Days 69 (after 5 PM) & 70
Orlando to Miramar Beach, Florida
We headed back to our trailer at the end of the day and got an update on Milton. Well, it just keeps looking worse, as they are now calling Milton a Category 5 hurricane. We also were informed by Disney that we need to evacuate the campground by Wednesday morning. We further learned that Interstate 75 (the road we would use to head north) is a parking lot due to all the other Floridians evacuating. We also learned that many gas stations are reporting they are out of gas as people are stocking up. Oh boy! So, we decided, rather than to evacuate on Tuesday (along with everyone else,) that we would pack up and depart Monday evening. We were packed up and on the road by about 6:30 PM and drove north on side roads (primarily hwy 301 and 441) that ran parallel to I-75. Every so often we would catch sight of I-75, and it certainly looked like it wasn't moving, so we continued on our way. We kept checking as we passed gas stations, and they were all out of gas. However, one gas station sold not only conventional gasoline, which contains 10% Ethanol, but they also sold Ethanol-free gasoline for 60 cents more per gallon. This wasn't sold out, so I was able to fill up on this more-expensive gas. Yea! Traffic wasn't too bad on these back roads and we made our way as far as Gainsville. We pulled into a Walmart parking lot, and along with many other RVs, called it a night.
Not a bad place to hole up!
The next morning we got on the road early and made our way along the Florida panhandle until we arrived at our campground on Miramar Beach. Here we would watch the destruction of Milton unfold from a safe distance.