Wacky Weather

I began today in Bend, where it was nice and hot. I had plans to leave around one to head back to Portland but ended up staying till two. The trip back was nice. I spread sunscreen on my left arm because it was exposed to the sun for the entire drive back but I still managed to get a tan on that arm. Every year my two arms end up different shades of tan. Oh well.

The closer I got to Portland, the muggier and cloudier it was getting. I could smell the rain even though it wasn't making an appearance yet. As I was about five miles outside downtown it did start to rain large drops, but they were sparse. At 545 I met the girlfriends for dinner. We ate at Clyde Commons and I must say, we were a bit surprised at the tiny portions we got. Now we know not to order the small plates. Upon finishing dinner, we decided to go to Papa Haydn for dessert. We wanted an outside table because even though it was cloudy, the weather was fantastically warm. Other people had the same thoughts and we did have to wait a little bit for a table---which is when the thunderstorm came.

I don't think I've ever seen a thunderstorm that severe in Portland. I've been here five years and I've just assumed we don't get big ones due to the surrounding mountains. I suppose the circumstances were perfect. What I loved about it was how warm it stayed. I really love hot, rainy weather. Don't think I would mind at all if we had storms like that a lot more often.