When RETURN TO BASE is a good idea....
I had just renewed my instrument rating in Florida. Planning to attend a family reunion in Tennessee, I wanted to impress everybody by turning up at the local airstrip and giving rides to the grandchildren. I filed my flight plan the night before and got the weather.
Nobody at Albert Whitted St. Pete Tower would talk to me the next morning, they weren't out of bed yet. Unsure how to proceed, I heard another pilot on Unicom leaving Whitted, and he said I should contact Tampa Departure after liftoff. So I did, and happy under ATC control, began my journey North. IFR of course. But after a while it began to look like IFR in IMC, WHICH DID NOT AGREE AT ALL WITH THE FORECAST......!
ATC allowed me to change frequency to make enquiries of Flight Service (in those days, they had actual human beings giving the weather). Flight Service told me that there was a fast moving surprise from the Northwest that included embedded thunderstorms, tops to 35,000 feet between me and Tennessee.
I chickened out. Back at Albert Whitted, my rental car was parked, already paid for the day. Get there a bit late, drive up the interstate!
Informing ATC of my intention, he said "Yes, Ma'am, that's a very good idea. They have just issued a Sig Met for that area." So I returned the Cessna in one piece to the Albert Whitted Flying Club.
Never be afraid to change your plan. If you are PILOT In Charge, do not be influenced by other people and their expectations. You know what you and the aircraft can do....and should NOT do.
PS: A Sig Met is "a significant meterological event!" best avoided.