A major concern of the road trip was rain.  News reports had covered the deluge and damage in Texas and Oklahoma for weeks.  It had made me plan for more driving time because of potential weather delays.  I brought my umbrella and jacket just in case we encountered those deluges.

But the first leg of the drive to Knoxville was sunny with patches of clouds.  Fortunately, it rained there overnight so Liza and I didn’t have to drive through it.  The second leg to Baton Rouge was cloudy.  The sky opened up in Mississippi and Louisiana.  Liza was at the wheel and she masterfully guided the car to Baton Rouge.  The rain eased up on our arrival in town.

The next day, my sister handed me the RainX cleaner and a squeegee to clean the windshields and prepare for any downpours.  I applied the cleaner.  Assuming that the squeegee was the gas station’s, I returned it to the squeegee slot.  But it was Liza’s.  I still owe her a squeegee after our return to New York.

The final leg was uneventful to Buc-ee’s (one of a chain of Texas-sized gas stations and convenience stores) in Wharton.  (Of course, I picked up a bag of cinnamon pecans).  But once we neared Victoria, the rain varied between downpours and light rain.  The rain completely stopped at Refugio.  Rays of sunlight broke through the clouds near Taft.  Looking out at the wind turbines and fields, I never saw the vegetation so lush and green.  South Texas in my mind had been always shades of brown and light green after years of drought.

The weather in Corpus Christi during the Memorial Day weekend was mostly sunny during my stay.  Any thunderstorm was late at night or it was a brief burst in the afternoon.  I had joked with my friends that I had made the rain stopped in Corpus Christi.  But news reports reminded me that this rain was no joke, especially the flooding in Houston and a Corpus Christi family swept away in Wimberley, Texas.  Those reports prompted calls from our mother checking whether we are OK.

The return trip followed the same weather pattern in reverse.  On the first day, there were downpours in Victoria and east of Houston.  Liza and I took the I-610 loop to avoid any flooded Houston highways.  The second day saw only rain near Birmingham.  The final leg between Knoxville and New York was sunny all the way.

I might have brought sun to Corpus Christi, but the rain followed us back to New York.  Rain lingered over the city for two days before clearing out on June 3.  My sister credited the weather on our trip to good fortune.  I on the other hand would prefer to thank God and his providence.  Now I can enjoy being in New York without worrying about any more trips until August.