As Hurricane Wilma took aim at the south Florida peninsula, residents there took no chances, evacuating, once again, from the comforts of their homes. Many have ended up in the Coastal Empire, looking for temporary shelter.

It's not just evacuees staying in our town, but people traveling from the North to their winter homes in Florida, all hoping they have something to return to.

The Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum in Pooler is seeing a lot more visitors on this dreary Monday, and it's not just because of the rain. It took the Brooks family two days to evacuate from Florida ahead of Wilma.

"We were doing 45 miles per hour," said Harold Brooks of Fort Myers. "It was stop and go."

The family packed what they could and left, not knowing how long they'd be gone or if there would be anything left to return to.

"We took just about everything with us," said Dee Brooks. "Important papers, extra clothing. Anything we could think of, we put in the car."

Michael Amalfitano was in New Hampshire and had just started driving back to his home on Jupiter Island when he got word the storm was going to hit. Now he's stranded until the hurricane passes. "We're now awaiting some word we can get back on the island, because they raised the bridges on both sides. So until they go up and let us on the island to asses the damage that we have."

Amalfitano is fortunate. He traveled down in a motor home, but his neighbor James Payson had to quickly work to extend his time in a downtown hotel. "As soon as I heard about the storm, before I even got here, I arranged to keep the room until Wednesday," he said.

Which gives them another day to let the storm pass. But both families say, although they enjoy the Hostess City, they're looking forward to going back to Florida. "Hopefully tomorrow we can head back home, and hope everything is okay when we get there," said Dee.

Some of the south Florida towns and islands actually have hotlines and websites for residents to go to, to check and see when state officials will lift evacuation orders and allow them back in their cities, such as www.fla-keys.com.

Phone numbers, links and more in stories we told you about on WTOC.

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