Storms

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 70 degrees, high 88 degrees, cloudy and windy early, severe weather after 1400 hours with tornado watches, high wind, and torrential rainfall

We did not do any work at Terri's house today because we needed to do some chores around the RV. Also, we were tired and felt we needed to take a break from the work that seems to never end. After a rather quiet morning and lunch at home, we were able to do some mediation. The meditation has been missed, and this is the first day that we have done it in several days.

After the meditation, we went to Terri's house and picked up Thomas' cell phone and his baseballs and bats. He goes to spend the weekend with his dad Tom every 2-3 weeks, and this weekend was a week to go with Tom. After picking up his stuff, we went into Tuscaloosa to the library to return books and check out others.

Then it was on to the school to pick up Thomas and take him up I-59 about 20 miles to meet his dad, who lives in Athens, Alabama. We were waiting at the school for the kids to be let out when it occurred to me that Thomas should have already been released. I walked in to the office, and discovered that the school had not released the kids unless a parent or other responsible person picked them up because the area was in a tornado warning. It looked weird to see all the kids sitting on the floor in the halls. The school's policy when severe weather is occurring or imminent seems to be a good one.

I signed Thomas out and we left, going north on I-59 to meet his dad. Behind us as we traveled were black, ominous looking clouds. The radio was giving updates on the weather, and it was apparent that bad weather was on its way. We made it to the meeting point and had to wait about 45 minutes because Tom had been delayed by bad weather north of Birmingham.

While waiting on Tom, a storm chaser pulled into the parking lot. He sat there for about 30 minutes, then left going west as the weather became progressively worse. Fortunately, Tom arrived before the weather became too bad. After handing Thomas over, we headed back toward Tuscaloosa. About five miles down the road, we ran into the mother of all rainstorms, with blinding rain and high winds. The rain was so bad that we had to pull over for about five minutes. It felt like we were in a car wash. Even after we started driving again, we could only go about 40 miles an hour for about ten miles. After all the dry weather in Texas, it was a surprise to us that it could rain so hard. I think the drought in this area is over.

After all that, we were hungry. Carolyn wanted to stop at Cracker Barrel for supper. Another disappointment. The food took 75 minutes, and the quality is not what we remembered. Another restaurant off the list of places we like to eat.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Highlands, North Carolina: Above It All

Not all who wander are lost.