I was a teenager and my family had just moved to Pensacola from the Midwest. It appeared to be heading toward us initially, and then turned toward St. Pete, where my grandparents, now deceased, lived. They lived right on one of the canals so they were evacauated, which they thought of as a great adventure.

While my grandparents were camping in a high school, we headed out for a fun day at Pensacola Beach. I remember it was very windy and the sand stung when it hit my skin. What a surprise when the authorities came down to the beach with bullhorns and announced that Elena had turned and was once again headed for us.

My parents are Florida natives so they weren't overly concerned, but I was scared out of my mind and stayed up all night listening to news radio. Since it was at night, I don't remember seeing much, but our power never did go out, and there wasn't a lot of debris to pick up in the yard either.

I've lived in Orlando for many years now and I thought Charley was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced, esp. since I had very young children at the time. Oh, and we had huge messes to clean up, incl. many large trees down in our neighborhood after the 2004 hurricanes. Elena in Pensacola was nothing compared to those storms. (By the way, my parents have moved back to the Midwest, where they have to contend with blizzards, not hurricanes!)