Warm Balmy Southern Day ?

If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine.

 

During the winter don’t most folks wish they were experiencing a warm balmy day especially when it starts to freeze outside.  However, usually only the folks who escape the northern winters for the south really get that balmy weather.  Arizona usually has very nice winter temperatures.  I’m not sure you could call them balmy though.  I think of Florida as having the cool and refreshing weather my mind conjures up when I think of balmy.   Arizona may get hot but it’s a dry heat!

Friday wasn’t a typical November day for Arizona.  The weatherman (who we know is never wrong) predicted strong winds which would bring major dust storms to the area about mid-afternoon.   He was half-right.  The worst part of the storm held off for most of the day where we were. That gave us a little excuse to play.

The plan was to start the morning off with Terry’s mom in Tempe.  Then we were going to visit the Swap Meet in Apache Junction.  We never made the swap meet.  We figured with the strong winds and thunderstorms predicted, the swap meet might actually shut down early so we put that off for another day or two.  Instead of heading out we ended up putting outside chairs and tables away and securing anything else that might be a projectile.  Terry also removed the gorilla bar from the front of his ATV.  Of course, that had nothing to do with the storm and everything to do with just because he wanted to.

After a little rest we headed into Apache Junction to meet with our good friends, Jim and Sandie.  It was so nice to see them again.  We had a fantastic seafood feast at the Eastern Chinese Buffet and Mongolian Grill.  The place is huge and it was packed.  The menu included just about everything a seafood lover would love.  Jim and I pigged out on the seafood while Sandie and Terry feasted on everything else.  Everything was fantastic including the service.  We know there will be many restaurants around this area that the four of us will visit together over the next couple of months.

It was dark heading back to the motorhome.  It had been windy and dusty most of the day but the evening drive back was pretty clear.  When a storm comes in the visibility can get pretty bad with blowing dust.  It had been down to zero viability in some areas during the day.  Even parts of major freeway systems had been shut down about 30 miles away.

 

The brunt of the storm didn’t hit our area until after midnight.  It seemed to go on forever.  A severe thunderstorm had been predicted and again, the prediction was right.  Winds were expected to be around 60 mph.  From the inside of the motorhome, we were sure it was at least that.  Those slide toppers make a lot of noise.  We brought in our slides and pulled our antenna down.  It seems every winter when we’re in one part of Arizona or another, we usually end up having at least one of these storms.

We do know we are missing our Weber BBQ cover.  If you see it flying by wherever you are, latch on to it.  We’d hate to have to buy another one.

The storm is over.  The temperatures have cooled and the rain brought a fresh smell to the desert.  The sky still looks threatening this morning as the clouds are low.  I’m sure we’ll see more rain today.  Duchess is doing better now that it’s peaceful outside.  She doesn’t like storms like this anymore than we do.