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NAPLES — Rosemary Dillon knew there was a storm brewing.

But the 53-year-old Neapolitan had better things to do Saturday than put up shutters and buy hurricane supplies, even as Hurricane Ike strengthened to Category 4 in the Caribbean, headed toward Cuba.

Dillon’s son was in town visiting and it was time to hit the beach Saturday.

“I actually love storms,” she said. “There’s something about the nature of it.”

Dillon, like hundreds of visitors to Naples-area beaches, decided to take a break from storm preparation for a day of fun in the sun.

Although Southwest Florida gradually began shifting out of Ike’s “cone” as the day progressed Saturday, government officials urged residents to closely monitor the hurricane.

During a budget meeting Saturday, the Bonita Springs City Council declared a state of emergency.

“At this point there are no evacuations or closures in place for Collier County,” a Collier emergency management statement said Saturday. “The Collier County Emergency Operations Center is monitoring Hurricane Ike around the clock and will advise the public of any changes as soon as they become necessary.”

Ike grew to a dangerous Category 4 as it headed through the Caribbean.

Saturday, it took a southwestern shift that would send it over Cuba and the Florida Keys by Tuesday before heading into the Gulf, possibly reduced by Cuba’s mountains to a Category 1 storm.

“These storms have a mind of their own,” Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said after a meeting with mayors and emergency officials. “There are no rules, so what we have to do is be prepared, be smart, vigilant and alert.”

At 8 p.m., Ike’s eye was near latitude 21.3 north, longitude 70.2 west or about 60 miles east of Grand Turk island. Its movement was west-southwest at about 12 mph.

Maximum sustained winds were near 135 mph. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles, with tropical storm force winds extending out 140

miles.

Rainfall was 6 to 12 inches and storm surge was as much as 13 to 18 feet, according to a National Hurricane Center advisory.

Although current predicted storm tracks would spare Collier County hurricane conditions, emergency officials said, tropical storm conditions could be seen in Collier County on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The threat of tropical storm conditions from Ike passing by in the Gulf were enough to boost sales at Sunshine Ace Hardware this weekend.

Kimberly Oswalt, a manager at the downtown Naples store, said the store saw a boost in sales starting Friday.

Oswalt said the store sold four generators on Friday, and received another shipment of generators on Saturday. And while they were out of lanterns, Oswalt said she was expecting a large shipment of goods today.

“We’re stocked up pretty good,” Oswalt said.

George Riden, a subcontractor from Piper Construction, was boarding an office building on Fifth Avenue South on Saturday afternoon.

Riden said it would take him about 10 hours to cover all of the windows, and the building wasn’t his only job this weekend. He had two more jobs in Fort Myers before the weekend was over, he said.

Residents weren’t the only ones preparing for the worst Saturday.

The Bonita Springs City Council declared a state of emergency for the city in the expectation that effects from Hurricane Ike will be felt in Southwest Florida.

Declaring a state of emergency allows the city to focus on preparing and recovering from the storm by relieving the city from the need to fulfill certain duties. It also allows the city more flexibility in the use of funds, City Attorney Audrey Vance said.

“We’re normally required to follow a lot of rules to go through spending,” Vance said. “This allows us a lot of additional powers.”

In an e-mail announcing the declaration to the Lee County Emergency Operations Center, Vance said she hopes the declaration will expire without need or use.

Collier County commissioners are scheduled to hold a special meeting to discuss Hurricane Ike at 1 p.m. today in the boardroom on the third floor of the administration building at the Collier County Government Center, 3301 U.S. 41 East.

Naples City Manager Bill Moss said the city is prepared to declare a state of emergency, but plans to wait to see what commissioners decide.

Moss said Naples City Council will not have to hold a special meeting to declare a state of emergency, because the city charter gives those powers to the city’s mayor.

Collier County officials said in a statement that residents need to continue to monitor the storm and prepare an evacuation plan, in case Ike’s path changes.

“It is important for residents to monitor storm updates regularly due to the changing nature of the predicted course of the storm. It is still very possible that Hurricane Ike could strike Collier County and require evacuations and closures,’’ the statement said.

Anyone needing to register with the county’s Special Needs Program for sheltering may call (239) 252-8000 between 1 p.m and 4 p.m. today, they said.

Residents of the unincorporated areas of Collier County, Marco Island, and Everglades City with piles of Tropical Storm Fay-related debris which remains to be collected are asked to call (239) 252-2380 and report the location of the debris pile no later than today.

Staff Writer Matt Clark and wire services contributed to this report.