Just our luck that we'd have our travel itinerary skewered by not one but two hurricanes. Our current plan is to let them blow through, then get on the road to the North Carolina beach house. We'll get there about a day and a half late, and we'll miss out on the Orlando stoppover with Joe and Phyllis -- but at least we'll avoid storm-driving.

Besides, it's not a disaster area around here -- we spoke to Joe Nebraska today and he hasn't been summoned by the Red Cross to stake out the Gulf Coast.

So, we'll be hiding out the storm here, at Spumoni Gardens South. There's already a big pot of tomato sauce on the stove. And the Cinzano is already flowing. Oh, and it's raining.