It was a dark and stormy night

 August 18 2011 . . .

“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”  –Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

Storm’s coming in, says the Husband, I’m going to pull in the window awnings.  A storm?! Coo-ell. 

Okie dokie, I say, grabbing the Canon. I’ll be at the beach if you need me.

You know, my husband sighs a lot. And he knows there’s little to be done from me making one dopey decision after another. Not only am I just the tiniest bit stubborn, I’m also faster than he is. I’m already outside the RV, screen door slamming behind me before you can say certifiable.

But a storm! Besides pesky rain, storms also mean contrasting clouds and wonderful filtered light you don’t get on any normal sunshiny day. And normal this is not. There’s a beautiful coastal storm on the horizon here at Myrtle Beach. Once we’re back in landlocked Ohio, we won’t be seeing another one of these wonders until the next road trip down this way.

Oh, but let’s be clear on something. There’s a rather healthy amount of self-preservation running through my psyche. These swollen and rolling clouds are merely a harbinger of things yet to come. It’s not like I’m going to stand in torrential rain and risk getting the Canon (my preciousssss) wet. Now that’s lunacy, I say.  Naw, I just want to get out there and capture the mood before the heavens open up on us.

So I can get shots like this.

That’s not our sand castle masterpiece. Actually, I don’t know whose it is other than some Pirateland family who had the common sense to get back to their camper when the sky started to darken. 

The Husband stops at the beach to check on me during a potty break with the dogs. Micron!, I exclaim, Photo op time, my love!

A couple of quick shots with Sir Micron, brave knight and castle protector. Well, that was my vision. What really happened was more of a medieval-era Godzilla style rampage. I send the boys on their way back to the RV before the rain starts. I’m getting low on Febreze (Sunflowers! Sunshine! and wet dog), you know.

Humm, not only did we seem to lose the third castle tower here, but where did the sticks go?  Micron?

I got it!  I’ll protect your castle, m’Lord!  Oh. oops.

Me thinks the tavern wench was a little heavy handed with the margarita salt

With the boys back in the RV, I start capturing the aura of the imminent tempest . . .

Not easy to see in the panorama above, but the dark section in the sand on the left is the sand castle creation from the first set of shots  On the right, you can see folk in the water, still fishing as the clouds move in. Silly people. 

Another wondrous thing about evening coastal storms are the sunrises the next day. Here’s a sunrise from a normal day, hazy and humid. Soft, pretty colors, but nuthin [yawn] special, really. 

This, however, is the stuff you get the morning after a good storm comes through.

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.

Know what else is a rare wonder of nature; something you only see with that elusive, but magical combo of sun and rain?

Rainbows, that’s what. And this time  . . .

I found my pot of gold.

And this time, the treasure at the end is for me.

Addendum

I’m rather excited about an improvement by our website host, blogger.com. Photos on the blog can now be viewed through Lightbox.  Just click on any of the photos to bring up a large screen view. You can navigate through all the images in the post from the Lightbox view. Very cool stuff indeed, especially for a nerd like me who likes to tell a story through pictures.