Yes, it DID get up to 110° and holy shit.
For the most part, it bounced around between 108° and 109° and landed on 110° for a rather short time, but it did hit it. I’ve never experienced those temperatures before, ever in my entire life. It was actually pretty scary! And yet, we also felt beyond lucky since we do have A/C and so many people in the Pacific NW DO NOT. I grew up without it, not in our cars, not in our house. And I remember a number of miserable days growing up with nothing but fans. I am beyond grateful that we now have A/C in both our house and our vehicles these days, and over these years it’s apparent that it’s necessary more and more often. Things are changing. It’s just a fact.
On Monday, the day it hit 110°, what also happened was that the “heat dome” popped that evening, and the temperature plummeted within a few short hours to 66°. I stood out on our deck around midnight, that had been blistering a short time before, and spread my arms to the stiff, cool breeze and just shook my head at the strangeness of it all. And the relief of it all.
Since then, it’s been cloudy and cool-ish, but we’re supposed to have a nice 4th of July weekend in the 80s, which will actually feel PLEASANT! (No bitching anymore about the 80s!)
I’ve been preparing for Helen to come down for the 4th, and I’m so excited to see her. I suspect it will be somewhat mellow, but we’ve been invited to hang out Saturday night with neighbors for a beach fire and roasted weenies (and probably marshmallows), and of course wine! I’m not sure what to expect for the 4th—those around here who used to put on incredible fireworks shows aren’t really into it anymore, but I suspect there will be something. And I think the tides are supposed to be conducive to actually hanging out on the beach! That doesn’t happen very often; usually the tide is too high to even have a beach.
Today I went grocery shopping for the first time in a year-and-a-half without having to wear a mask! Washington officially fully “opened up” yesterday and I’m all in. Since we’ve been fully vaccinated, I’ve pretty much felt “all in” anyway and I’m loving it. I cannot relate to those who have chosen to NOT be vaccinated, and I’m aware of a number of them. I guess it’s all on them now.
Onward!
“When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
