Every trip we take, whether it is a weekend jaunt, or an extended adventure seems to always have a hiccup.  Are we cursed by some sort of malevolent being, or do we just have a case of bad luck?  Who knows?   I will tell you this, our trips tend to have storytelling power, and if ever there is a natural disaster big or small, we are always asked if we have just returned from that location.

After the mudslide and flash flood misfortune of our last Fourth of July trip we thought there is no way of ever topping that natural disaster.  Well we were wrong.  Mother Nature was still pissed at us and we still had a penance to pay for some reason.

This year for the 4th, I tagged along with my husband (please see The Washington’s blogs) for a work trip.  After he completed his work tasks we were going to embark on our “Official” vacation.  We were starting in Virginia and would go into North Carolina and finally ending in Tennessee.  After a stop at the Biltmore (future story to come), we then would hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head towards the Smoky Mountains. Fun right?

We had pretty good weather as we drove down the parkway.  We stopped at the overlooks alongside the road and oohed and aahed at the picturesque views of the mountains.  As we continued we admired Mount Mitchell, the highest point of our journey. We took several photos and continued on our way without incident.

During the next leg of the drive there seemed to be a haze forming, it almost looked like fog or smoke.  It seemed to be following us through the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Our final stop along the way was Waterrock Knob.  This stop has a small gift shop, restrooms, a short hike that will take you to the summit or if you veer off to an old plane crash.  Of course, there are also the panoramic views of the mountains.

When we stopped here it was determined that the fog, or smoke that we had seen was really just an angry gray cloud that we jokingly declared was coming for us.  I even took a photo of the nefarious cloud, unintendedly mocking it apparently.

We pursued the gift shop looking for a coffee mug.  I must have a coffee mug from wherever our adventures take us, because I am secretly a five-year-old.  While inside, there came a clap of thunder so loud it would have made the purest soul let loose a string of bad words. After my heart settled down a little we laughed it off to the cloud we had made angry before we went inside. Afterall, it did not look bad out and it was only one weird looking cloud.

When we left the shelter of the gift shop we had a look at the sky once again.  The cloud was a little bigger and a little angrier looking.  We decided it was probably best to be on our way and get off the mountain before bad weather started to roll in.  While walking to the car, we spotted one of those informational signs that tell you about the area.  My husband wanted to take a look at it before we started our trek down. What we didn’t know was that the bad weather was already here.

The sign was about the differences between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians, which was ironic, because we were just discussing this topic in the car before we stopped. I had touched the sign and the only words that escaped my mouth were, “This is the Blue,” and that’s when my world went crazy.

An electric current went up my arm that was touching the sign.  It went up my left arm to my head, I felt the pulse go in my ears and through my teeth.  The electricity went down the left side of my body, down my left leg and into my foot.  I could not move, I could not speak.  It was as though time stood still, all I could think was, is this it?  I was not in pain per se, but it was more of a shock that I could feel the pulse and was paralyzed.  I could see a bright flash in the distance.  And just as quickly as it began, another loud clap of thunder filled the air and I was released from the hold the current had on my body.

My husband and I looked at each other a bit disoriented at first, then we ran like hell to the car.  On the way there was one lady by the pit restrooms yelling and waving her hands to get in the building.  Another one, who had parked next to us was yelling, “My kids are up there!”  None of this really registered to us at the time what was going on.

You see, I knew I had been electrocuted somehow, I thought it had something to do with the sign that I was touching.  What I did not know is that the same thing was happening to my husband who was not touching the sign or me. In the car we frantically started talking about what had just happened, and now we realized it happened to us both. 

Did we just get hit by lightning?

When I think of a lightning strike, I think of a bolt directly hitting an object or a person.  The object gets blown apart and well, the person, not the best outcome.  Usually if a person is hit, they are dead, severely burned, clothes blown off and body charred.  How could we walk away if it was lightning?

Well let me tell you, I became an amateur researcher on the different types of lightning strikes and its effects on the body if hit.

What we know for a fact is that we had electric current go through our bodies and it was caused by nature. We still had shaky arms and ear ringing to prove it. We were not standing in water and there were no wires nearby.   We know there was a bright flash, and something happened on the trailhead that we were next to.  This was confirmed by the frantic lady next to us whose kids were up there, that we were too disoriented to lend a hand. 

The National Weather Service says there are 5 ways you can be hit by lightning. Uh what? 

• Direct Strike
• Conduction
• Ground Current
• Streamers
• Side Flash or Side Splash

We know from what occurred that the first two are out.  I also do not believe it was ground current because it did not start from my feet.  Very scientific right!  This leaves the Streamer or the Side Flash.  At first, I was sure it was the Side Flash, although, after more of my amateur research, aka google searches.  I think that this may not have been what we experienced.  Most of these occur when lightning strikes within 1 to 2 feet of the person affected. A possibility, but I am just not sure this was the case.

That leaves Streamers.  This is the least common way to be hit.  Streamers seem really hard to understand, if a real scientist ever reads this I would love to have professional input.  According to what I have read this happens BEFORE lightning forms.  The negatively charged particles at the bottom of a cloud are attracted to the positive charged ground, this results in an electric field. When the two meet, lightning strikes.  So, were we affected by that electric field?

I am no scientist, but I can positively tell you this.  We mocked that cloud on the mountain and we paid for it by being electrocuted.  We are lucky we walked away and were not hurt.  My husband felt fine after the shock wore off.  I, on the other hand, had a headache for about three days.  I do not know if it is a coincidence, or if it was from the lightning.

My takeaway is that when you are in the mountains or close to the ground, be weather aware.  Do not mock the sky and think that a small cloud has no power.  Lightening is a major threat.  One that I will take more seriously.  Just since this trip there have been at least two incidents of death from lightning strikes that I have heard about.  If you see lightning, get inside, get off the trail.

You know what we didn’t get?  Superpowers.  I have waited two months for my superpowers to emerge and so far, nothing!  I know I have been told that my superpower is living to tell the tale but come on!  I want to be able to make the choice of using my new powers for good or evil.  Why can I not be Storm from X-Men, I mean my hair is already turning white. Every time I see a light dim or a breeze from nowhere, my hopes emerge of my electrifying superpower transformation! So far this has ended in disappointment EVERY TIME!  I can’t even charge my phone with my hands, and that my friends is bullshit.