“I am thunder and nothing can happen till I bellow, and I rumble, and wake everybody with my roar!”
May 27, 2004, 9:32 PM
After Tuesday’s disaster, I went to Covington for a soak in Lake Moomaw on Wednesday. At least that was my intention. Let me tell you what happened.
I got all the way down to Lake Moomaw and parked and all that at the swimming beach. Changed into my swimsuit, and got into the lake. Fast forward about ten minutes. Thunder! Lots of it. And lightning. Regardless, it’s enough to send me to shore, and seeking some cover, and in a place that is designed for outdoor recreation, there’s some cover, but not a lot.
So I had to find something to do until the storm passed. Going back to Covington, the nearest town, was not really feasible, as Lake Moomaw is a ways from Covington. So I basically hung around. I drove back to the dam for a little while. I drove up to the picnic shelters. I sat in the car and pondered my thoughts. I walked a few times around the bath house.
Meanwhile, it was doing just about everything outside. Rain. Lots of it. Wind. Lots of it. Thunder. Lots of it. Lightning. Amazing amounts of it. I’d never seen lightning like this. It was like a strobe light the way it flashed. Filled up the whole sky (this was during the day, by the way), and really lit up everything.
So after waiting for a few hours (I had nothing better to do, besides, all things come to he who waits), just before 8 PM, I decided to pack it in. I rinsed off in the bath house, and got changed back into my regular clothes. And just as I was getting ready to leave, the sun came out.
Just my luck. Finally the opportunity to enjoy it, but it was too late to enjoy it, as I needed to get home so I could go to work at 7 AM the next morning. Ah, well. Always another time. The way I see it, Lake Moomaw’s not going anywhere, and maybe I’ll get a nice day next time.
Still, I did get a day to run around with no shirt on, and that was fun. And I did get a few pictures on the way back with Big Mavica. Check out this one:
Not my best work, but it’s pretty decent for spur-of-the-moment. I just like it how the clouds are low, among the mountains.
Also, my arms are now two different colors. My right arm is one color, and then my left one is a couple of shades darker. Seems I also managed to pick up a “driver’s tan” while I was out yesterday as well. I figure that what I need to do now is get a British car, so that I can stick the other arm out the window and even out my tan. You know, make the two arms match.
Also, before I left for Lake Moomaw, I made the perfect bumper sticker for the serious Washington DC railfan. Check it out.
“My other car is a Breda”. It’s something that I wish was actually made, and that I would buy if such a thing actually existed. And it’s highly appropriate, considering that about half of Metro’s rail cars are Bredas, made in Italy by Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie S.p.A.. The other rail cars are made by Rohr and CAF. So for the die-hard DC railfan, there you go. That would be a fun bumper sticker for the railfan that has everything. The “Breda horsie” that I used on that picture came from Metro, on the cab end of Breda 4063.
And if you want to see where on the car this came from, look…
Yeah, these are the “Made in Italy” builder’s plates.
And only two more days until my next trip to DC, on May 29, where I will get to ride more Bredas.
Song: "It Takes Two"
Quote: "Now the sun comes out? $#@$#%..."
Categories: Lake Moomaw, Weather