El Nino!!

This week has been really rainy. I love the rain, probably because we don't get very much of it! And I really love when it pours and things get flooded. We have had rain every day, with three storms coming through since Monday. Thursday was the "big one". The news chanels were running "Storm Watch 2010", complete with it's own newly designed graphic, every hour. They said that the worst was coming sometime after 11 am. Isaac was at Joy School, and needed to be picked up at noon. I kept thinking that I should pick him up early and try to beat the rain. But the baby was sleeping, so I didn't want to wake him up.

I headed out the door about 20 to, leaving plenty of time to drive conservatively on the wet and already water logged roads. The rain had been steady all morning, but about a block away from the Joy School house, it started to come down harder and in bigger drops. I parked outside the house, left the babies in the car and ran.

By time Isaac got his shoes and jacket on, we looked out the door, and it was coming down in sheets. We took off running, Isaac clutching his papers to his chest, trying to keep them dry. At one point I had to carry him because the side walk was completely flooded, and I didn't want him to get too wet (lost cause anyway!). We were both soaked when we got to the car. He took off his jacket, while I stood there getting pelted by the rain and holding the umbrella.

Isaac was not too happy about being wet, and was pretty upset when he saw the desintigrating paper in his hands. I thought it was great! I was soaked to the bone, but it was fun and exciting. Until I turned on Carmel Mountain, and saw that the roads had turned into canals! The gutters were over filled and flooding halfway across either lane, and there was probably atleast an inch of rain across the whole road. I got to an intersection where I would usually go straight, but could turn. Except this time I couldn't do either.

The light was red, so I looked around, debating turning left, but there was a lake across that intersection, with a drain that I wasn't familiar how deep it was, so I couldn't judge how deep the water really was. in front of me was an intersection completely full of water, rushing down the hill from my left, across my lane, and hitting something that made it look like a rapid in the right lane.

The light turned green, and I didn't budge. There were only 2 cars behind me, going very slow, and not yet up to where I was, so I sat there and thought through my options. Of which I had very few! Could I sit there until the rain stopped and the floods subsided? What would I say to the rescuers who would have to save me and my 3 kids if I got stuck?!?!

I watched everyone around me, imagining the same grantic thoughts going through their heads. Suddenly (okay, not so suddenly, no one was going more than 10 MPH!) a little compact car traveling in the opposite direction went for it. His headlights were underwater at one point!! But he made it. About that same time, a truck to my right decided to go for it too. So I abandoned all my better judgement, and went for it!!! The truck was going too slow, so I passed him... I didn't want to get stuck, I wanted to get through and out of it.

Once we crossed the roaring river, I was laughing, and shaking, almost crying. It was such a weird rush, that I haven't felt in a while. Poor Isaac was freaking out. I tried to tell him to just look around and enjoy the craziness, it was an adventure.

We got home safely, and had to change every last item of clothes, I was soaked to the bone. And wouldn't you know it... 10 minutes later, the sun came out, the roads dried up to just creeks running along the gutter, and the worst of the storm had passed.