Last night the came down so hard that I was reminded of sailing and living in the tropics. Living in Western Oregon gives a person the impression that we know what hard rain is. That, however, is a misconception. A place called Portobelo Panama, is the rainiest spot in North America. It is warm and sunny all day long. Every day. Every day until 3 PM that is. Then, the clouds gather and the rain falls in torrents. It rains so hard that one can not see 10 feet distant. It rains so hard that a 5 gal. bucket is filled in about 30 seconds.. The weather carries on this way for an hour or so then the clouds go away, the sun comes back out, and things are warm and sunny once again. Until the next day. Remembering this weather in Panama makes me realize that a vacation remembered is almost as good, and in some cases better, as the original vacation. And in todays economy a lot cheaper.