Many people from eastern North Carolina are calling Knoxville home for the next few days, waiting out the worst of Hurricane Florence as it approaches the coast.
10News met several evacuees all from Wilmington, N.C. They're in town watching their hometown getting hit with torrential rain and winds. And the storm hasn't even made landfall.
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While the storm is certainly on their mind, the evacuees who made the seven hour road trip to Knoxville are trying to focus on taking their mind off of it by having some fun.
"I'm really glad we picked Knoxville," said Madeline Watson.
She, her husband, and their dog made it to Knoxville from Wilmington Wednesday morning.
"We looked at the map, we knew we wanted to go west," said Watson. "We both had never been to Knoxville and we'd always wanted to come -- so we just decided to make a little adventure of it."
They've made their evacuation into a mini-vacation.
The Watsons are staying at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Knoxville. They said they've felt welcome since their arrival.
"We arrived and they had a new dog bowl for our dog and a handful of treats, so it was perfect," said Watson.
Watson works from home, so she's been getting work done at different coffee spots downtown. But for evacuees like Caroline and Lydia Yermal who have nothing to do, they're excited to explore a new town.
"We really like it, we like the hospitality here," said Caroline Yermal.
She and her sister are high school students, also from Wilmington. School was canceled so they're staying with family friends in Maryville.
"We just wanted to get out and the flooding is supposed to be really bad," said Yermal. "A bunch of my friends, probably 60 percent of my friends have left."
The girls' dad stayed back in Wilmington. They're worried about his safety and the potential damage to their home.
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But all the evacuees staying in East Tennessee knew they had to leave before it got bad.
"We are worried but it's just one of those things where we'll just have to see, you know, Saturday morning," said Watson. "There's nothing we can do about it now."
Nothing except explore their temporary home.
"We've loved it," said Watson. "We'll be back."
Most evacuees say they will start the trek back home as soon as the storm passes.