Windmill not-so-Fest-ive 2014 (or, at least I didn't need sunscreen)

Jul 12, 2014 12:45

Some days never turn out the way you anticipate them to.

I already knew today wouldn't be like a typical Windmill Fest Saturday. Mom had an appointment at 10, right when the pet parade would be (but within walking distance of everything), but it would last for an hour and a half. Almost right afterward, she'd have to leave to meet the Red Hat ladies somewhere to travel to the new-ish house of a former member, an hour away. Okay, so we won't watch the pet parade together; that's fine. We decided we could still go around 9 AM, since the craft booths should have been open, plus the farmers market opens at 8, so we could still do stuff together for at least a little while.

And then it started pouring.

We knew there was a weather system in the area, but prior to today the forecasts were saying the first wave would come before 8 or 9 AM and basically be done by the time the parade started. Well...not so much. There was a first wave somewhere around 7:30 or 8, and then it paused, but it was probably shortly before 9 that the next wave came. Great. And it came hard. We decided to wait it out, plus we wondered if we should take one car and I could either walk home or call dad to pick me up. I'm used to walking; I have an umbrella; it'll be fine. We ended up leaving in mom's car about 9:45 and parked by her appointment; she and I then took a quick tour of the market. Just as we were splitting up, it started sprinkling again, just enough for me to pull out my umbrella.

By the time I got to the tent at the Riverwalk, it was definitely raining again, and it was clear that there was no pet parade this year. Bummer. There were a handful of event staff members under the tent, with a few other non-staff, and the stage across the way was empty. Wow, I don't think I've ever seen a pet parade canceled. The craft booths are set up sort of behind the stage area, and I could see people over there, so I took a walk; what else did I have going on? I saw a few families with dogs coming out of the back of the building behind the stage, and a staff member holding the animal goodie bags. She saw me and said I had a fun umbrella--it has giraffe spots as its pattern. Yeah, sad that the parade got canceled, but best to keep everyone safe should the rains turn stormy. The poor craft people were all huddled under their tents, some of them with their wares covered. I still ended up walking along the Riverwalk, since I haven't been there in a while. They're still working on replacing the wooden boardwalk, so that was off-limits. There's a causeway between the pond and the river, and looking east toward the river from the craft booth area I could see roughly 10 colorful kayaks on the river; they were gone by the time I made it around to that side. I'd wondered if they'd traveled down the causeway to get there, but clearly they hadn't--despite the rainy season, there wasn't much water in there, definitely not enough for anything to cruise down. And the kayakers must have gone south or gotten out of the water completely, because they were nowhere to be found. The rain was coming down pretty decently by that time, too.

It wasn't much longer before I ended up walking home. I spent maybe 30 minutes total there, and it took 30 minutes to walk back home, so I wasn't gone all that long. Dad was surprised to see me so soon, but oh well. At least now I'll have a quiet afternoon at home.

windmill fest, mom, family, weather, rain

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