Hurricane Wilma

Latest Advisory
Hurricane Wilma is projected to come to or closer to Tampa than previously thought according to 6am National Hurricane tracking center. Landfall is now projected to be sometime Saturday night. Of course this still all depends on the Alaska front that is movin down. Mary & Larry have some of the most unusual entertainment at their rally's Oh well, guess from there we will just go for that "Road Trip" to the north if needed.
Derek aka Mindcandies

Latest Advisory
Hurricane Wilma is projected to come to or closer to Tampa than previously thought according to 6am National Hurricane tracking center. Landfall is now projected to be sometime Saturday night. Of course this still all depends on the Alaska front that is movin down. Mary & Larry have some of the most unusual entertainment at their rally's Oh well, guess from there we will just go for that "Road Trip" to the north if needed.
Derek aka Mindcandies

[Cookestwo]

Copied from Bay Bayou post ...

We've decided to stay home. Wilma now has winds of 175 mph and a Category 5 status. They are predicting Rain Bursts, Extremely High Winds and Isolated Tornados.

Our primary concern is the heavy traffic which will be caused from the mass exodus of those folks fleeing from the south. The thought of high winds and rain is not too appealing especially with a car in tow.

Wouldn't you know it? We are finally ready to tow our car and now this. Maybe we'll just tow it around the Villages for practice.

Be safe and we'll see you in November unless there's another rally before then.

[Half Dimes]

The way it looks right now, counting today, we should have at least two good days and nights. By Friday morning we should know for sure where the storm is going, and make a decision for the rest of the weekend. We're leaving in about an hour. Hope to see some others...

CherU you will be heading south, they will be heading north. What's the problem? If the storm comes we will all be heading north so you can caravan with the rest of us.

Derek aka Mindcandies

[C Driver]

We are definitely watching Wilma as the 11 am projections put it into Florida around Cape Coral and out around Fort Pierce, with a center path just South of us ... All in all not going to be a very fun weekend !

[TXiceman]

Hey folks, wish you the best with the storm...Those RV's have wheels for a reason...Roll north....

Ken

[Captain Bud]

Hey You all down there, don't wait until the masses start hitting the roads. If I was there and I had an RV I'd be gone today and go as far North as I can. I guess my old Navy training comes to bear, get underway and clear the impacted area ASAP..

[Cookestwo]

If we would have come to the rally, we would have been heading SOUTH to get there, but would eventually have to head NORTH to get home. We're not crazy about driving in wind and rain with a MH. Not worth the stress.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mindcandies:
CherU you will be heading south, they will be heading north. What's the problem? If the storm comes we will all be heading north so you can caravan with the rest of us.

Derek aka Mindcandies </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Doris]

Hope it misses y'all! We are heading down to Orlando Monday, and just like last year when our flight got cancelled because of a hurricane, we'll just have to see where it's going to end up. Take care and stay safe.
Wish my niece would evacuate the Keys..makes me nervous thinking of her there.

[Lady Nyrtle]

Well, six adventurous couples arrived early today for the rally. We're expecting up to three more to come in tomorrow and two more on Friday. We hope you five who aren't here yet will keep in touch - I'll post here and call as needed when we decide whether we're staying put or launching off on a road trip together. Nothing like an impromptu caravan to Georgia!

We're all watching the weather reports carefully and will be getting together tomorrow morning for coffee, coffee cake (I have a new one I just had to make) and strategizing. This campground is beautiful and right on Tampa Bay, so we may be evicted if the county orders evacuations in this zone. They have been very helpful about working out payment for just the nights we wind up staying, and so forth. Of course, knowing that the office help's spouses are busily getting their own rigs roadworthy is a bit unnerving.

Doris, we need to coordinate so we don't continue to bring these things down on top of us by us being in the state during hurricane season and you planning to also be here. Hope all works out for your trip down here, and that your daughter pays attention to the evacuation orders in the keys.

Captain Bud, we appreciate your concern. This may well be the first leg of a road trip. Most of us who are here are either from an area that is in more danger than Tampa appears to be at the moment, or we have open storage of our rigs and try to move them out of the area when hurricanes threaten. We are in the middle of one of Florida's most densely populated areas and are keenly aware that we need to try to avoid traffic tieups if we decide to leave here early.

Ron and Cheri, Tom and Dee: We certainly missed you here tonight, having looked forward to seeing you for so long, but think you have made sensible decisions for your situation.

Stay tuned. Our first wagonmastering attempt is taking some interesting turns. Kind of reminds me of a dinner party we gave once during one of Tampa's intense summer thunderstorms, where the 'entertainment' turned out to be lightning hitting a house across the canal and catching it on fire - it went up about like the ones you see on TV! Hmm...

[Cookestwo]

Hey, Boomers:

Glad you are having a good time. Wish we could be with you and see the campground. We were really looking forward to it.

Take care and we'll follow your adventures via iRV2 postings!

[Lady Nyrtle]

Wilma looks like less threat to our area today. So now we're pretty sure we'll be here until at least Saturday morning, and really expect we may get to stay for the whole rally.

Audi and I just spent about three hours kayaking on the inlet that goes out to Tampa Bay. We didn't quite make it to the mouth of the Bay, but we're thinking maybe tomorrow. A glorious sunny day with just a hint of a breeze. We went out with the tide, waited for it to change and then came back in on it. Only took one wrong turn finding our way back to the campground through the mangrove hammocks.

Come on down - your spots are waiting for you!

[erpa]

We sat out both Frances and Jeanne in our house last year. Planning on doing the same with Wilma this year. Trouble with Hurricanes is that no one really knows where they are going until a day or so before and sometimes they (Hurricanes) change their minds in the last few hours, like Charley did last year.
I would rather be home than to be stuck somewhere in traffic. Last year neighbors of ours left to go to GA, they were stuck on the road for hours and they finally decided to cross the median and return home .Most people don't have the luxury of leaving several days before.