Newbie here - getting out of the path is rarely a bad decision from my few years down on the eastern NC coast.

I'm in the central piedmont/foothills region of NC now so this storm looks like it will pass more or less directly over us after making landfall. Not nearly as bad as being on the coast but depending on the size and speed of the storm (like Hugo, Bertha and Fran in past years) it will still drop a lot of rain and can still have a good bit of force when it gets to us. Less of the severe damage but still a lot of trees down and the related power lines and power outages. So my preparations are in gear and started this past weekend - adding to the water stores, canned/dried goods, extra propane for the grill, gas for the generator should we need it, extra ice in the freezer, plenty of charged batteries and fresh primaries for lights and radio, storing furniture and loose outdoor items, checking for clearly loose limbs and getting them down now, fuel in the vehicles in case we need to move to the inlaws home around 20 miles away (they are also in the path but may have power if we don't)etc...