Super Vacation.

I had a great time the last two weeks on vacation. To get things rolling, I thought I'd stop by Metropolis, IL. It's been a long time since the last time I'd been in Superman's home town, and with the latest Superman movie hitting the silver screen, I thought why not stop in. Years ago the courthouse lawn had a smaller concrete statue of the man of steel. As I recall, the paint was kinda flaking off the statue and it really needed some attention. Now as you can see....WOW! He's made a big comeback. I noticed many of the old businesses are still hanging in there, and today there's a lot of new stores and restaurants. It was a nice way to get the trip off to a Super Start. I'll post a few more snapshots from Metropolis and a few other pics from the road in the days ahead.
It is nice to be back though. And even better to come back to some wetter weather. Sunday evening I had quite a downpour at the house, picking up almost 1 1/4" in about one hour. (And apparently we had enough rain to keep the lawn fairly green while I was gone.) Yesterday though I ended up with nada. Even though the sky was just as dark, and the growling of thunder was nearby, all I saw was the cool breeze moving away from the storm that dumped nearly an inch at Lovell Field. Before this morning's showers, here's where the rainfall tallies stood:

• Since July 1st: 1.85" +.14"
• Since June 1st: 4.05" -1.65"
• Since Jan. 1st: 22.64" -8.01"

Planning outdoor activities the next few days will be problematic due to the scattered nature of the rains. But things should start drying out a tad by the weekend. So here we go.....

Today: Mainly cloudy with a few more showers and storms this afternoon. Highs in the mid to upper 80s.

Tonight: Showers fade with skies becoming partly cloudy late. Some patchy fog will develop by morning with lows around 72.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a few hit and miss storms in the afternoon and evening. Highs around 92.

Thursday and Friday: Partly cloudy with a 40% chance for some afternoon storms scattered about the area. Highs 90 to 93.

Saturday and Sunday: Partly cloudy with a 30% chance for an afternoon storm. Highs climbing this weekend to 93 to 95.

Time to fly......lots of e-mail and voice-mail to answer. So up, up, and away!