September is a great time to travel – the shoulder season. You typically get good weather and fewer tourists. If it weren’t for the damn hurricanes!

Two years ago we took a trip to do a Danube river cruise with our good friends to celebrate milestone birthdays. In mid-September. While out of the country, our fellow travelers/friends had to deal long-distance with near hurricane conditions back home and worry about their house flooding. They vowed to never travel in September again. A year ago, Wayne & I scheduled a trip to the Languedoc region of France for this same two-week period. As a hurricane hit the southeast and we were flying out, our (same) friends were headed to our condo to hunker down with their two cats. They were forced to evacuate their island home off of Savannah for another hurricane. This year, Wayne & I planned our long-anticipated research trip to Portugal for mid-September.  So, it should be no surprise that hurricane Florence decided to draw a bullseye on the Carolinas for the same dates. We were scheduled to fly out Monday night. The heavy rains were to arrive in Charlotte Friday night and continue into Monday with 8-12 inches and devastating flooding expected. Gas stations were running dry and stores sold out of water. Duke started drawing down Lake Norman in anticipation of all that water. When American airlines sent an email saying we qualified for flight changes with no change fees, I jumped on it. We moved up our flight out from Monday night to Friday morning. We started laundry and packing with less than 24 hours to take-off. I tied up as many work-related loose ends as time would allow. We scrambled and found a place to stay for the extra 3 days on the front side of our already-booked vacay. We headed to the airport just as the hurricane came ashore on the coast and winds started picking up In Charlotte. For me, this kind of spontaneity is rare. I over-plan everything. I have frequent nightmares that involve missing flights, losing my passport, or forgetting to pack for a trip. It was bumpy as the plane fought through the thick clouds on take-off, but we breathed a sigh of relief when our flight left Charlotte for Philly.