WILMINGTON, N.C. -- There are "signs" of what's to come as Hurricane Florence takes aim at the Carolinas.

It's hard to find an "open" sign in downtown Wilmington -- though there's no shortage of boarded up shops and restaurants.

"It's a time to come together," lifelong resident Thurmond Burgess said Wednesday, a day before the potentially catastrophic storm is forecast to make landfall. "You see people speaking to each other."

Burgess sees storms differently than most, as he sits with friends outside his favorite cigar shop.

He expects the worst from the dangerous storm, but also sees the best in people during times like this.

"Any catastrophe brings people together," is how Burgess describes it.

Admittedly, he's not like others. He rode out Hurricane Matthew two years ago -- on his boat.

And he said he loved it.

Some, like Burgess, will ride out Hurricane Florence. Many are headed back to Wrightsville Beach for one last check of their homes and property.

A local Walmart closed in the early afternoon after shelves of hurricane supplies and necessities were left bare.

Back at the cigar shop, Burgess offers some wisdom for the days ahead.

"See who you can help, see if there is anybody around you can help," he said.

Mandatory evacuations are also in effect for Wrightsville Beach and the barrier islands as Hurricane Florence continues on its track toward the Carolina coast.

“It's all you can do, we used to board up, since ‘95, said resident Donna Starling, as she grabbed her final belongings to evacuate. 

But there is no plywood on the windows of Starling's beach house now.

“Bertha, Fran, it's just not worth it. We are used to it,” she said.

Starling says the hurricanes damaged her home no matter what she did to protect it.

She has mementos of those storms. Each year is on the wall of her mainland home, along with her children's heights over time.

They've put out sandbags and soil-bags to try and ward off storm surge and flooding.

“Flood doesn't cover us until 19 feet, so about midway up to our second floor, our flood insurance will kick in,” she said. 

The roads are all but deserted on the barrier islands. But will it look the same once the hurricane passes through?

“Unless it sits there for a week and rains on us, we don't want that,” Starling told Spectrum News.

She is hoping that doesn't happen, because the water damage can turn to rot and mold.