Despite the feeling that this would be a complete waste of time, I begrudgingly rolled out of bed this morning well before dawn, in order to head down to Cape Elizabeth to do some Nor’Easter Seawatching. The rain pelting the house, the windows shaking from the wind, and the pool of water at the base of our hill should have told me to go back to sleep.

BUT NO! I stubbornly got suited up, downed a bowl of cereal, and stepped out the door. The fact that the wind nearly ripped the door from its hinges should have suggested I turn around, but instead, I got in the car and drove away. The ponding water and fallen branches along the road further reminded me that this was a dumb idea, but I carried on.

Hydroplaning and nearly blowing off the highway (I love driving a light-weight, fuel efficient car – except in gale force winds!) could also have stopped me. But no, seawatching awaited. The winds might be too strong, the rain might be too hard, but it didn’t matter – I set out to seawatch at Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth and seawatch I will.

Tomorrow morning might be better, but I have a program to give at The Highlands in Topsham. Wednesday morning is a busy one for me, so I wouldn’t likely have much time to seawatch. Therefore today was the day, and with the storm a’raging, I wasn’t going to miss that mega-rarity that was no doubt going to be blown in.

But then, I got to Dyer Point and saw this . . .

When you can’t see the sea, it’s kinda tough to seawatch! Plus, that was with the luxury of windshield wipers. Here’s what it looked like without wipers on – a much better representation of the day’s conditions. The binoculars shall remain firmly planted on the dashboard this morning, I decided.

Should have trusted my gut and stayed in bed!