1 It was raining here in the great Garden State, too.  I haven't seen a decent meteor shower in years, it always seems to be raining or cloudy.  I read that in Alabama some watchers counted as many as 180 an hour during several outburst periods.  I would give up a lot to see that.

2 Oh wow - that would be so cool.   I've had the same problems you have with clouds over the years.  I've decided it was not meant for me to sit and watch them. LOL.