Very Scary !!

Postscript, 9/04/2010, 9:15 AM: I wrote the following--last night--after I left Barnes & Noble, Holland, Michigan.

"I haven't seen or heard the news. At Straits State Park, thirty-six hours ago, people were talking about a hurricane with unpredictable destination. Am I--in Holland, MI--experiencing weather conditions from the East Coast? The T@B is shaking violently!! It feels like I'm on a boat in choppy waters!! I'm getting seasick. (Remember, as recently as May 28th, I was on a boat [Maid of the Mist] at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.)

"I left Barnes & Noble at 7:47 because it was getting dark--and it was raining. It was time to find the Wal-Mart and settle for the night. As I suspected, Wal-Mart was less than a mile away (with Sam's Club across the driveway). Because of the violent wind, shopping carts are being propelled across the lot and I pray one doesn't hit my vehicles.

"It's 9 o'clock and I repeat 'very scary.' It's raining hard and the T@B is rocking. At times like this, I wish I had TV reception.

"It's 9 o'clock and I can see a steady stream of traffic on US 31. It was bumper-to-bumper at 4:30 and I attributed part to 'getting off work' traffic. Yes, a lot of recreation vehicles on-the-road for the Labor Day holiday. Honestly, I hate to travel on holiday weekends. 'Very scary!!'

* To bed at 9:20; 69 degrees.
* 10:30 and I can't go to sleep. Through my front window, I'm watching the tree branches whipped by the wind.
* Extremely hard rain at 10:35!!
* 11:50 and I did fall asleep briefly but shaking awakened me; 66 degrees.
* 12:35 AM and calmer, no rain; 65 degrees and I reached for a blanket to cover me and the sleeping bag. (The same light-weight blanket that was 'too warm' [during the night] just three days ago [but those details not published yet].)
* Awaken at 3:05 by kids whooping and hollering in the parking lot. Still some wind but calmer; 64 degrees.
* 4:40 AM and the storm is still buffeting the trailer and wind is whipping the trees; 62 degrees.
* 7:09 and the clouds that were charcoal gray a few minutes ago are now tinged with shades of pink. It's beautiful!! The Eastern horizon is bright orange. (I only took one picture. With a better camera, I'm sure I could have captured many pictures of the awesome sunrise. Thirty minutes of time-lapse photos would have been spectacular.)
* I was up briefly about 7, then back to bed. 'Up' at 7:54; 62 degrees."

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Another postscript, 11 AM, 9/04/2010: I could sit in this Barnes & Noble all day and work on my blog. However, I think I should continue down the highway toward Goshen, Indiana. The sky is very cloudy, the wind is still blowing, but milder than yesterday. I went to get to my destination and "get off the road."

For the record: I started this adventure on April 4th so five months "on the road."

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Yet another postscript written on 9/04/2010: "Sixty-six degrees inside T@B at 11:25 when I left Barnes & Noble. Sixty-one degrees outside at 11:40 because I put the thermometer on the ground next to the step. The wind was so strong the thermometer had blown over. ~~ Boy was I wrong!! I left the comfort of the B&N Cafe planning to continue to Goshen. Just outside the bookseller, the wind and cold almost took my breath away. Then the force of the wind blew the T@B door out of my hands. From inside Barnes & Noble the trees didn't appear to be blowing hard. Looks are deceiving!! Do I want to drive in the wind?? Maybe this shopping center is the safest place to be!! I prepared salad and had a 'rockin' good lunch. Yes, the trailer was rocking in the wind. I heated water for tea and that took away some of the chill in the T@B."

The decision became apparent; I returned to Barnes & Noble and wrote Lorraine has visitors.