Most of the time, the weather here is pretty much like what we were used to back in Virginia (although there’s a lot less humidity and precipitation here). Some days, though, are so different that I have to constantly remind myself what time of year it really is. Today, it was cool, cloudy, and a little rainy in Vienna. The high temperatures struggled to get to 60. When I went out for coffee this morning, not only did I get a hot drink, but I sat inside, wearing fuzzy boots, jeans, long sleeves and a scarf.
I love this kind of weather – it’s the kind of weather I associate with fall. It’s really nice to get a little treat of autumn in the early part of August.
On the other hand, getting a day like this in the middle of the hot summer leaves us a little unprepared. This evening, when we went out to join a friend for dinner, we remembered to wear long sleeves to combat the chill, but otherwise, we just weren’t dressed or equipped for a fall evening out. Within 10 minutes of leaving the house, we were caught in an unexpected downpour and completely drenched. In “normal” August temperatures, that would have been inconvenient and a little uncomfortable, but given that it was in the mid-50s outside, we were immediately chilled. Dan, who had the least protection of all of us (we got the rain cover on the stroller for Liam pretty quickly, and Benjamin and I had an umbrella to share — we both ended up soaked from mid-calf down, but stayed mostly dry) was literally dripping by the time we got to the restaurant. (On the plus side, the restaurant wasn’t air-conditioned, and did have hot chocolate, so we were able to warm up a bit during our meal.)
If it were actually fall, I would have been better prepared. We would have been wearing more seasonally appropriate attire, and I would have been more diligent about having rain gear on hand. I most likely would have had hats and scarves tucked into my bag, so we would have had an easier time getting warm.
The hot temperatures are supposed to be back by the middle of this coming week. It was really nice to have a little preview of fall, but when it comes back for real, I’ll be more ready for anything that might happen — which is exactly how it has to be. The weather here is lovely, but anything and everything can and does happen.