Sep 6, 2008 11:52 pm US/Eastern
South Florida Feels Touch Of Optimism
HOLLYWOOD (CBS4) ―
The weather was picture perfect Saturday in South Florida; it gave everyone an excuse to temporarily blot Hurricane Ike from our collective minds.
Saturday started with long lines at the gas pump and ended with people feeling a bit of cautious optimism.
With each update from the National Hurricane Center it seemed less and less like we were in the bull's-eye of the storm.
"Be cautious, beware, but I don't feel as bad as I felt yesterday," Stephen John remarked as he took a stroll along Hollywood's famous broadwalk.
Roger and Martina Kornmayer, who live on South Beach, felt so relieved that they drove with their kids to Hollywood beach for a night out.
"We were thinking about buying airplane tickets and leaving with the kids. I don't want to be here in a hurricane, so I'm glad we don't have to leave now," Martina Kornmayer told CBS4's Joan Murray.
That's music to the ears of Jordan Leib, who runs a bar and grill on Hollywood Beach. Now Leib is cautiously optimistic. While he serves up customers, he's keeping one eye on Hurricane Ike's projected path. Each change in the forecast is the difference between a profitable night and a bust.
"If the big one is coming, they're going to prepare and not come to the beach," said Leib.
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