuba99?
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Post by cade387 on Aug 30, 2019 10:03:45 GMT
Stay safe everyone!
I’m supposed to fly into Orlando Wednesday at noon for work. This ought to be interesting.
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Post by Merge on Aug 30, 2019 10:37:21 GMT
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Post by pierkiss on Aug 30, 2019 10:45:21 GMT
I am in Jacksonville. Just moved here last year. Trying not to freak out, but I have no idea what to do to get our house prepared. If it looks like it is coming anywhere close to us, we are leaving. Don’t freak out, and please do listen to authorities as to whether or not you should evacuate. Roads around population centers need to be left open for those who absolutely must go. Do buy bottled water and non-perishable food. Make sure you are stocked up on batteries and that your flashlights are working. Have candles, too. We like to have portable charging banks for our phones all charged up and ready to go. Fill your car’s tank with gas and withdraw cash from the ATM. If you can afford it and live in a hurricane prone state, a portable generator and a couple of full gas cans are not a bad idea. We also keep box fans to plug into the generator if we are without power. Have a cooler ready for perishables from the fridge/freezer. Put a bag or two of ice in the freezer as well. If you have a propane grill, make sure you have propane. Take in or secure any loose items in the yard or on the patio. Put your important documents and most valuable items in a box for easy removal if you have to leave quickly (also scan these items and save to the cloud in case you have to leave without them). Put your cars in the garage before the storm hits. Figure out where you will go in case of tornadoes. Buy lots of wine and beer. Stay as calm as you can. ☺️ If you are looking for batteries and can’t find any at the grocery stores, look at Toys R Us. (Or other non-hurricane related stores). One year while we were there a cat 2 was projected to come close in our area. Everyone freaked out and raided the stores for the usual things. My husband and I realized we didn’t have batteries so we went looking for them in different directions. I randomly happened to be at Toys R Us buying some things for my clients. I was waiting in like to check out when I spied a large rack STUFFED with batteries. I was so happy! 😂. I bought tons.
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Post by ljs1691 on Aug 30, 2019 13:32:25 GMT
I am in Jacksonville. Just moved here last year. Trying not to freak out, but I have no idea what to do to get our house prepared. If it looks like it is coming anywhere close to us, we are leaving. I am another NE Florida girl. Moved here 4 days before Irma two years ago. The biggest problem with Irma was the flooding. There will be more bottled water and bread etc. coming over the weekend. Also consider using Amazon to order water today if you are completely freaked out. I am happy to help you in any way I can since I am in the area, feel free to pm me if needed. We will get rain and wind, no matter which direction this thing goes after landfall. if the projected path holds, you can just think of it as a very long severe thunderstorm. And if we are super lucky it will just turn and go away.
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Post by birukitty on Aug 30, 2019 13:38:58 GMT
Stay safe all of you Florida Peas. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you until this hurricane passes.
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Post by cme37 on Aug 30, 2019 14:05:51 GMT
I am in Jacksonville. Just moved here last year. Trying not to freak out, but I have no idea what to do to get our house prepared. If it looks like it is coming anywhere close to us, we are leaving. I am another NE Florida girl. Moved here 4 days before Irma two years ago. The biggest problem with Irma was the flooding. There will be more bottled water and bread etc. coming over the weekend. Also consider using Amazon to order water today if you are completely freaked out. I am happy to help you in any way I can since I am in the area, feel free to pm me if needed. We will get rain and wind, no matter which direction this thing goes after landfall. if the projected path holds, you can just think of it as a very long severe thunderstorm. And if we are super lucky it will just turn and go away. Thanks. I did finally find some water yesterday at Publix. When I picked up my son from school, stopped at the gas station close by and got to the pump and they had just run out of gas. I had filled up a few days ago, but was going to top it off like everyone at my works keeps telling me. I'll try again today when I leave work. We pulled all of our patio furniture in last night. We live a half mile from the beach, so we are in a mandatory evacuation zone if they call that. Right now we are ready to leave quickly if we need to. We might just go on up to Nashville to stay with my sister-in-law. They have already cancelled my work for Tuesday, so we can just make it a mini vacation.
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zella
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,884
Jul 7, 2014 19:36:30 GMT
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Post by zella on Aug 30, 2019 14:07:33 GMT
Stay safe everyone! I’m supposed to fly into Orlando Wednesday at noon for work. This ought to be interesting. With the storm having slowed it could be Tuesday before it even hits Orlando; at least that's what they're telling us down here in Florida. I'd be prepared for that trip to either be cancelled or postponed; flights are already being cancelled, and it will get much worse over the next few days. I feel bad for all those that had labor day weekend plans. At least it was a work trip not a vacation, right?
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 30, 2019 14:49:53 GMT
My daughter-in-law is just outside Tampa... You 'knew' her DH... Wait, how old is your DD.? My grandsons are almost 19 and 21.. Seriously I have flown Frontier from Trenton/Mercer into both Tampa and Orlando. Only had one delay issue a few years ago.. No fancy interior of planes.. They also fly in and out of Philadelphia... They charge for things just like Spirit does... Nice staffing!! How are they doing, revirdsuba99 ? Doing ok, thanks......
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,129
Location: New York, NY
Jun 26, 2014 18:02:19 GMT
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Post by christinec68 on Aug 30, 2019 14:58:54 GMT
I hope everyone here and with family/friends in Florida are safe.
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