Earl was a major bust here as well. The way it got all hyped up and blown out of proportion [typical media] was nothing short of,.....well, pretty funny. I was at home cheapo getting some material Fri afternoon and you could not count the amount of people scrambling around lost, confused and scared buying giant flashlights, batteries even saw a few generators go out the door. On Thurs. or Fri. morning the front page of Newsday, [L.I. major newspaper] showed a satelite image of the storm, 150-200 miles to our southeast, the headline was "TAKING AIM" with a bullseye or crosshairs directed toward the center of the Island. First four pages were all about the storm, could not change the tv channel without hearing !!!TEAM COVERAGE!!! "will be here to help you deal with the storm"...."keep it right here for up the latest updates on the storm"....ferries to Fire Island stopped at 3pm that afternoon, trains had limited service out toward the east end so on and so on. I had camping plans w/ my son for Fri. ,Sat. and Sun night.....I did anticipate some rain Fri. and maybe a little windier than normal. As soon as I got on the road Fri after work [heading east] I was quick to see that there was light traffic for Fri eve. rush hour and all the "eastenders" and "Hamptons Wannabees" were non existant. Excellent, I was home in 22 mins instead of 70 mins. It did not rain a drop, got home , grabbed our gear was at the camp grounds in 5mins....place is empty, got the perfect site right in the corner, deep in the woods, right in the treeline. Not a drop of rain throughout the entire night biggest wind gust was maybe 25 mph, it was actually windier Sat night....So farewell Earl and I thank the media for making my ride home on Fri . an absolute pleasure and getting me the best campsite at the park. To the guys who bought the generators....you fools.....but now at least you've got one, see you on Craigslist
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