A funny thing happened on the way to the movies.

Last week Lydia and I were getting stir crazy in the house. Rain was pending, so the park was out. I decided as a special treat I would take her to see a movie. We start out and immediately the rain begins. One thing I love about the South is the storms. Sudden and intense, they are almost frightening. This one topped almost anything I had ever seen. Within minutes the lightning started. As we were getting nearer to the movie I felt strongly to move my arm away from the side of the car were it was resting. Suddenly I was blinded by a flash of light and I screamed at the most intense thunder crash I have every heard. Then my car died. Everything shut down. Through the curtain of rain I could see the building of Shane's previous employer and I coasted into the parking lot, running a stop sign on the way. It wasn't until I was actually parked that I noticed my car smelled like smoke and realized that I had actually been hit by lightning.

I quickly got Lydia out of the car and into the building. Shane was in San Diego on a business trip, so I called his best friend Todd. Todd yelled into the phone that he was outside in the rain trying to keep his house from flooding and he couldn't hear me. - So no help there.
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Long story short. In about an hour the tow guy comes to get the car. I thought that Lydia would like watching from the window at how that car was loaded up. This turned out to be a very bad idea. She was terrified at someone taking our car and was desperately to save it. After calming her down, one of Shane's old co-workers offered to take us home. We pull out of the parking lot to see the freeway at a total standstill. We turn on the radio. - They were reporting 50 wrecks within the last hour. The freeway was completely shut off due to semi wrecks. The main road to my house - flooded and closed. The backway to my house - backed up for miles. After almost an hour of driving around trying to find a way home - we are finally dropped off at my friend Wendy's house. 6 hours after leaving for the movie, Wendy drops us off at home.
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Of course the power is out, air conditioning included. The house has to be in the high 80's. That night Lydia wouldn't sleep in her room. It was too quiet without her little fan and too hot. Instead she "sleeps" with me. Actually, she thrashes throughout most of the night -screaming that her car is gone. Finally she says that she wants to sleep on the floor and she dozes on some blankets for about 2 hours before her nightmares start again and I have to rock her and sponge her little forehead with a damp cloth until morning.
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Lets just say that this was not the best day ever. To add salt to the wound. This is where Shane was staying during this time:

And this is what he was driving.

But still....happy ending. Shane brought me home a little treat.
Everything is better with a love letter and some See's Chocolates.
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Follow up:

Later it was found that most likely the lightning hit the road around me and I was just within the shock radius. The only damage to my car was the complete obliteration of my electrical system. No cosmetic damage. Still... our entire cruise budget went to fixing my car. Sigh.