Our home in Saint Petersburg, Florida received a mandatory evacuation order today because of hurricane Irma! Fortunately I am writing this from Auburn, Alabama as seen in the picture of us outside our hotel below because my wife suggested on Tuesday that we would be better leaving Wednesday well before anything was issued or the track of the storm was more probable to hit Florida. We set out yesterday amidst more uncertainty as gas stations were just starting to run out of gas but fortunately I had filled up to full two days earlier and we have a hybrid Toyota RAV4 which gets 30 MPG highway even in traffic. In just 42 more "easy" payments of $909 I will actually own it :)
To escape hurricane Irma, we left Wednesday September 6, 2017 before nearly anyone else was ready to leave in our area. We drove from Pinellas county Florida to Auburn, Alabama yesterday as a halfway stopping point to visit my mom in north Mississippi near Starkville on Friday. The drive according to the GPS would have taken about 6 and a half hours the night before with no traffic. As I packed my studio up and loaded the car, we began our drive at 12:30 pm. We arrived at our hotel at 11 pm our time which technically was 10 pm CST after sitting through 3 and a half hours of traffic even with taking side roads that diverted another hour of the traffic jam.
Today as the mandatory evacuation order came in for where we leave, we now sit over 300 miles away. I am very grateful we took the leap of faith to leave before it was more certain that it would be a good idea to do so. All the gas stations have gas and the stores have plenty of supplies in Auburn. On the GPS, traffic looks about as bad as yesterday so far to drive up here with over 50 miles of interstate being at nearly a dead stop according to Google maps.
When will we be able to return to our home? When will I get to use my studio again? I am not sure when or if I will get to see my home filming studio again! Until then will be releasing videos I already filmed along with making new ones on the road starting with this post!
In the picture my wife took just a few minutes before this (followed by me taking at least 10 minutes to figure out how to crop it in the previewer on my macbook pro), I am in the middle of the glamorous process of trying to get both of my dogs to poop on the little section of grass outside the hotel while encouraging my daughter to find something better to do than look in the dog waste trashcan! She is going down for a nap now and here I am on the computer again!
Thank you for sharing my journey with me and I hope you have a wonderful day today!
Mississippi Meetup?
If you would like me to do a Steem meetup within the next week or two near Columbus, Mississippi, would you please ask in the comments below because if we have a few of us, we can meet up while I am nearby?
Love,
Jerry Banfield
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I have mandatory evacuation too but i think im going to stay
Don't forget toilet paper - everyone stocks up on milk and bread. But you REALLY need tp too! ~ from a Harvey survivor. God bless...I'd leave. Houston only has one coast - you have two. It was ugly. Stay safe!
Okay ill try to get some if there's any left at the store today.
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i think obeying the instruction will pay you more.
Hope you be safe ! Sounds like this is going to be a mayor Storm!
wishing you well!
Thank you !
Sup neighbors this storms gonna be exciting
Yeah !
Be safe!
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When the biggest, most furious hurricane on record is moving in your direction, you run. Braving it out, especially if you have children, is just not the right thing to do.
Leaving Florida was the right decision!
Yes like boxing better to avoid taking the punch!
Hey ,
Very interesting read, Thanks you for sharing it!
Get the family, the dog and the computer
Computer first though :P
Exactly the plan!
I am glad that you and your family are safe and that you decided to leave early to avoid the chaos of everybody leaving at the same time. I hope that the hurricane will be gentle on your house.
Thank you Michel I hope so too!
The mandatory is only for those next to the water, but we are leaving on Saturday morning early. we had a cruise planned for several months before this happen.
I graduated from Auburn in 1972, by the way, and my mom was born and I have many relatives in Aberdeen, Mississippi.
small world
I hope all will be good while we are gone, and will see you when this is all over.
Johnny
Amazing how close the connections! Good luck with the drive Johnny and definitely leave early! We had 3 hours of traffic even yesterday coming from Saint Pete!
Thank you, and 3 hours is not too bad. Our only worry is that the airport might close Saturday, so looking for a backup plan now.
So glad you made the right move to keep yourself and your family safe Jerry .. The Steemit community loves seeing you daily on Steemit and your safe move has assured us that we will continue to see you regularly :) Tony and I will be praying for the safety of your home and belongings .. remember, SUNSHINE247 love you!!!!
Thank you @sunshine247 :)
God Bless Friend .. SUNSHINE247
Phewph! Im glad u all got safe and early enough to miss the stamped and panic when everyone else leaves. Really sorry u have to be uprooted like this ;( houses in florida arent made to fit the climate and are so vulnerable ... if only u all had earth bermed earthships you wouldnt have to leave or be without power or amenities when the grid goes down.. one day i hope we all start building with peoples needs in mind and not just profits!
Yes Alex this is making me want an earth ship in another state even more! My wife @laurabanfield and I talked about the possibility of living out of Florida someday for the first time this week!
ooooh! what a change that would be.. did u ever visit Portland Oregon? I used to live there.. u might really like it!!!
I'm staying here in Sarasota. I have hurricane shutters for my house, so should be ok barring any tree falling on my house. Glad you are very safe!
Good luck Mark and I will hope to hear from you after it comes through!
Thanks, Jerry!
meep
really bad, i wish all those hurricanes will stop! :(
Oh dear, I hope it's all okay soon!
Me too Tomas! Grateful we left before it is coming through!
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oh gosh! stay safe!
Those hurricanes have left so much damage in their wake it's dreadful. Sorry you had to leave your home but you are among the fortunate who can escape to somewhere safer. I'm sure you realise that anyway. Your little daughter is doing something that all normal kids do - they're curious! Stay well, stay safe.
Thank you @jvalentine!
Hope it all goes well.
I'm so glad you got out of there early, Jerry. You did the right thing. Loving your little one. She is definitely yours :)
:)
My aunt and uncle evacuated a few days ago from Ft. Lauderdale. Stay safe dude.
Thank you @monogrande!
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@jerrybanfield I have been following you at YouTube!Its now due to you that I have joined the steemit community.I just want you to take some time off from your busy schedule to plz plz read my above post and tell me,how is it?I want to get your exert advice.It would be a great honour if you do this.
I'm so glad you're in a safe place!
Thank you @luckysteem!
I'm in Celebration and staying we will see if I have any windows left.
Is Celebration the Disney designed town? Walking and bicycle friendly layout. I read about that with interest in The Geography of Nowhere.
Stay safe! Kind of glad I didn't move to FL just yet this one looks like a big one! and go figure kids try to get in everything and anything they should not haha
HI Jerry, I am new to Steem , but I am a fan of yours from youtube videos. My husband and I really like your energy and information. I hope you and you family are safe and can return home soon. I voted for you! Be well! :)
And people scoff at preppers?
Wish you the best Jerry!
Could you reach out to me some how please?
[email protected]
Would like a 10 minute chat with you, thanks my friend!
Would you use https://clarity.fm/jerrybanfield to schedule a call because this is the way I make available to have a short call?
Stay Safe @jerrybanfield :)
Saying a prayer for you, your family and your home right now @jerrybanfield.
I stayed through hurricane Charlie a few miles from where it made landfall and it was a category 4. Needless to say, it was terrifying. Smart choice to leave, good luck to you and all Floridians!
Congratulations @jerrybanfield!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following categories:
Lol. Why don't you come up with a new home and new shit
Stay safe, stay positive.
What the child are looking for? ha
at least they r telling people to evacuate
Irma is mean. Leave before she shows up
Opss, Stay safe dude :) So where will you be leaving and would you be able to post? :P
Scary, good luck to you... we vacation in Sebastian, FL in the winter so we'll be keeping an eye out there.
I was wondering why I didn't see as many posts from you. Glad you guys are safe and wish the best for everyone there!
Glad that you are safe man, hoping for the best! Good luck, thanks for sharing #keepsteemin
simple but fun...
@
Smart wife. Get out while the getting is good. I wish you well and hope you get home (to an undamaged home) soon. Good luck.
Hola amigo buenas tardes buen post la verdad me parecio interesante espero ver mas asi de este interes nada ya me pasare a visitar mas post tuyos feliz jueves y un saludo desde españa
I am glad you left and are safe. This storm has the potential for so much destruction that it's better to be safe than sorry. I saw one model showing it will travel straight up the middle of Florida and another traveling up the east side. Either way, it doesn't look good.
Always best to be safe. Good to hear beside to not stick around. I am still waiting to hear from a friend in Miami area if he is taking his family somewhere safe. Stay safe.
I hope everything will go well... just be Safe
So scary! Glad you guys are at a safe distance & hopefully Irma doesn't rage too badly. Let us know!
Glad to hear people are evacuating and not trying to be heroes..
I feel for you. I'm living in Indiana, but lived through hurricanes Rita and Ike in South East Texas and watched as friends in family from Victoria, TX - Lake Charles, LA clean up from the devistation of Hurricane Harvey.
Stay safe. Hope there won't be much damage to your property.
I hope it turns out well for you and the people you know.
Glad to see you are safe! Take care
Me and the family are going to tough it out in Margate Florida(got no where else we could go). I have to say we are preparing as much as we can for the worse but of course hoping for the best.
anyways all the best Jerry, stay safe
Hey jerrybanfield I'm watching Irma on the news from the Southern tip of Africa. I hope not much is lost when you return home. Safe travels.
Wise decision, Jerry! Stay safe.
Stay safe!!
Nice foresight from your other half