Fun Fact Friday #1

So I decided it should be fun instead of random.. just to keep up with the F trend. The posts should be pretty random. Whether it's about me or something fun and interesting. Just a cool way for you guys to get to know me a bit better.

Today's fun and random fact:

I want to take a vacation where you chase tornadoes.

For the longest time in my life weather has fascinated me. From watching cloud shapes in the sky to watching thunderstorms in my garage. Thunderstorms, did however, scared me for the longest time.

Growing up in a town that used to be all farms and swamps just over 50 years ago, not all of the houses we're built with basements. The newer ones yes, but the house we lived in for 12 years was between 30 and 40 years old. When they started digging the foundation for the house they could build a basement if it started to flood as they dug, or to lay cement down if it were clay. So getting a tornado warning was quite terrifying there. Sometimes I'd beg my mom to take us to our neighbors if it were really bad.

I remember my first tornado warning in 1994. I was six and we had some of the neighbor friends over. It was a typical hot late spring day. I didn't know anything at the time but I do remember it being very dark. My mom told us to go in our downstairs washroom and to sit there until she told us we could get out. I sat there with my 2 year old brother and our neighbor friends until mom let us come out. The moms were all freaked and dads were still all at work. We were told it was a tornado warning that had happened and that they weren't good.

Still, as scary as that was, it sparked my curiosity for the weather. I took out books from the school library about thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and all other sorts. I got weather books for holidays and birthdays and I started to watch the weather channel 24/7. I just thought it was so cool. To be 9 years old and describe a super cell thunderstorm to people was an awesome feeling. They had no idea what I was talking about.

This past week was tornado week. Now I live in California now, so there isn't much to worry about when it comes to weather, especially tornadoes. But weather.com had some episodes of storm stories I couldn't stay away from. On the first Saturday of every month at 1PM in southeast michigan, they would ring the tornado sirens. Just to test them. They sound like those air raid sirens from WWII. Such an eerie sound, and loud when you were right under it.

It is my dream to one day take one of those storm chaser trips across tornado alley and to see some tornadoes up close and personal.

Hope you enjoyed. Until next Friday.