Extreme Thunderstorm Warning

I could have sworn I was in Louisiana with relative humidity sitting above 60% for Spokane WA. Extreme Thunderstorm warning was forecast for later in the evening and I decided to ride to Costco, meeting my wife and daughter for a quick trip out of the house. Parking at the far end of the double-wide sized parking space, you know, to let people know I was occupying the entirety of it with my little putz.

We got in. We got our groceries. We debated pizza. We compromised by eating left overs.

I helped load the haul in the car and then went back to my excitement for the ride home. There was Mark (sorry Mark, I didn’t get ask if it was with a C or K. Maybe Q? So now you’re Mark). Mark was loading his early 2000s Toyotta Tundra as I was donning all my gear (ATGATT):

“Bet your gas bill is low!”

“Hah! Yeah, can’t even get a full gallon in this thing!” (That’s a lie, but the tank is only 1.4 gallons)

We got to talking about how every few miles is in the tens of dollars for him and his diesel dwelling (not the Toyota). About how it’s the most expensive we’ve ever seen gas. That’s why he was driving his Toyota, which, by the way, you need to run the A/C every so often. Even when you’re not driving the truck as your daily driver. Because, as Mark painfully experienced: “the compressor on these things is at the bottom so it gets caked with mud! In a ford they put them up higher out of the way from the road”.

Mark got to telling me about how he used to ride a Yellow Honda Trail when he was young. Jumping it off and beating it up behind a local grocery store with his friends. Reveling in the ability to just be free and rip around with out a care.

Mark, I can assure you I do the same. Save for the behind the grocery store bit.

I beat the storm by the way.