A Wet RV and Picking Cherries during a Tropical Storm

This morning it was absolutely blissful to sleep in knowing that it was the first day of our vacation. The hubby went for a nice long run and I curled up and slept for a couple more hours getting up only when I was wide awake and could not stay in bed a moment more. Our plan was to get our second hand, much labored over RV packed and ready for our trip to GA tomorrow. 

Unbeknownst to us, a tropical storm was moving in off of the coast bringing a deluge of water and more work than we had planned. This is proof that, maybe,just maybe, we should consider a daily newspaper or actually watching the local news. Opposed to being earth friendly and frugal and reading the national headlines online daily.

Sadly, the RV leaked. Yes, it leaked. Getting the mattress wet and causing a considerable amount of unplanned work. It didn't leak when we took it to the local state park camping and it rained!!! Tropical Storm Debbie turned it from a cute little RV into a sieve.

It rained, and rained and rained. Sometimes coming down in sheets and at other times a slow drizzle. While it was coming down we ran errands and attempted to mitigate the damage. Buckets, a fan, paper towels, a beach towel.... all tools in our endless battle to keep the RV dry. Sadly, our efforts limited but did not stop the water from coming in. We can not fix the leaks ( yes, plural) we found until it is dry. SIGH!  

The mattress came in and is now dry in the back room. A small fan is in the RV drying the damp couch. The air purifier is pumping away. We even managed to load everything else we needed for our trip this week. The new plan is to fix the leaks when we get to GA as we bought everything today to do so but are unable to due to the continuing rain.

While taking the scraps from the kitchen to the compost pile the cherry tree appeared to be full of ripe sweet fruit. After getting a plastic bag from the kitchen I went out to pick the cherries. The storm had let up considerably. The rain was now a gentle steady dripping of large drops feeling cool against my warm skin.

Our tree was covered in bright fragrant barbadoes cherries. The smell of cherries was rich in the air accompanied by the soft aroma of summer rain. Breathing in deeply of the scents surrounding me the stress of my day simply melted into nothing. For a short while the rain continued to fall, and I kept picking. Rainwater ran down my arms cool and soothing washing. It hit my hair and splashed down my neck causing me to shiver in the warmth of the tropical storm. All too soon the cherries were picked and my time playing in the rain was over.  I was calm. Relaxed. A feeling so rare in our stress filled work oriented world. 


Slowly, I walked to the house and toward a warm shower and a glass of bourbon. The cherries are in the freezer waiting to be jam when the limes and calomondines are ready to be picked and we are relaxing until we leave in the morning.         


Happy Vacation!