What makes you happy? #11

There comes a moment on most vacations.  There's a summer storm -- it's warm enough that, at most, you need your lightest jacket, so getting wet doesn't actually bother you that much. The lightning is beautiful, especially if there's a body of water nearby.

Ideally, there's a spot.  A porch, a patio, a gazebo, a stable tent. An underhang of a roof will do; I made that work a few times as a kid, when the wind blew in the right direction. An enclosed sunroom will work in a pinch. The point is to be outdoors but covered, or indoors but exposed. You get some of the wind, but very little of the rain.

Grab that lightweight jacket I mentioned, and the doorstop of a book you brought along, and, depending on your circumstances, a cup of tea or a glass of lemonade or a bottle of beer.

Now, sit in your dry spot.  Enjoy the cool wind after a hot, humid day. Be soothed by the patter of the rain. And, just when things get dull, be thrilled by the beauty and far-off danger of the lightning, especially if it's over the ocean you are absolutely not in.

It just doesn't get much better than that.

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