This will be a marathon blog entry so... reader... BEWARE!
We put in for time off from work just after Christmas. A long weekend trip to VA to celebrate Carlotta's 4th birthday on Valentines Day! With limited time off, we were going to see her, come hell or high water! Neither of those things came to fruition, but the biggest storm the ENTIRE East Coast has seen in quite a while, sure did! It began in the South & was working its way northward dropping over 12 inches of heavy snow & ice.
We tried our best to adjust our time on the road to best maximize the few hours of clear sailing we had during what is usually a 13-14 hour trip (w/breaks). We left after work on Wednesday night, hoping to get to Scranton, PA before getting a room for the night. We hoped the storm would pass over us & the road crews would have a good handle on the roads as we continued South to VA.
Hahaha!
First, we were doing great! Only 55 miles from Scranton when we stopped for our 1st break, the Welcome Center in PA. After refueling, we drove about 45 miles when I realized my wallet was gone! B told me he would turn around. I think he knew his weekend would be ruined if all I could do was think about all the calls I needed to make to get everything in my wallet cancelled & replaced!
(Thankfully, I had put all the cash elsewhere in my luggage.)
In the mountains of PA, exits are few & far between, but he found one & we drove back to the Welcome Center only to find... NOTHING! I saw a broom & dust bin. The paper towel I used to dry my hands was no longer in the trash bin so I figured SOMEONE had to be around. We yelled, knocked... NOBODY!!
B called a number he found on the bulletin board & left a message. We yelled & knocked one more time just to be sure, still nobody. With a heavy heart & too dehydrated to cry tears, I got back into the truck & we drove away.
Ten minutes later, the phone rings! It was the maintenance worker! She had gone across the street for a quick bite to eat before the store closed. She had my wallet! YEAH! However, as I stated earlier, exits are few & far between in the mountains of PA! We got back to the center just as the 1st snowflakes were falling, just after midnight. B was exhausted! We got a room & he was sleeping before I was even out of the bathroom!
We left @ 8 the next morning & any hopes we had about road crews having a handle on the highway conditions were soon dashed! Each state had their own methods of dealing w/the huge amounts of snow! PA lowered the speed limits. MD plowed, but not necessarily in the correct lanes. West Virginia's 20 miles of road on #81 was the best cleared road. Then we hit VA! Plows of any sort were being pressed into service including road graders. We saw one that was completely KAPUT! from having to do work it wasn't meant to do! None of the states had much in the way of salt or sand either.
B was good. His reputation as a "granny" driver was very helpful!
We had only 1 scare! A speeding Jeep started skidding into the path of a semi trailer truck which then began to slip & slide into our pathway! A few tense seconds & props to the truck driver who got his rig under control before anyone got hurt! Go slow in these conditions, Jeep operator! It was a good while before he left the slow lane!
The last 25-30 miles of our trip had the worst conditions of all! The ice had adhered to the roads. Slippery conditions, bumpy ruts & drivers who had no idea how to drive in snow made this last leg of our trip South, the worst! Traffic was backed up for the entire last 20 miles! We went straight to the hotel, seeing Carlotta would have to wait until the next morning! B drove 12 hours in some terrible conditions & was again, exhausted. Good Job!
It would've been about 8 hours in good conditions, BTW.
The city roads were being plowed as quickly as the few trucks they had would allow them to be plowed. T & Ms road wasn't touched until the day we left! Businesses were closed because no snow removal contracts exist in this city!
B's most often uttered words this weekend... "This is ridiculous!"
Friday morning!
B has 4-wheel drive so getting in & out of their unplowed road was a piece of cake. We picked them up (their car has it's own snow story that will be told when I get to Saturdays events) in the truck & headed out to an IHOP breakfast, followed by a Toys R Us shopping spree! Back to the hotel to play, eat & swim (or soak in the hot tub) then out to a movie (Frozen) & dinner where she got some birthday ice cream & was serenaded by the staff at Red Robins! She had her 1st night away from Momma as she stayed w/us while her parents went back home to prepare for her party being held the next day, hopefully!
The church parking lot was still covered in snow!
At our sleep over, Carlotta played w/her new tub toys in the very deep hotel tub, watched TV, played shadow puppets w/a flashlight & finally fell asleep just after 10pm. She sleeps "spread eagle" so my sleeping spot on the QUEEN SIZED bed was very, very tiny!
I really DID NOT MIND ONE LITTLE BIT!
Awoke @ 7ish on SATURDAY! B brought breakfast to us to eat while watching Saturday morning cartoons! She had a few sips of a smoothie, a grape, some Froot Loops & a lot of fresh strawberries! Not too big of an eater we discovered. She remained dry, all night!
B left us in the hotel room while he went to help dig out M's car.
While he was away, Carlotta & I played games, she took another toy filled bath, we made obstacle courses in the room so jumping on beds WAS ALLOWED! We went in the elevator to the lobby where we colored & made each other laugh! She behaves super good when Mom & Dad are away! She's good w/them too, but she has loud silly things she does only around them,
which can get annoying!
B didn't return for several hours! There was only 1 shovel! AAA would not travel on their road, too slippery. T has an automobile phobia & got the car even more stuck when she helped! B finally bought some tow ropes & after several attempts... the car was on the plowed road nearby!
They parked it in a nearby dentists office lot that had been miraculously plowed!
Hopefully, M has learned a lesson. When snow is forecast, do not park in the garage off an alley way where you park in better weather! Find a place where getting your car out is possible!
Even if you have to walk a'ways!
The rest of the day we went to Carlottas 4th birthday party at the ward building. Michaels family drove up from Radford. They had similar snow stories to tell. The party theme was PIRATES! T did a good job on decorating a cake to look like pirates finding treasure! A few games, some more presents & we headed back to the hotel. Another swimming/hot tub time followed by a dinner @ Longhorns.
Carlotta sat next to me every where we went & I got & gave lots of cuddles! She is cuddly!
SUNDAY! Our departure day!
We met them at Waffle House. Carlotta sat next to me & we talked about me leaving & how we wouldn't see each other until she came up on the train w/Momma & Daddy for Cs college graduation/my birthday/Mothers Day in May. I understand she is now counting the days!
B added 5 mph to his normal speed & we cut out nice restaurants opting for fast food on our trip home. We pulled in a little after 10pm! He did well!
I'm a bit car-lagged (not jet-lagged, but similar) & I miss Carlotta like crazy! I'm glad we were able to spend time w/her. The weather & limited time kept us from visiting Evergreens gravesite, but we left $$$ for flowers so when M, T & Carlotta visit in a week, she'll know we were thinking of her too!
