Flying Palm Fronds and Stinging Rain!

It started out as a normal South Florida day. Bit cloudy, not as hot as it has been. No problem right? Off to Bed, Bath and Beyond. About 10 minutes away after making deposit at the bank. Get what I need there, walk to the other end of the shopping center and pop into AC Moore. Find a couple of must haves and walk back to the car. It's starting to sprinkle a bit. Okay. Need to hurry up a bit if I'm gonna get done before the storms arrive.
Drive the 10 minutes back to the Target just a few blocks from home. By now it's pouring rain. Not to worry. Target has covered parking. It's raining so hard that the water is coming down the joints in the upper parking area like a waterfall. Great! Glad I brought my umbrella with me! See a lady trying to negotiate the waterfalls. "Wanna share my umbrella?" So I do my good deed for the day. We negotiate the puddles and waterfalls with no problem.
It's letting off some good thunder and lightning now which makes me think about my poor Baxter in his kennel at home shaking and trembling. "God please give him peace. Let him know I'll be home soon." Do my thing in Target and find a couple of really cool Hot Wheels cars for Noah. Wonderful! Start heading for the front of the store and look out the doors. It is noon but it looks like the dead of night out there! I can hear the thunder and the rain. I'm on the bottom floor of a two-story structure!!! Man it's BAD out there! I should be okay. I've got the umbrella and the covered parking. Whew!
Get finished and negotiate back to the car with ease. Start to drive off and get a hankering for McDonald's McMocha and a Bacon Ranch salad. McDonald's is less than a mile away. Looks like rain is letting up. Go for it! Especially since there's a green light to make the left turn! Merrily I drive along. Rain gets harder. Typical for South Florida. What's a little rain, thunder and lightning? Just watch out for big puddles. I drive a little car you know. Get to McDonald's and of course the double drive-thru lanes are packed. They're quick. It'll be fine.
By the time I get to the ordering station it's raining so hard I can hardly see through the windshield and I'm sitting still! This isn't good! I'm gonna get wet. Clerk finally comes on and I have to scream at the top of my lungs three times before she finally hears what I'm saying because it's raining and blowing so hard!!! I'm now drenched on my left side from head to toe! Not a happy camper! Poor Baxter! He must really be scared by now! Finally get under the overhang and get my food. Think I'd better go around to the back and use the light to make the right turn outta here...
Light's green again and no traffic. GOOD! Negotiate around the jinormous puddles and get on the 6-lane divided highway to come home. Just a couple more minutes! MAN it's raining hard! Listen to that thunder! Lightning's awfully close! WHAT IS THAT????!!!!
I've lived here 12 years. Been through a couple of hurricanes and lots of storms. Even been through a couple of tornadoes in my cars in years past. But I have NEVER had to dodge a flying 6' palm frond until today!!! The thing was literally flying across the lanes about windshield level straight for where I'm headed! Look behind me quickly. Good! No one's gonna ram me as I hit the brakes waiting for the impact. Oh Thank You Lord! It landed in the middle lane about 8 feet in front of me.
Only three more turns and I'm home! Whew! I made it! Grab your bags and go rescue your poor dog. Get into the house and boy what a story Baxter told me! Poor little guy! Finally get settled down and call husband so he won't worry. He's in the next town north and just a few miles west. "What? What happened? Really? It isn't even raining here!" Grrrrrr!!! Gotta love that! NOT!
Officially we got 0.95" of rain. Unofficially I think it was about 2" just judging from the amount of water I had to drive through! And now they say we're gonna get more this weekend. Know what? I'm gonna stay home and SCRAP!
Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend everyone!