As I drove away from Lake Charles, I talked first to my sister and then to my friend Martha — hands free, thanks to the Bluetooth connection in my car. Before I knew it, I was on Highway 173, over the Rainbow Bridge, and on my way to Winnie.
With the Gulf of Mexico right off to my left, I was on my way yet again to Crystal Beach. That’s when I noticed the storm clouds over the Gulf. Just lovely.
Actually, they were quite lovely. I mean that. There’s a beauty in the play of dark and light, of shadows. In this case, in shades of gray (not 50, not that best-selling mommy porn book). There was the blue-gray of the sky, with lighter streaks. There was a dark gray column cutting through the sky itself, anchoring the darker gray rolling clouds above to the Gulf. Within the dark gray, there were ripples and curls. Lighter areas dotted the dark gray. Truly, it was beautiful.
It was also more than threatening rain. Though a full thundershower never developed, I did get a few sprinkles of rain. Once I’d turned at Winnie toward High Island, though, the rain came. Again, not in a lasting thunderstorm, but in a strong short shower. I drove up to and over the Intracoastal Canal bridge in the rain, and then was at High Island, and the rain cleared.
By the time I turned onto Highway 87 for the last stretch of driving, the sky was actually clear over the Gulf. My last fifteen minutes to the house were clear of rain. I parked, unloaded the dogs and my overnight bag, walked upstairs, unlocked the door, and sighed. Once I’d put water and food down for the dogs and turned on the AC, I left. Headed to Galveston. Time for Target.
I had no wait for the ferry at all. But that also meant waiting for the cars behind me to fill up the ferry. When the ferry starts to head out, it’s only a 15-minute ride to the island. Not long at all. But even with the windows in the car rolled down, it was steamy and hot, and soon I had the sweat-sheen that everyone else had. Oh well. It’s still summertime here, despite what the calendar might say.
Driving off the ferry, I bypassed the turn to the Strand, instead heading to Broadway, which leads to I-45. The shopping center I wanted is right there, just to the right. Today I was heading to Target. Surely, I thought, I’d find a number of things on my list for the house.
Nope. Not today. Maybe the shopping gods weren’t paying attention. So with my few purchases, it was time to head home. This time, I was in line for the ferry. It wasn’t as bad a wait as it can be, though, and soon I was directed to drive on. I ended up being one of the first cars, with a clear view of the ferry gate and the Gulf.
Once more, I rolled the windows down. This time, I simply sat and observed the sky once more. Darker blue-gray clouds edged with lighter gray areas swirled around a clear opening in the middle. Light streamed through it, trailing off to the right. More storm clouds, I thought.
Within a minute, the clear area in front of me filled with people getting out of their cars to stand at the front of the ferry for the ride to Bolivar Peninsula. I stayed inside my car, reading.
By the time we approached the peninsula, skies were clear and blue, and the lighthouse clearly marked the peninsula itself.
Once off the ferry, I drove to the Gulf Coast Market, needing a few more items. Then it was home, up the stairs, and into the house. The dogs greeted me as though I’d been away for weeks.
Now I’ve read a bit, eaten, and am ready for bed. The storms never really arrived. In a way, I’m sad about that. I love being safe and snug in a bed, under a quilt with a good book, when it’s raining. The sound of the rain soothes me and lulls me to sleep.
Not tonight, though. I’ll just have to wait for another storm to actually develop another time.
Maybe I’ll dream about rain.
Note on Sunday morning: Technical difficulties last night meant that I couldn’t upload this until now. No good cellular connections means no uploading.
cwareintheworld 