Disclaimer: this is definitely a non-food post and somewhat of a rant.

Hurricane season is in full swing right now, with Hurricane Florence making landfall along the North Carolina coast at the moment. At this time just last year, my family headed up to Raleigh, North Carolina to escape Hurricane Irma, which thankfully, left just minor cosmetic damage to our house (but unfortunately, didn't spare my family back home in Puerto Rico).

Mandatory evacuation orders geared up this past Monday for coastal areas in Charleston and we went ahead and packed for the inevitable. I used to be very nonchalant and even insensitively dismissive about hurricane evacuations. Having lived in Charleston most of my life, we're used to crazy storms and flooding every year, and to me, any storm under a category three isn't worth the time, money, and trouble of having to leave.

That mindset definitely changed after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and impacted my family directly. Now, I try to leave as soon as we have orders to. Seeing what happened last year changed me. My family is still working through what the hurricane did. Puerto Rico still doesn't have power. Some people still don't have homes. Some people don't have jobs and hundreds of thousands have fled the island and moved stateside. Almost 3,000 people died.

What I'm finding though, is that some people don't understand just how difficult it is to evacuate and are quick to judge those who choose to stay. Making blanket statements, sharing memes, and "jokes" about natural disasters. You need money to leave. You need time off work to leave. And if you work an hourly job (like most of us do) and that job is staying open during the storm (insert eye roll), you won't make the money you need to leave if you don't have much saved. You need food. You need fresh water. You need a place to stay. And if you have children and pets, multiply the mouths you need to feed and bodies you have to take care of on top of that.

There are so many factors that come into play with literally picking up what's important to you and having to escape your home. Caring and having empathy is what makes understanding this easier. Respect people's decisions and try not to judge them. Show a little compassion. I'm trying to make the best of what's happening now and thankfully, we had a place to go and the means to get here. I'm grateful.

So, I'm spending time with my family in Anniston, Alabama and hanging out until we get the green light to return back home (the hurricane is set to start impacting us today and tomorrow). I don't plan on sharing any new recipes while I'm over here since I'm kinda unplugging a bit from the kitchen but I will be sharing some good food finds while I explore town; I've got my eye on a few hole in the wall joints and found an amazing gourmet food store just yesterday that I scored some goodies from.

And if you've read this far, thank you for checking in. I'll make sure to keep everyone posted on my whereabouts as soon as we get back home. At that time, new content will be available for sure!