Shoppers Crowd Stores On Eve of Hurricane

By all accounts, it was a busy day for local grocery and hardware stores. With the eye of Hurricane Irene glancing somewhere in our general direction,  

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Irene is expected to bring drenching rains and high winds to the Fredericksburg region on Saturday and Sunday before moving north, up the eastern seaboard. 

King George resident Neil Richard said his wife attempted to shop at Wegmans and Costco early yesterday afternoon. "It was the busiest she's ever seen it," wrote Richard on Twitter. 

Local resident Amber Paul-Warren said that her husband had to go to four different gas stations in the area before finding on that had fuel to sell. He eventually found gas at the Giant on Route Three. 

Fredericksburg resident Ryan Brosmer was in Wegmans between in the early evening. He reported a smooth but crowded shopping experience. 

"It's packed but they have a lot of people working the registers and things are running smoothly. They didn't look as barren as other stores I've seen," said Brosmer via Facebook. "Traffic is the worst thing right now."

Fredericksburg resident Colby Jurgensen captured photographs of nearly ransacked, but still supplied, shelfs of batteries at the Lowes on Route 17 during the evening rush hours. 

Several people reported the Sheetz gas station in Central Park, which boasted the lowest gas prices in the city yesterday according to Mapquest

As the evening wore on, crowds lightened but still lingered at many grocery stories. 

"Wegmans is way better now than earlier," reported Gayle Branham Price on Facebook. "They are still putting out more wine and watermelons. What else do you need?"

Fredericksburg resident Jess Sine said that Wegmans is "crazy picked over," but reports that things are quieter in the organic section. 

"I have seen a few people moving their carts like someone's taking a cattle prod to them," wrote Sine in a text message. "Then there are those that are just wandering like me. The registers are pretty busy though." 

A quick look around the sea of shopping carts at Giant turned up what one would expect: bread, water, milk, and non-perishables. But not everyone would fall into that trap.

For Matthew Park and Greg Desalvo, avoiding the rush meant venturing off the beaten path of emergency preparedness. 

"We figured that people are going after water, so we decided to go the opposite route and stock up on beer," explained Park. 

"I've heard that hurricane parties are in this time of year," added Desalvo.