The Rain

There is a saying that goes,"climate is what you expect, weather is what you get." Today we got weather; the rainy kind of weather. The town of Lovelock, Nevada, which is where we stayed last night, gets an annual average rainfall of 5 inches. I believe that they got that all in one day this year, and that day was today. We were all philosophical while discussing the weather. "You can't be anymore than 'all wet'" was a popular saying being batted around the group over breakfast.

Let me get sidetracked for one second to say that the town of Lovelock, Neveada is permanently on my radar for one reason; the Cowpoke Cafe. The food was unbelievable there. We ate dinner there when we arrived and started our soggy morning out with breakfast compliments of Trish (the chef at Cowpoke). The dinner was great, but the dessert was a bread pudding that is more addicting than nicotine. I finished mine and helped two others finish theirs. If it were legal I would marry that bread pudding and buy it a house with a white picket fence. If you are ever on I-80 in Nevada you have to stop by and try the bread pudding, and have a meal too.

Lovelock was my favorite stop of the trip so far. After our dinner we stopped in at the Whiskey Creek Saloon to kill some time as we waited for the tiredness from the day catch up with us and force us to sleep. Upon setting foot in the bar a group of about ten local women turned and asked,"where the hell you guys from cuz you ain't from here?" One of the guys I was with said, in a very matter of fact way,"Truckee." (he is an engineer by trade, which explains his answer) It was a great time, though. I am pretty sure that I have said it before, but I truly got lucky in being the mechanic for this group of individuals. The group is so comfortable even tough we have only known each other for a week. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup with Norbert, who is from Pittsburgh, playing pool and listening to Sean, who is from England, and Dave, from New Hampshire, argue about the rules, and Charles telling me how he played at basketball at the Boston Garden are things that I will definitely never forget.

It is the comradery that has formed between us all that made the ride in the rain today feel effortless. I was soaked, the rain was absolutely pissing down while we negotiated the interstate (which is a totally new experience in the rain), but as soon as we got to the hotel and traded stories and basked in our misery, the wetness seemed to dry up, our body temperatures raised, and the weather became a story instead of a reality.