Chasing Rainbows

Blogger chasing a rainbow: I think I need sirens and flashing lights to get people out of my way so I can find a spot where I can pull off the road and get the shot.

After snow and rain and rain and more rain, the sun finally peeked through yesterday as I was on the freeway.  A few raindrops were still hitting my windshield so I knew a rainbow was bound to pop up somewhere.

I first saw the bow very low in the sky and arched across a solid white mountain to the side of the freeway. 
It was hard to resist taking a picture out my drivers side window, but since I was traveling at 65+ mph, I knew that would be a bad idea.
The next exit was taken, and I started looking for some place where I could park and get a good picture.   Sam's Club parking lot almost worked.
See what I mean about the rainbow being really low in the sky?



Back on the freeway, heading straight to the bow.  I could snap a picture while looking straight ahead. 
Now to figure out how to get up to the rainbow straddled mountain pass.

(Wondering if the folks in the office building are enjoying an unobstructed view.)


Getting closer to the canyon pass...


Found a place to pull over...and watched as the rainbow shrunk into just a tiny bit, then disappeared.

Yeah, I know the price of gas should make me skip going on a rainbow chase.

(My hometown La Jolla California was just cited as having the most expensive gas in the country at $5.13 a gallon by the way.  I totally don't understand how one small community could have gas costing more than another community.)

I actually was out chasing another kind of "rainbow":  heading to the mall in search of crop/capris/shorts for summer.   Personally, shopping for pants, bras and bathing suits that look good, fit well, and are comfortable...those items come under the heading of "Ugh".

There must be some deep seated psychological issues with me and shopping for those items.  Not only did I go rainbow chasing to avoid dressing room time, I also managed to get lost, not once, not twice, but three times after chasing the rainbow.

A mall visit requires heading south, then west, then south again.  Three freeway interchanges; that shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Don't ask me how I managed to go south, then west, then north, then west again, then overshot my turn off, then went east and north...

The usual fifteen minute drive stretched to almost an hour.  I drove past a cemetery and was really surprised to see every grave sporting a potted plant or flower arrangement, and groups of people sitting in lawn chairs with tarps and radios and picnic tables.

Families were pulling up and skads of kids raced out of the cars, women and men balanced huge potted flowers and bouquets, and this was at nearly five pm.  Guess they had waited for the rain to stop...I can get that...but somehow I don't think ALL those graves held people who had died in combat.

Since it was Memorial Day, I could understand braving the elements to decorate a veteran's grave.  Maybe I am just over thinking this, but I suspect that 99.5% of those graves held assorted non-military casualties.  So what was drive to go to the cemetery in the slushy rain, pitch a tarp and fold out lawn chairs for those families that I was seeing?

Anyhoo...I finally got to the mall, shopped in a dejected style (meaning I didn't like what I was seeing when I tried on the various styles of pants) and bought several "close enough" pairs.

By then it was well after 8 pm.  Just on a whim, I went to JC Penn-nay's (said with a french accent) too.

Tried on their brands of pants and Ta-DAH!!!  We have multiple winners! 

We also have 10 minutes until closing.  I was exhausted, so I just gathered all the pants/shorts/crops/capris/skimmers that fit nicely and plopped them down at the register.  Pulled out a credit card, and bought the whole lot.

Today it is sunny and warm.  The perfect kind of day for shorts/crop/capris wearing...and I will try all my purchases on again, narrow down the selection to a pair each of black, stone and white, plus one additional pair of white more dressy pants.

Then I will try to get back to the mall to return the rest.

Let's see if I can make the drive in 15 minutes this time without getting lost.

Or seeing any more rainbows.