Sept. 7: We did not have a mandatory evac order when we left on September 7th. We wanted to get ahead of the gridlock. I-75 North was already wall to wall, and the gas stations along the route were out of gas. We decided to take Hwy 19 north, a road less traveled. Once we made it to St. Petersburg it was smooth sailing. Do you see the little red line north of St. Pete that follows the Gulf coast up? That is Hwy 19. We followed it to 319, turning west through Tallahassee, then north into Alabama. We were avoiding Georgia, because that was where the I-75 gridlock was all heading. We didn’t even have trouble getting gas. Dave had a full gas can we kept in the back of the car, just in case, but once we hit the Alabama border we gave it to the first guy we saw at a gas station.
We snapped this pic at a gas station outside Montgomery, Alabama. They are heading to Florida.
Sept. 8: We spent the night in a hotel in Alabama. This is the 11 am latest model, and today a mandatory evac was issued for Tampa and all points south including Sarasota. Irma strengthened back to Cat 5. The models Michael has been following and sending us have been accurate so far. He told us last night they were predicting a re strengthen for Irma.
This is a screenshot of our traffic map we are using on the road. The red is gridlock. So glad we left yesterday!
Sept. 9: This is the latest track. We are leaving Kansas City for Denver right now. I am praying for all y’all that stayed behind. It is still not too late to leave.
We are the blue dot!
Goodbye Kansas (finally)! Hello Colorado!
We met Steph and Sarah’s families for supper in Loveland. Red Robin? Then we made it to Kellie’s late. Thank you Kellie! I love my family!
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