Maybe we should have flown?

Okay, if you don't know by now, I hate flying (thus the idea for this trip). Well, today was a toss-up between crying in the passenger seat or crying on board a plane holding a stranger's hand. We knew it was going to be a rainy day but we figured, "aw, what the hell" and proceeded to drive the three hours to Prattville, Alabama to start the Robert Trent Jones Trail. After 30 or so minutes of "southern" rain that we haven't seen in 17 years, the BEEP BEEP BEEP of the Emergency Broadcast System kicks in on the radio. Yup, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms coming directly at us. Hmmm, Bob is now driving since I abdicated my position for second-in-command and he and I just looked at each other expressionless and kept driving. Every few minutes the EBC message kept coming on and now we could barely see through the windshield! Pull over! We parked, walked through a puddle of three inch rain and ran to the closest brick restaurant we could find. Drenched, we sat down and waited it out. Sharon called on my cell phone right in the middle and I was reprimanded by the waitress telling me that lightning passes through the cell phone and can kill me. Is that a Southern tale or is that true? I need to snope that. Wow, black skies, 60 mph winds and fat rain! When we finally thought it had passed, we jumped back into the mix only to skirt the storm. After many deep breaths and prayers, we made it!