Sat, 4 Oct - I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto

Positano has been wonderful and relaxing, and we've had our share of beautiful warm weather ... however we are here during the rainy season & received a reminder of that last night. After a warm, calm, sunny day, rain and wind moved in. We wandered the town's narrow passages between showers and ended at a hidden place on the quieter public beach side of town which seemed a bit more bohemian than the places on the larger private beach. We enjoyed a bottle of Vino Rossi grown in near-by Ravioli (the locals call it Ravello, but after a few glasses, it turns into Ravioli for us), and scampered back on a barely lit passage along the Sea to our room to relax & retire. All was calm ...

... at least until about 1:30 in the morning when a storm blew suddenly in from the Sea. It seemed to go from dead calm to torrent in seconds, although having been in a deep sleep, it's really tough to tell if it was all that sudden. All I know is that I awoke to a sound like the building was collapsing ... it was just the awning convulsing in an intense wind moments before the skies opened up and lightening started striking all around. I threw upen the shutters, ran onto the balcony half-dressed, tripped over the chair on the way to the handle to retract the awning, and started cranking it in as quick as possible as the torrential downpour had already begun. Nancy ran to the door to assist, but didn't see me, since I was hidden in the corner where the handle was. I was gone. All she could think was that I'd been sucked up into the clouds like Dorothy, and the Carabinieri would find my battered lifeless half-dressed body on the beach below.

After a moment she realized what I was doing and quickly recovered, helping me bring the chairs in so they didn't knock about in the wind, out there. Once inside, it became clear how upset she had been, although I still haven't been able to get out of her whether it was from the thought of losing the love of her life, the thought of trying to explain to the Questura what I was doing on the balcony half dressed, or if she simply doesn't like to travel alone. I think it's option A, although she keeps trying to tell me it's C. Regardless of the reason, I'm glad not to have been sucked up into the storm clouds ... I've gotta figure there are several hundred more dramatic and adventurous ways to go that won't sound quite so lame or embarrassing when printed in the Baltimore Sun.

Next up: a rainy day in Ravello.

Ciao! - Brent & Nancy