Yesterday, I spent the day up at Lake Lanier--gorgeous weather--a bit windy, but a fabulous day. I took shots with my phone and never really thought I'd have something to work with until...well, a tornado hit in my area near home.
We left the lake late (close to 6:30 or so), and I was starving (another topic)--we decided to stop into "Moe's" (southwestern, fast fare) once we got close to home. I saw the skies darkening before we went into the restaurant and even snapped (remember, I'm starving) at my kid, who was not wearing shorts or shoes when she exited the van, to "get in the van, get on the clothes, and get out before the rain hits us!"
As we sat there unaware of the outdoors and talking about our fun day (it was 5 kids and I by the way), a news warning comes on the TV that sits up in the corner of the restaurant. We see that people are to seek cover now if they are well, RIGHT WHERE WE ARE. I'm thinking "I need to get these kids home now"--BUT I'M ALSO THINKING "I ordered my husband's burrito but haven't had it made yet, better do that quickly and leave." Luis, the restaurant worker who knows us because we come in there all the time and we see him around town a bunch says, "you shouldn't leave, I know where you live--the storm is going that way. Stay here, we'll put you in the freezer/fridge for the restaurant if we need to--it's not going anywhere if the tornado hits here--it's too unsafe to drive out there now."
So mark one more thing off my bucket list: I have been inside a Moe's fridge with 7 kids (Luis's kids were there too!), 2 of them crying (understandably--they were not with their parents and the skies were awful dark, winds were fierce, and well, I'm not their mom!), the others running in and out and saying "I'm freeeeeezing!"
We wait it out. I get the others home. The skies look almost normal--strange how our world changes so dramatically. I don't see any damage--must have hit somewhere else--there are sirens everywhere. I see my husband out with our dog trying to get her out before any more storms hit, and I can't get into the garage (although I do hit the remote opener like I'm going to magically make the electricity come back on with the determined repetition of click, click, click--I'm one of those humans you could study for strange habits when all evidence clearly points to its futility).
Once inside, we search for the flashlight--I assess the phone situation (who has power, who doesn't--we don't use landlines), and I walk out into the foyer--it's lit by "yellow" light somehow, and I go outside--it's like a yellow hue covered the world. I was IN a camera filter--it was just so weird--like ETSOOI, but LIVE! I called to the family to come outside and we look up to see these puff ball clouds floating around in the yellowy-orange light and still some dark sky--it was the oddest sky I ever saw.
So, to end this long tale...sorry...I got out my "real" camera and worked on capturing these clouds. I have edited the photos to try to reduce some of the graininess and to make sure the contrast appeared so you could see the clouds as I did. The color is about the same as what I saw. I've loaded three from yesterday (power did not come back on until 6 am this morning). Here are the others:
http://365project.org/darylo/didn-t-make-cut/2013-06-13
http://365project.org/darylo/album3/2013-06-13
