The waves were crashing upon the shore while the almost-full moon peeked between the fast-moving clouds. Rain was pelting the windows angrily seeking to get inside. Lightning flashed overhead while I pulled the covers over my head.
Winds were howling and forcing the lingering smoke from the fireplace downward back into the room. I ventured out of the safety of the bed and down the hallway into the living room to deal with the fireplace.
I was snuggled just a few hours before in front of the warm fireplace while the storm was rattling through the darkness of night. It was about 3 a.m. now and the thunderstorm was relentless. The sound of the lightning was almost instantaneous and the cabin rattled with each explosion. I finally had to dispose of the embers in the fireplace outside to eliminate the intrusion of smoke in the room. Opening the patio door, the wind almost pushed me into the wall. It was a stormy night at the beachfront cabin and was kind of made to order for this weatherman.
In between the squalls the moon illuminated the breakers, which were churning the surf into a fiery foam. No weather station at the cabin but my estimate would be that the winds were at least 60 mph.
