Wild Winter Weather Woes

This past week, we have enjoyed (or NOT), some wild storms. I LOVE snow, but not when we have to do major traveling. Here are a few of our winter weather woes ...


#1 On Wednesday, it took Gregg & Heidi 12 hours to drive the 430 miles home from Cassie's. (This included a double loop-de-loop on the interstate freeway, and a slam into the concrete barrier in the median.) Heidi's car got a little banged up, but we were thankful that there were not any injuries, and they made it home safely.

#2 On Friday, it took Cassie & Ben 12 hours to drive the 430 miles home from Oregon. (This included 5 hours to make it over the pass on Mt. Hood, which had gotten 2 feet of snow since Gregg & Heidi's Wednesday drive.) Thankfully, Cassie drives a Honda Passport 4x4, and she had purchased new tires the day before, and chains (which were required) that morning.

#3 On Sunday, the whole family was supposed to drive 150 miles to a wedding. (One of Cassie's best friends from age 4 - 14.) On Saturday morning, I woke Cassie up and told her that we had better try to beat the storm that was headed our way. So, she and I packed our bags quickly, and headed south in her 4x4 to do some shopping and enjoy a night at a hotel. The snow was coming down hard by the time we arrived in Seattle. We hoped that the rest of the family would be able to join us on Sunday, but we knew that the two of us REALLY did not want to miss the wedding. And ... we had another job to do, also.

#4 On Sunday morning, we stayed tuned to all of the television and internet news. Not only did we need to decide if Jim and the kids would be able to make the drive in our big van (which was a sad, NO), but we also had to find out the conditions at the airport. Our big family Christmas surprise was scheduled to arrive at noon, flying in from Amman, Jordan. Things did not look good at the airport. Flights had now been cancelled for 3 days, leaving 3,000+ travelers stranded in Seattle. But, since Jeremiah was flying directly in from Paris, they had to find a way for his plane to land. Both Portland, Spokane, and Vancouver airports were even worse off than Seattle, and after a 10 hour flight, you can't redirect the plane too far due to the need for fuel. So, after circling the runway for over 30 minutes, the Air France jumbo jet hit the runway and discovered a sheet of ice. As it slid around going 130mph, the passengers were a bit worried. And, shortly after we were reunited with Jeremiah, they once again closed the airport. Whew!

#5 As we made our way to the wedding in Puyallup (south of Seattle), the snow started up again, and continued to snow for hours. After the wedding and reception, several more inches had fallen (with a good 10" now on the ground). Thankfully, since the road conditions up North were even worse, a dear friend invited the 3 of us to stay the night at her house. So, the wedding that should have been a 12 hour trip, turned into a 3 day adventure. We finally slid into our driveway late in the afternoon on Monday. Crazy!

#6 Yesterday, Heidi needed to drive what should have been a 20 minute drive to her new job (just started on Friday). She got stuck twice, having to finally call a tow truck. Then, once she made it to work, she couldn't make it into the driveway, so she parked on the street. Then ... not once ... but twice .... while she was at work ... her car got hit by cars sliding down the road. The first driver came in to tell her, and there wasn't much damage. But, the 2nd driver did not stop, and Heidi discovered quite a bit of damage when she went out to the car after work. The new damage was, of course, on the opposite side from the concrete barrier damage. Poor Heidi ... it was a TOUGH day!

So, while I do love snow ... I am very excited to stay snuggly in my house, with my wonderful family for the rest of the week. Yea! Cassie is home for 10 days, and Jeremiah is home for 3 weeks. Yippee! Yahoo!

(Uh oh ... I just remembered ... we have to drive into the big city at midnight tonight ... oh dear ... better not take the van ... looks like we'll be taking a couple of cars ... pictures of another Christmas Surprise tomorrow ...)