You guys have it much worse than we do, with only 1 way out of the Keys until you get to my area. I don't blame you one bit for deciding to pack up and get out with an infant. I'd do the exact same thing. Thankfully, we dodged a bullet once again with Charley. Now lets see what TD 5 does over the next few days. This is going to be a long hurricane season.
Our house was built after Andrew and has all the upgraded hurricane standard upgrades. We've said I will pack up the animals and leave for anything over a 4. Unfortunately my husband will not be able to evacuate with me because he's considered essential personel at his job (Turkey Point Nuclear).
I almost left Thursday morning to go to Palm Coast (just north of Daytona). When I saw that the 18 mile stretch was closed for a wreck, plus looked at the updated forecast, I decided it was more dangerous to try to leave than to stay. We had a good illustration of what can go wrong with the stretch being closed and if the storm coming across the Atlantic looks ugly later in the week, the baby and I are definitely going to see Grandma!