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 We have been watching the weather models for more than a
week and it was not pretty. It was becoming clear that Wilmington would
be in some kind of trouble. When the GFS and EURO models began to
converge and the possibility of a Cat 4 storm could come up the Cape
Fear, we decided to evacuate. We secured Jule, the house, and the RV as
best we could and headed to a La Quinta (pet friendly) in Cary NC.
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 We stopped by Bennett Brother Yachts to perform
a last check on Jule III (picture was before canvas and sails
removed). She looked good; she was high off the water; the yard was
secured; and we were off to Cary.
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 So our
bags are packed, litter box full, wine boxes,
clothes stuffed, and our brains spinning. Why Cary? It is relatively
high, not in the direct path of Florence, and has a cat friendly place
to stay.
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 We not the only one here. There are a dozen
utility trucks and crew from Georgia that may augment the local utility
companies if needed (and they were). As Florence penetrated the
interior, winds in Cary ranged from 30-50 kts.
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 Miss Denise was always there to ensure that the quests
were comfortable. We never lost power and we always had a warm
breakfast. During breaks in the rain bands, we walked to the Harris
Teeter and the Walmart which we less than a 5 minute walk.
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 Bob and Mattie set up our command post
which was geared for monitoring weather, river stages, and road closures
(and there were many)By the weekend, Wilmington was isolated as air,
road, and rail travel was not possible due to wind damage and massive
flooding.
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We brought all of frozen food from the house as it was
likely that power would be lost in Wilmington (and is was out for four
days in our neighborhood). Ann brought our George Foreman so we cooked
chicken, pork chops, salmon, and hot dogs (not all at the same time).
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 On Tuesday, Bob was in the command
post and discovered a possible open route from Cary to Wilmington. He
used a combination of NC DOT maps, Google Maps, and Waze. Within two
hours, we were packed and rolling. Six hours later we at the house.
The next day, all routes were closed again.
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 Coming to the house was stressful. We found trees down, some minor damage to the house and a 'totalled' RV. Boat was OK but full of leaves and small branches. Thank you Bennett Brothers Yachts for the great care and work!!!
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 Music City Landscaping (Nashville TN)
responded to our Home Advisor query. Orlando said that he would be there the next day to provide an estimate. We hoped he was a man of his word. Well, guess what? He was! After the quote was discussed, Orlando's team and stuff showed up. They cut down the trees, divided them into manageable loads, and hauled everything away. All on time, no gouging, and even heard a couple of Orlando's tunes (he is also a composer and singer).
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 Then came 'Daddy', the stump man. He was Orlando's man with the stump removal machine. Neat machine. It was fun to watch the machine shred large stumps in a matter of minutes. Though the area is now naked as 9 tall trees are gone, we have a plan once we get back from the Voyage. Wait and see.
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 The sad conclusion to Florence was saying
goodbye to our Rialta RV. GEICO was very kind on the insurance payout but still was sad to see our beloved RV heading to the junk heap. We previously empied our camping stuff out her closets and stowed them in the garage. Sad!!!
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