Last September, my brother, sister-in-law, husband and I went for a ride to Stillwater to take a cruise on one of the Stillwater River Boats. The traffic was moving along nicely, when we noticed a large sheet of clear plastic dancing around the cars. It formed into a ball and bounced off a few cars in front of us. When we got closer, it spread out like a magic carpet. It slightly skimmed our hood and floated over to the car next to us where it entirely covered their windshield! Luckily, everyone had their wits about them. The driver with the covered windshield pulled over to the side of the road. The drivers behind us slowed down to give them room. We were shocked yet thankful everyone was okay.
When we got to Stillwater, we visited an antique store and saw familiar things from our childhoods. 😉 We stopped at Candyland to pick up popcorn and turtle candies and headed towards the other end of town to the riverboats. A line began to form on the hot asphalt parking lot. We couldn’t wait to get on board. We hoped we could catch a bit of breeze on the top deck under a canopy.
At the top deck, we found a cozy table and settled in with some cold, refreshing beverages. Many boats and jet skis bobbed up and down the river. We admired the new bridge to the south and the old bridge to the north. The Captain began the trip by turning the boat around so it faced in the other direction. The ship headed away from the Stillwater Lift Bridge, which was built in 1931 and is now used as a pedestrian and bike bridge. We floated closer towards the new bridge, St. Croix Crossing, which is located in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota and crosses the St. Croix River to St. Joseph, Wisconsin.
People were welcome to visit the banquet table at any time. We had our fill of chicken, pork roast, potatoes, coleslaw, and a roll with butter and topped it off with a chocolate chip cookie.
By the time we reached the new bridge, large clouds began to accumulate. We wondered if we would get soaked as the blue sky became filled with dark clouds. The lightning traveled on top of one cloud to the next. No thunder rumbled our way, so we stayed on the top deck and watched the lighted homes on the hills pass by.
A little nervous, I made a quick exit to visit the restroom, in case the lightning decided to head our way. When I met up with everyone, we were ready to disembark. No drops of rain met us until we approached our car. We only got a sprinkling. As we drove away from the river, hail plummeted down. The driver kept going as we hoped the hail would lighten. When it did, large and steady raindrops arrived to take its place.
We made it home safely, without a bump on the hood, but found no puddles to greet us. We were glad to have had an exciting adventure to talk about, but I wished we would have gotten some rain in our neighborhood too.
(This post is in response to WordPress #dailyprompt: Think back on your most memorable road trip.)
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