August 19

August 19th (sunny day – thunderstorms evening)
Woke up knowing that there was nothing we could do until tomorrow about our two flat tires and eighteen tire lugs that were put on so tight that two people with tire irons and extension bars could not remove. (Georg has a real serious issue with Donna Turner and her “mechanic”.) Also, the six Italian boys next to us returned home at 4:30 am for the third night in a row. They make a bit of noise, but it doesn’t last for long and they do not get up until 2 pm.
Regardless of the fact that nothing can be done about the tires, Georg left for an hour and a half scouting out alternate plans if the mechanics next door could not handle the problem. He also got more money at a bank machine just in case. After he returned, I informed him that I was going to have a “snooze” because my stomach has been bothering me a bit. My snooze turned out to be a three-hour deep sleep.
After dinner, we noticed monstrous black clouds heading towards us. We decided that we would go for a walk to an abandoned golf course next to us. Bad idea! Halfway back we got absolutely drenched. The torrential rains, lightning and thunder lasted for over five hours. This was undoubtedly the biggest storm we have sat through. We judge the size of storms not only by duration, but by the amount of water we collect in a pail from our tarp in order to keep the surrounding area relatively dry. After 25 gallons of water, we gave up and went to bed.