It’s the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend and the (un)official start of summer.

I have no plans for the weekend but my cupboards are pretty bare and a trip to the store is warranted.

It’s a nice day to be out and about, running errands and enjoying the weather.

Or is it?…

Heading To Freeport For Groceries…

Due to my MCS, I usually do curbside pickup because Walmart’s are notoriously toxic to me.

This time, I need to go inside because I want a tote with a lid and I’m not sure which one to get without seeing it in person.

Prior To Going Inside Walmart…

I map out my store route.

The Walmart app shows the isle numbers for each item I need with a store map showing where each isle is located.

This is not a 100% fool-proof method but it increases my odds of getting in and out quicker – possibly without having an MCS reaction.

Inside Walmart…

I grab the tote and a few groceries before starting to feel ill.

Even though I don’t have everything I came for… it’s time to get the heck outta Walmart.

In The Walmart Parking Lot…

I put my stuff in the van and take my cart to the cart return.

All of a sudden, the tornado siren starts blasting.

Everyone in the parking lot is bewildered and looking up at the sky to see if there’s a reason to run for cover.

An older gentleman asks me what the siren is for. As I share the details, he shrugs his shoulders and raises his palms exclaiming “If it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go!”.

Then, he informs me he’s getting groceries and going home – tornado warning or not.

Sometimes I Have To Pick My Poison…

My choices in this situation are:

• Go inside Walmart and be safer in the event of a tornado but risk a worse MCS reaction. Or,
• Stay outside and not have an MCS reaction but risk being blown away by a tornado.

Rather Than Play Chicken With Mother Nature…

I decide to heed the warning and go inside Walmart to wait out the storm.

I tell Bella (my van) to be safe before I head towards the store.

At The Walmart Entrance…

Several Walmart Employee’s are standing guard and won’t let anyone enter the store!

The Employee’s say they can’t allow Customer’s in the store when there’s a tornado warning.

I don’t know who made that cockamamie rule or what the reasoning behind it is but, if I was a Walmart Employee and there had been an actual tornado, I couldn’t live with myself knowing I had to turn people away from a safer alternative than sitting in their vehicles during a tornado.

Starbucks Is Just Up The Road…

The threat of a tornado is a good excuse to get coffee. Then again, I can’t think of an excuse NOT to get coffee.

I put in a mobile order so it’s ready when I get there.

As I drive to Starbucks, the tornado siren stops wailing.

Starbucks Won’t Let Anyone Inside…

This is nuts!

According to the Starbucks Employee’s, we are still under a tornado warning and they can’t let us inside.

Why is it a thing to deny people safety?!

It feels like all of us locked outside have been thrown to a pack of hungry wolves and it’s every person for themself.

As For My Mobile Order…

The mobile orders are all sitting unattended outside on the drive-thru window ledge – with the window being closed and locked.

None of the cups have stoppers in the lids – leaving an opening for bugs and who knows what to enter.

I’m already at the mercy of the weather… I may as well risk drinking the darn coffee.

After the first sip I realize it’s just plain ole black coffee – which is NOT what I ordered.

This day isn’t going to get the best of me!

I’ll just go to Krape Park to relax a bit and doctor up my coffee with fixin’s from the kitchen of my cozy little home on wheels.

After Arriving At Krape Park…

I park and turn off the van… ready for some downtime while I regroup my thoughts.

Not even 30 seconds later… another tornado siren starts blasting!

I feel like a sitting duck with nowhere to go.

It might be better just to drive back to Lena.

As I start the van, I get a text from the Lena KOA telling Camper’s they can go to one of the bathhouses or the office to wait out the storm (if they want to).

I only need to get to Lena… about 20 minutes away.

At The Stoplight On Highway 20…

The clouds start to look scary.

The light turns green and I’m on my way – keeping my eyes peeled for funnel clouds.

A wave comes over me as I realize I have no plan for what to do if I actually see a funnel cloud.

I’ll just have to wing-it!

The clouds are very low. It feels like they’re closing in.

Suddenly, it gets dark and rain starts battering down.

I think “Uh oh, here it comes!”.

At this point, the only thing to do is keep driving.

The Rain Is So Bad I Can Barely See The Road…

The oncoming semi-trucks make visibility worse as they spray road water onto the windshield.

I slow down enough to keep control of my driving and maintain any remaining sanity.

I’m just a couple minutes from the KOA campground.

In my side-view mirror, I see the headlights of the line of cars behind me. I must lead them to victory!… or at least until I turn off at the campground.

At The Campground Office…

Channeling my inner Mermaid, I fin my way to the front door of the KOA office.

As I open the door, the Staff and Owner’s greet me by name and grab me a chair. It’s like coming home to family!

I say “hi” to the other Camper’s sitting around the office.

Several Camper’s have their well-behaved fur-babies sitting on their lap or on the floor beside them.

I sit next to a lady with a Teddy Bear (a Shih Tzu-Bichon Frise mix). The Teddy Bear is sooo cute and very friendly.

When The Tornado Warning Expires…

I swim… I mean walk… back to the van and notice the roof vent is open.

My new vent lid is lighter than the old one and, once in a while, it opens while I’m driving.

It was only open a few inches but it was enough for the rain to get inside.

I guess I need to add “dry out the van” to todays To Do List.

Back At My Campsite…

After a brief reprieve from the rain… it starts pouring again.

My campsite is mixed in with some of the KOA Kabins (the KOA’s spell it with a K!).

The rain water pools around the cabin in back of me and in my campsite.

The biggest pool in my campsite is where my electrical cord runs. The cord is all-weather but I still don’t like it sitting in water.

I use leveling blocks to elevate the cord so it’s not marinating in a pool of rainwater.

Beyond my campsite, the usually bone-dry, rock-lined, drainage ditch is doing it’s job.

Parting Thoughts…

I never liked storms when I lived in a sticks-n-bricks house and I absolutely do not like storms living in a van.

It seems like I’ve had more than my fair share of storms lately. Or maybe it just feels that way because I’m not fond of the situation.

Either way, I suppose storms are simply part of the adventure.

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