Back To It

After what feels like an age but really was just 10 days, I finally made it back home to the Bay Area. And once again it's hot here, something that I got at least somewhat acclimatised to in Orlando where I stopped off to attend a trade show enroute back from Europe.

Flying into the airport there the pilot had to take a very circuitous route in order to make it in under and around a very large storm cell. Thankfully, we landed ahead of the weather but while taxiing to the gate you could see the rain sweeping-in across the airport boundary. Alas, it made it to the plane before we made it to the terminal. The heavens opened and and lightning started to crackle.

Doubtless in a sop to good Floridian labour relations, the airport doesn't allow ground workers out on the apron while lightening is striking the ground within five miles of the airport, so as a consequence of this rule we were stuck within, er, striking distance of the gate for close to an hour while the weather crossed over. The rain was extremely impressive (the news later reported rates in excess of 4" per hour) and there were some very obvious and very large strikes hitting all around us. All aircraft ground movement was shut down as visibilitydropped to almost zero at times under the barrage of rain and wind buffeting the airfield.

When all was said and done, I didn't in fact mind the wait too much as I had plenty of time before my first meeting, and in California we mostly miss out on light shows like the one the whole plane was treated to Monday afternoon. However, I was glad to be safe inside in the dry, and subsequently I was very glad to be heading away from the humidity of Florida on Thursday morning and back to the equally hot-but-much-drier-climes of San Jose.