We arrived in Charleston knowing Hurricane Charley was down in Florida. Since it was a 20th-anniversary trip, we didn't want to cancel--and we thought the odds were that it wouldn't make it our way... but it almost did.
By the time we reached Savannah 4 days later, it appeared certain that Charley would make it there about the same time we did. We arrived in town about 8 hours ahead of the hurricane. The hosts at our B&B greeted us with, "We tried to call and tell you not to come! But now that you're here..." and then graciously hosted us in their lovely home anyways. Figuring we might not get a chance to see the city the next day, we uncharacteristically took a Gray Line tour of this beautiful, charming, romantic city (which, despite the gray skies, was terrific--and a great way to spend a rainy afternoon).
After dinner, we thought we'd be riding out the storm in our street-level guest room, fully supplied with flashlights, coffee, etc., our car parked on the high side of the street. But overnight, Charley turned out to sea, leaving a beautiful blue cool day the next morning, and the city nearly empty. Thinking the surf at Tybee Island might be impressive, we drove out to the shore. The weather and the ocean were gorgeous, but hardly as storm-tossed as we expected.