Vacation Day 6: GrrrrrrrrrrEarrrrrrrrrl!

Big SIGH.  We had to leave.  Our county was officially evacuated at 8:30AM this morning.  We were in the car, packed, belted in, and home and breakfast-bound right about then anyway, so our decision was clearly supported by local government and the path of the storm.  But only after one last walk to the steps of the pretty, pretty shore on a pretty, pretty morning.

I still can't believe we're home, our vacation cut short (we live just 5 hours from the NC shore).  But it was the proper, safe, and wise thing to do. As the national news is reporting tonight, scary "grrrrrrEarl" is the size of California and it's bearing down on the Outer Banks.  This morning, the only signs of Earl were these clouds, the red "no-swim" flags, and the choppy surf (but no hurricane-force winds or rain, which are expected later tonight).

Even A.'s wondering, as we packed up, "are you serious?  are we really leaving?  explain what a hurricane is again." When asked to say, "bye-bye, oh-shee," A. firmly, firmly retorted, "NO."  Can you blame her?   

If the car wasn't evidence enough, perhaps she noticed the evacuation signs as we left (in - surprisingly - very, very little traffic), a few people (I can't believe there weren't more!) boarding up windows, northern east-coast drivers (wink-wink, New Yorkers) furiously zipping between cars to avoid the hurricane/beach-evacuation traffic along their way home, the farm stands packing up their produce, or the bulldozers hauled in for the storm preparations and aftermath.  Thanks, Earl.