The next morning we woke up to birds singing, sunshine in the sky, and the fish waiting for us. We went to the lakefront with our snacks and fishing poles and spent the day in the fresh air with a nice breeze. We only caught three little baby sunnies all day, but we had a blast. Not once did we check our phones, worry about impending rain or think about the workweek ahead. After weeks of moving, work trips and car issues, we were finally able to relax and take a few deep breaths. 

As dinnertime rolled around, we packed up and headed back to our campsite with rain clouds hot on our tail. We went ahead and showered in hopes that we could make our hot dogs before rain started. Watching the forecast, it looked like the rain was only supposed to last an hour and be pretty light. A heavy drizzle set in. Our fire pit was under the trees so we started a fire and huddled up while we cooked our hotdogs. The plan was to climb into the tent and play cards if the rain didn’t slow down. Moments later, it started to pour. We shoved anything we wanted to keep dry into the back of the car, pulled the cooler up next to the tent and hunkered down for some Phase 10. 

It looked like we were in for a long night of rain. It was only getting heavier so we played a few rounds and decided we would see what the next hour would bring. Then a huge splash of water landed on my head. Our tent was leaking. We put a plate down to catch the rain, then we tried to shift the blankets around and found not only did we have water coming down from above but we were also sitting in a lake and our sleeping bags were quickly sinking. 

That put the final nail in our decision to pack up and head home. Kels and Brooke took off to load the outside things in the car while I stayed in the tent to bundle up blankets and manage the dog, who does not like getting wet without his permission. He avoided the wet spots by climbing to the higher ground offered by the stack of blankets.

After 20 minutes, a broken tent, a pile of soaking wet blankets, a grumpy wet dog, and three drenched and hysterically laughing girls, we piled in the car and drove the 45 minutes home at 9:00 p.m. We talked the entire way home about the fun we had splashing around in the lake, going fishing and enjoying nature. After all that, we’d still get home no later than 10:00. We decided once we were home, we’d warm up with some wine and card games. We got home at 9:45, left almost everything in the car, went inside, started a movie and promptly decided we were going to bed. 

Our two days of fresh air, full laughs and pouring-rain adventure had caught up to us and we couldn’t have been happier. We had a slow Sunday morning with coffee and brunch at a place we’d never been, then we got ready to start our week. It was the best we’ve felt in a month, aside from some sore backs from sleeping on the ground. 

This is just a reminder that when there’s rain in the forecast and nothing goes according to plan, that’s often when you make the best memories. Those are the days where you laugh until you can’t breathe and reminisce on the good luck of a downpour.