I'm Only Happy When It Rains

“It always rains on tents.  Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.” –Dave Barry

Or a motorcycle or on unsuspecting travelers wandering the streets of colonial Williamsburg.  Thus, the highlight purchase of the trip: Felicia’s pink pop-up umbrella with the purple William & Mary logo. 

Me?  I did remember to bring an umbrella, but here are some things I forgot:

• Rain jacket
• Rain boots
• Extra clothes
• A back-up umbrella (I lost mine, go figure)

On Saturday, March 24^th, 2012, Williamsburg only received .61 inches (I looked it up), but when you’re wearing soggy sandals, and the wind is blowing the rain underneath your umbrella onto your multi-tote Coach bag, one tends to exaggerate the amount of participation.  If you would have asked us on Saturday, our guess would have been at least two inches of rain.  Of that I am sure. 

The rain wasn’t a total buzzkill, for me at least.  Less-mature-Aimee reverted back to childhood and stomped through the puddles.  My feet were already wet, so I figured why avoid it?  To me, puddles are just as special as sunshine.  To Felicia, who has lived in Las Vegas for the majority of her life, puddles are the anti-Christ.  Love you, Felicia. 

Glass is half-full, though, right?  It’s always best to have that attitude on a vacation.  After all, you’re taking time out of your schedule with the sole purpose of having fun.  So, make your vacation fun despite Mother Nature’s disregard for your well-laid plans.    Glass half-full, always glass half-full.

Thanks to our positive attitudes, Felicia and I had plenty of glass-half full moments on our trip:

Glass half-full moment #1.  The rain made for some neat pictures when I purposefully disregarded the iPhone + rain = disaster equation.  If only I had brought my indestructible camera, but, alas, I only had my iPhone, which takes great pictures, by the way.  Quick story about my new camera: It’s waterproof, and I got it because I may or may not have dropped my old camera at the bottom of a waterfall.  Whoops. 

Glass half-full moment #2.  During a particularly intense bout of rain, a sympathetic Colonial Williamsburg employee took pity on Felicia and me and gave us a tour of the colonial Capitol building for free.  During the tour, I learned that for misdemeanors (i.e. sheep stealing), I'd be put in the stacks and have my ears nailed to the wood.  One ear would be nailed for the first hour, the next ear would be nailed for the second.  Ouch.

Glass half-full moment #3.  Seeking shelter from the rain in a vintage bookstore that had a collection of postcards (some of which were written on) from all over the world.  I nabbed several for my travel writing class next semester.  I figured that I could have students read the postcard and expand on the narrative with the constraint that their additions to the story are historically accurate.  Don’t worry.  Thanks to the date stamp, students will be able to tell when the postcard was sent.

As you can tell from our experience, rainy day vacation days aren’t the end of the world.  Here are some tips on how to spend your time if, like Felicia, and me you find yourself in the midst of a monsoon:

• Go on a tour of a museum or historic building
• Find a vintage bookstore or even a Barnes & Noble
• See a movie
• Spend some time in a bar or a coffee shop talking to locals
• Visit a cemetery (how cool yet creepy would that be), tip fromSouthernLiving.com

I’ll leave you, my beloved readers, with this piece of advice: “If the rain spoils our picnic, but saves a farmer’s crop, who are we to say it shouldn’t rain?” –Tom Barrett