Wet.

So, the other night I rode in the back of a cop car. And I couldn't have been happier about it.

Let me explain.

It has been raining pretty much non-stop this month. Now, since it's December and this is the Pacific Northwest, that really shouldn't surprise any one. But we had a warm and dry winter last year; follow by a hot and dry summer. 2015 was one of the driest years on record, so all of this precipitation that we've been getting as of late is desperately needed. The flip side of all this is that the ground has been so parched that it's having a hard time retaining all the water that's being dumped on it. Trees are falling as well, due to the sudden over saturation of the soil.

I personally do not own a car. They're bloody expensive and need constant upkeep.  And, to be frank, I don't make enough to own one. So there's that. Normally, the metro system is pretty extensive; but now that I'm living in Kitsap County, I'm discovering just how limited it is over here. With all the faults of King and Pierce County's metro systems, you can still rely on them to get you from point A to point B at pretty much any time, day or night. That is not the case over here. By any means. Which brings me to the story at hand.

The metro over here doesn't run on Sundays. At all. Neither the buses or the foot ferry. It's as if they think that people only travel six days a week. Any way, so this particular Sunday, the weather is being particularly nasty. The power went out for about ten minutes; and that was me prior to going to work. My roommate was able to drop me off pretty close to work, but I still had to walk about seven miles from where he dropped me off to where I work. Which, actually, turned out to be serendipitous; as I was able to help out an elderly man who had gotten a flat on the side of the road because of this. The downside is that it was sprinkling when I began the journey, and full blown pouring well into the trek north. And, because I had to rush out the door, I neglected to grab an umbrella on the way out the door.

So, I was pretty damp by the time I got to work, but I was able to get a hot tea before starting, so the combined hot tea and hot store allowed me to dry quickly. I had previously arranged a ride home with my roommate, so I wasn't that worried about the weather. A non-issue. Since I was closing, I knew that I couldn't get a ride home with any of my co-workers (the ones working that night don't live anywhere close to me). And, due to the fact that I have a new phone and number, he was pretty much my only option for a dry way home.

As I was getting off, I noticed that I had a missed call from him. I called him back and he told me that he wouldn't be able to pick me up, due to his son already being asleep and he wouldn't be able to pick me up, after all. Now, as I had just gotten a new phone and had a rather small check, a taxi was not an option. Uber and Lyft are less expensive, but do not serve Kitsap. At all. A coworker of mine lives not far from the mall (I'm alone at this point) and she was one of the few numbers I had in my phone, so I called her. Unfortunately, her son was also asleep. Which meant I was out of options. Which meant that I now facing the reality of walking 20 miles in the torrential rain and steady winds. 20 miles. It's already been dark for hours and the deluge was not going to be letting up any time soon. I, in full honesty, was starting to panic. Seven miles was pretty miserable in and of itself. I was now facing walking almost three times that length in even more severe weather and with significantly less visibility.

Now, before I continue, let me clear something up. It wasn't the distance that had to travel that bothered me. I've done 20 miles many times before. I've also had to walk in worse conditions. There was the blizzard back in... 2008 (I think. Or 2009. I can't remember which) that I walked a couple miles in. And I walked many a time in the heat and humidity of Texas summers. The "issue" (if you will) I was having was that the weather was not only unrelenting, it was also affecting visibility. There also isn't much as far as cover for most of trip. At least ten miles of it being on the freeway...

I stepped out from where I was taking shelter, and was soaked almost immediately. I haven't even begun my trek and I was already wet. Livid with my situation, I posted on Facebook my circumstances, and then bit the bullet and started walking. I was barely out of the parking lot and drenched. The coat I was wearing is normally really good with rain, but with the sheer volume of water cascading from the sky, it couldn't keep me dry. The rain as it beat against my hood sounded like the rain drumming the roof of a tent. The wind was not relenting; but neither was I. As utterly mad as I was; I had no other way of getting home than my own two feet.

About a mile down the road, I get a phone call. I ducked under a tree to answer it and discovered that it was my mom. She saw my post on Facebook and was extremely worried about me. I told her what was going on; and she recommended that I call 911 and see if they could help me at all. Which was something that hadn't even occurred to me. I told her I would call them and had to hang up, due to the fact that even though I was under a tree, I was still getting saturated.

I continued my journey and I was able to make it another two miles before finding shelter in the doorway of a cafe. My mom had been trying to reach me to see if I had made the call, so I called her back to let her know I was okay and hadn't been able to dial 911 yet. By now, my phone was at 1% battery, so I hung up and made the call. As soon as the operator answered, I let her know it was a non-emergency and proceeded to tell her my plight. She informed me that they normally don't do things like this (due to being understaffed), but she would put it out there and let me know that I may be getting a call from the Sheriff's office. I told her that my phone was at 1% and she let me know she was putting it out there right away. I hung up; and about five minutes later, I get a call from an unknown number. I answered and it was indeed one of the sheriffs. He also reiterated that they don't normally do anything like this; but he was five minutes away and was willing to help me this one time.

Relief passed over me as I hung up. I called my mom to let her know and she was deeply relieved. I had to hang up, in case they called me again; and just after ending the call, my phone died.

The thunder started to roll at that point and it started to rain even harder. Ten minutes passed and a cop car came rolling up to me. He got out and had to pat me down before letting me in the vehicle. Asked me some preliminary questions and then he let me in. He gave me a brief lecture about how they never do anything like this because they're short handed. We made some small talk, as well. The trip still took about 25 minutes and when he let me out, I shook his hand.

So, my hat is off to the Kitsap County Sheriff's office. They truly go above and beyond. And in full honesty, the only people I was angry at this entire time was those who are in charge of the Kitsap County Metro service. This situation could have been completely avoided if they actually made their service accessible.

Oh, and one last thing: as of this writing, my boots are still soaked through...