Last weekend I planned on getting stuff done around the van.
I’m sure you’ve already guessed things didn’t go quite as planned.
Saturday Morning Started Out Normal…
But it quickly escalated to high winds.
The winds were so wicked I had to close my roof vent for fear it would get ripped off.
My Plan Wasn’t Gonna Happen…
I needed a few things from the “garage”. My garage (as I call it) is in the back, under the bed.
The only way to access the garage is through the back doors of the van.
The garage is where I store stuff I don’t use regularly – like seasonal items, extra water, a small stockpile of non-perishable foods I’m not allergic to and more.
There were several things I needed from the garage. I also wanted to organize it a bit as I tend to toss stuff in a bin to put away later.
With this wind, there was no way in Hades I was opening those back doors!
From past experience with lesser winds, the wind would grab the doors and fling them from my grasp. Then, everything in the van would start flying around all willy-nilly.
The garage would just have to wait.
The Trash Bag Is Full…
Why didn’t I take the trash out last night like I normally do?!
Carrying a bag of trash to the dumpster in this wind could prove to be an interesting adventure.
The nearest dumpster is in the middle of the campground. But I wasn’t in the mood to fight against the wind all the way to the dumpster and back.
Needless to say, the trash didn’t get taken out and I stayed in the van all day!
It Started Raining…
There was a gentle rain with a few reprieves between showers of raindrops.
I thought nothing of it until the sky became dark with grey colored clouds.
Typically, the sun shines when it rains and the darkened sky concerned me.
I do not enjoy anything more than a gentle rain and hoped whatever was brewing would pass quickly.
The Downpour Begins…
The gentle rain turned to an outright downpour.
It poured and poured.
Then, it poured some more.
Wondering when the madness would end… I checked my weather app. The app said to expect rain for the next 2 hours.
I rely on this app and have grown to trust it.
After taking a moment to psych myself up, I was mentally prepared to handle the storm for another 2 hours.
Two Hours Later…
It was STILL pouring!
Rechecking the weather app… it said rain for ANOTHER 2 hours.
Either the weather couldn’t make up it’s mind, the app had a screw loose or both… because the hours of torrential downpour kept extending.
I was absolutely NOT a happy camper!
In addition to the downpour there were strong gusts of wind. Every so often I felt the van sway when a bionic gust of wind blew through.
Sleep Eluded Me…
After several hours of downpour… it was late, I was in bed and normally would have been fast asleep.
Sleep wasn’t on the radar.
To get my mind off the weather, I put my earbuds in and scrolled through Tiktok on my phone.
Wouldn’t you know, a video came up of a vehicle sitting in a driveway during a high-wind rain storm.
The wind picked the vehicle up, spun it around and plopped it down in the middle of the yard closely followed by a flying trampoline and other debris.
How am I going to get to sleep after watching that?!?!?!
During The Night…
There came a time when I wondered if it was too late to start building an ark.
I had no energy to build a darn ark so I accepted my fate and continued scrolling through Tiktok, Facebook and anything else I could find to take my mind off the weather.
Occasionally, I fell asleep. But I didn’t stay asleep for long.
The heavy rain didn’t stop until around 8am Sunday morning.
Once The Sun Came Out…
Late Sunday morning, I packed up the van and headed to the store for a few groceries.
While out and about, I took a drive down one of my favorite backroads.
Flooding is a frequent thing in Florida. It’s typical for rain water to collect on the pavement and fill the canals.
The flooding from last nights rain wasn’t major but there were huge puddles of rain lingering along the roadside and spilling onto the pavement.
The canal water had also risen.
The Canal…
I don’t have a before picture to show for comparison but the canal rose quite a bit.
As I drove the backroad, I crossed over the canal. On this road, the canal runs through a tube under the road in to the next section of the canal. On other roads, there’s a bridge over the canal.
Canals are part of Florida’s water management system. I’ve also seen them used for Fire Fighter training (pumping water from the canal to fill the tanks in the truck, etc).
Back At The Campground…
After taking a little scenic drive, getting a Walmart curbside pickup and stopping at Publix for a pre-ordered veggie wrap… I moseyed my way back to the campground.
Sections of the campground roads and some of the campsites are usually a little water logged after it rains…. but last night’s torrential downpour left a LOT of standing water.
My site is down the road, past the flooded pavement, across from the lady wearing a peach colored top.
Sunday Afternoon…
The strong winds died down and became the usual tropical breeze.
I knew things had returned to normal when the sun was shining during a several periods of gentle rain.
The Moon Rise…
As the dark of night began to fall, I sat in my backwards facing passenger seat and played a game of Majong on my iPad.
Gazing out the side window… I notice the moon was more beautiful than normal.
Normally I don’t go outside after dark because of critters and such… but I had to make an exception.
Walking outside barefoot, I admire the moon and take a few pictures with my phone.
Surprisingly, only one mosquito got inside the van. He made a few valiant attempts to gain access to my bloodstream but he didn’t survive the war.
RIP Mr Mosquito!
As for the moon… check out the quote picture below and the featured image at the top.
Simply Connie 