My advice to everyone. Have a plan and have it early. Once this thing (if it gets into the Gulf) gets into the Gulf and they have
a better handle on it look at that cone of error and if you are in it figure out where you will go if the storm
is headed for your area. Make reservations then if you need to. You can always cancel if the storm
heads somewhere else. One word of advise--if you make them
on-line double check with the hotel. This is what I did and so I had my reservation when I reached my destination. But I had
friends who made them online and then when they got to the hotel the rooms had been given to someone else. They did not call
the hotel direct. Make sure you check with the hotel to see if you have a reservation before you head out. Plan to be gone at least
a week. We were gone 10 days but some here were gone over 2 weeks. If you don't have to evacuate, get everything done early to
shelter in place. Stock up on LOTS of water and canned goods. And if you leave take water, food, and flashlights. And don't leave
your pets. We had pets running loose looking for food here (with all of the fences down). If you do
have to evacuate leave at an "off" time if you can. We left at 3:30 a.m. the Friday morning before Rita hit.
Anyway, those are my tips.