Baldwin Co, AL (NBC 15) — With a powerful storm approaching the Gulf Coast, travelers are packing up their belongings, cutting vacations short and hitting the highway. While some are leaving the area, others are driving hours toward the coast to retrieve boats and recreational vehicles before conditions deteriorate.
NBC 15 caught up with several travelers at Buc-ee’s in Baldwin County on Thursday, where people shared their concerns about the approaching storm, evacuation traffic and the difficult decisions facing those with property along the coast.
For Andy Paige, October is supposed to be her great escape.
Every year, she packs up her camper and travels from Vermont to the South while her husband spends the month hunting.
“My husband hunts the month of October, and I come south, and I’m usually here every year for the month of October,” Paige said.
Paige typically spends the month of October at a campground in Mexico Beach, Florida. But this year’s vacation took an unexpected turn just days after she arrived.
She said campground staff began warning visitors Monday about the approaching storm, while persistent rain had already put a damper on her trip.
“To be honest with you, it’s done nothing but rain the entire time I’ve been here. It’s been awful,” Paige said.
The approaching storm isn’t Paige’s first encounter with dangerous weather during her annual trip south.
“This is my second time to have to evacuate. Last year, I was caught in a tornado, the worst experience of my life,” Paige said.
Paige originally planned to head east but reconsidered after seeing forecasts suggesting the storm could move in that direction.
Instead, she decided to take her camper to Mississippi, where she plans to park it while waiting for conditions to improve.
But there’s another wrinkle in her travel plans: college football.
Paige has tickets to the Alabama-Georgia football game and said she is preparing for the possibility of rainy conditions if the game goes forward.
“I bought some ponchos, and I bought some rain boots,” Paige said. “If the game is not going to be called, I will be there.”
For Paige, the uncertainty extends beyond the storm itself.
She said campground staff warned her not to return until she contacts them to confirm conditions are safe, citing concerns about power outages, road damage and bridges that could become inaccessible.
Despite the interruptions, she’s determined to make the most of her time in the South.
“I will find another campground and enjoy the south as long as I possibly can,” Paige said.
While Paige was heading away from the coast, Shane Herrington was traveling in the opposite direction.
Herrington said he drove from Georgia to the Gulf Coast to collect a boat and RV before the storm arrives.
“We came down from Georgia to grab what we could before the storm hit and head back,” Herrington said.
He said forecasts, emergency declarations and concerns about possible bridge closures convinced him that it was time to make the trip.
Herrington also described heavy traffic as motorists headed north, saying the roads were already filling with people trying to leave the region.
“Coming down from Georgia on 85, it is nothing but gridlock going all the way back to Georgia,” Herrington said.
He said the family owns six lots in the area and rents additional lots. Beyond retrieving the boat and RV, he wanted to check the properties and make sure everything was secure.
The plan was to collect what they could and return to Georgia rather than risk becoming stranded as conditions worsened.
Herrington said he also noticed other seasonal visitors making preparations to leave.
“Even the snowbirds are trying to get out of there,” he said.
However, not everyone he encountered was planning to evacuate.
Herrington said he spoke with a neighboring couple who intended to remain in the area through the storm.
He encouraged them to stay alert and consider other options if the storm became more dangerous.
“I talked to her for a minute. It’s like, hey, you know, just be safe,” Herrington said.
For Herrington, the decision came down to protecting his family’s belongings while there was still time to travel.
Joel Tallant was another traveler making a special trip to protect his property.
Tallant keeps his boat in Orange Beach and said his insurance company advised him to retrieve it ahead of the approaching storm.
“My insurance company said, ‘Hey, go get your boat.’ So we came,” Tallant said. “I arranged everything to come down here and get it, take it back home.”
Tallant said his wife works in the maritime industry and had been aware of preparations underway at the Port of Mobile.
He said vessels and equipment were being moved or secured ahead of the storm, which reinforced the family’s decision to get their boat out of Orange Beach.
“She was like, ‘Hey, it’s time to go get the boat,'” Tallant said.
Although making the trip required additional time and fuel expenses, Tallant said he considered those costs a worthwhile precaution.
“It’s better safe than sorry. So it’s a lot of money to sit there to get blown away,” he said.
He said he would rather spend money on fuel than face the possibility of losing an expensive piece of property.
Tallant also expressed concerns about possible bridge closures if strong winds developed.
He said he wanted to retrieve his boat before travel became more difficult and before the heaviest evacuation traffic developed.
“We were just trying to get ahead of it, trying to get ahead of most of the traffic,” Tallant said.
While some people may decide to leave their boats where they are, Tallant said he wasn’t willing to take that gamble.
“For me, I want to go be safe,” he said.
Tallant plans to keep his boat away from the coast for a couple of weeks before returning.
And his trips to the Gulf Coast might not stop there.
Tallant said he owns Diamond J Construction and could return to the region for work following the storm.
“Between personal and business, I will be here,” he said.
Different reasons for leaving, one common priority
For Paige, the storm means putting a much-anticipated vacation on hold. For Herrington, it means driving from Georgia to secure family property. And for Tallant, it means spending additional time and money to protect his boat.
Despite their different circumstances, all three travelers are making preparations before the approaching storm creates potentially dangerous conditions.
Some are hoping to return within days, while others are waiting to see what the storm leaves behind.
As coastal communities prepare, residents and visitors are encouraged to follow official forecasts and announcements from emergency management agencies regarding evacuation recommendations, bridge restrictions and road conditions.
For travelers already on the highway, the goal is simple: get their families and belongings to safety before the worst of the storm arrives.
