Well, this should be before the Oklahoma post below, since it happened after we left graduation in Texas and headed to Oklahoma. However, it's going here and it's in it's own little post. I really wish I had pictures to show, but I wasn't about to get my ass zapped or thrown across the county. However, I will start by saying that we did attempt to get a picture of some beautiful lightening........had we known what we would be driving into, not sure if I would have taken that time or maybe we should have taken more time....Hmmmmm! Here's the story:
So we leave those nice blue sunny skies where we stopped and photographed the windmills. We pull over at a gas station so everyone can take a potty break. I'm the last one in and out. When I come out I noticed that a storm was brewing and everyone was loaded in the Suburban, well, everyone but Sherrie. She's attempting to take a lightening picture with her cell phone. Yep, impossible! I get my camera out to try and get some. Little buggers wouldn't cooperate. I'd focus on one side of the sky, they'd show up just out of my site on one side or the other. I'd move my camera to that direction and yes, it'd still be out of my viewing range. The kids are telling us to stop and get in so we can head down that road. The road that will be leading us to a very dark sky.....VERY DARK.......so, Sherrie and I get in and I get on the road and yep, right in front of us the most beautiful lightening that branches out in three different directions. Of course we start laughing. It wouldn't be long before we weren't doing that anymore. It started to rain.....very hard, then that rain soon turned into hail........and it started hailing freaking hard.......along with the wind picking up and yes it's very dark. We all start to remember that Kenneth's sea bags, which hold all uniforms, civilian clothes, expensive boots, hats, etc are strapped to the top. Not to mention a bag was put on the top that had his i-pod home system, school books and his orders......YES, HIS OFFICIAL ORDERS, MEDICAL RECORDS THAT ARE SEALED AND DENTAL RECORDS THAT ARE SEALED! We are at that time trying to figure out if we should turn around or just forge ahead. Kali is sitting next to Kenneth and with his quick thinking he told her to put on her earphones and plug in a movie. She asked if he would hold her hand and she fell asleep. It's a good thing, because we decided to forge ahead. It is hailing and blowing so bad you cannot see in front of you. I slow down and see a vehicle ahead, yes, there weren't many on that stretch of road.....should'a been a clue! I slow down, to 5 mph, yes that's how fast they were going. I stay with them and notice a car on the side of the road. It said, "Storm Watchers", and I believe there were two people standing outside in that hail, with gadgets in hand, looking across that road we were driving on. The car goes silent! I slam down on the gas and get around that car! I'm not kidding you when I say I drove 65-75 mph in that storm! We were looking for the next town as well as ditches, overpasses, etc. just in case. We never saw any of those.......barely even a house along the way. Down the road a ways, we see another car along the road, you guess it.....more storm watchers! Kayla is in the very back seat and I hear this, "Just in case........I love all of you!" We all say it back! Sherrie makes a call to her parents to have them check the weather channel. Sure enough, there are tornado warnings everywhere we had been. She said there was softball sized hail in Abilene, Texas.......we had just left there. So, we ended up driving all the way to Oklahoma City that night, not ever knowing how close we were to a tornado and it's probably a good thing we never found out. I have been scared of them since I was a little girl and let me tell you, i'm still scared of them as a big girl!
Kenneth's sea bags were dumped out in the motel and only a few things were soaked....however the bag that held his important things wasn't so lucky. His home system had water dripping off of it....it still works! His two sealed envelopes, well, they were still sealed and wet, not sure if anything has been said about those. His orders were blown by the blow dryer and placed on the dash to dry..........
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