03-26-11 “Just call on your Rainy Day man

03-26-11
“Just call on your Rainy Day man”
As alluded to in yesterdays posting, today has been Rainy. I got up at 6am and used the restroom, then took a waiting and patient Mischa for her walk. We looked at the lake, a boy was fishing, Ducks were swimming, or sitting bankside and the morning was overcast. We went back to the tent. Then it started a gentle drizzle. This was about 7:30 am. I busied myself charging devices (Cell, camera, iPods) and typing up notes of yesterdays journey. The then rain got serious…and steady. Not torrential…just steady till a drop off around 10:30am. By that time it had found ways into my tent - from both above and below. The Tarp apparently acted as a watercourse for some of the rainfall. I noticed it when my foot came off my futon to stretch and avoid “falling asleep”, certainly it wouldn’t after the cold shock of water from below!
The good news…I’m pretty damn sure the pollen on the tent fly is now GONE!
I knew today would be a writing day. The question will be will it all be from within the tent…or will I even have to retreat to the car?
Stay tuned!
“And yea, it continued to rain for forty days and forty nights…not in a row mind you…”
And there’s nothing to “Yea” about, either. I got Mischa and myself into the car and took off back to Waxhaw. At least I could get something done. Around 2pm it let up to a light drizzle, but the info from the Weather Channel di nothing to improve my spirits. It looks to rain over the next 4 days. The main problem will be the next two days and the drive to Chapel Hill on Wednesday. I’m considering seeing if I can move the interview up a day and camp there starting tomorrow thru Tuesday, then coming back Charlotte way for a stay at my friend, Lindasy’s place before heading to the Ashville, Smokey Mountains area for the last few days. Everything is in flux on this journey. We’ll see!
No luck moving the Interview up so I’m hoping this won’t be a problem for My host in Charlotte, Lindsay. Either I have just two days there or I can still have three days but going thru Friday. I find out it’s my friend’s birthday tomorrow (Sunday) I’ll be close enough to say high, but I’ll just head up to the Chapel Hill area in the morning and camp thru until the interview is done.
I get back to the camp and settle in for the night trying to maintain the dry spaces. Nature has other plans. Other than a brief respite during the hour of my return, it rained non-stop for the duration of the evening until 7:20 am. During the evening there were thunderstorms and deluges. At one point I found Mischa lying on her plaid blanket which was soaked thru. I threw the soaked mop to the other side of the tent and took off my fleece jacket; wrapped her in it and snuggled her on the small remaining spot of dry futon that remained. Dawn would show even that disappear. When I heard the rain slow and then stop altogether I got out of the tent, moved Mischa into the car and started triage on what to pack first and how. Sequence is everything. I would find later that I messed up putting my suitcase below the futon. It might not have mattered anyway. Water soaked thru to my front seat from the back. And so the new day began.