We left our rental sparkling clean at 12pm yesterday to pick the pup up from boarding. Upon forking over a large chunk of money to the USDA and the vet in order to send our dog to England, we were on the road North by 12:30pm.
Our trip started off well enough.
A truck full of the future's bacon and Christmas hams.Hubs had mentioned that there was a winter storm blowing across the Eastern US that was predicted to drop up to ten inches of snow. Driving my trusty Subaru and having grown up in the mountains of Colorado I didn't give it much thought and neither did my snow-hungry husband from Wisconsin.
No problem, right?That was our first mistake.
To be continued when I have regained consciousness and found the transfer cable for my camera.
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Post continued December 25th after much needed relaxation.
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Post continued December 25th after much needed relaxation.
Minnie remained unconvinced.
As the sun began to set and the snow began to stick we made a quick gas and snack stop and I took over driving. All was well as we started passing slow moving two-wheel drives and big rigs. But with each passing mile the snow was thicker and the traffic slower. The next thing I know I'm dodging cars at 45mph as they struggle to get up the increasingly steep rolling hills. Cars begin to appear in the ditches, wheels spinning and back ends fish-tailing. We even passed a Suburban that somehow managed to pop it's front wheels over and high-center its self on the guard rail. Wow!
After an hour or two of very focused driving I was ready for a dinner break. We pulled off I-77 for our second meal at Burger King and snorked down some burgers. While we ate, more and more people began to pour in. I don't know what it is about potential crisies but strangers are always so friendly and willing to talk. Hubs talked to a lady who had come from the direction we were headed and she said traffic was stopped going both North and South. I overheard a few other people discussing whether or not they should try to get a hotel before everything was booked up. A current of nervous energy was building with each snow covered head that passed through the door.
Not ones to let a little snow hold us back from reaching the state line, we returned to the car and drove down the entrance ramp of the interstate.
That was our second mistake.
At 7:30pm we slowly merged into the five mile per hour traffic, naively positive that the pace would increase.
Fast forward two hours. Hubs and I are irritated that we've only traveled a mere quarter of a mile and complaining about the state of the roadways and Virginia's inability to prepare ahead of time fails to cheer us up. With little else to do, I grabbed my camera.
After an hour or two of very focused driving I was ready for a dinner break. We pulled off I-77 for our second meal at Burger King and snorked down some burgers. While we ate, more and more people began to pour in. I don't know what it is about potential crisies but strangers are always so friendly and willing to talk. Hubs talked to a lady who had come from the direction we were headed and she said traffic was stopped going both North and South. I overheard a few other people discussing whether or not they should try to get a hotel before everything was booked up. A current of nervous energy was building with each snow covered head that passed through the door.
Not ones to let a little snow hold us back from reaching the state line, we returned to the car and drove down the entrance ramp of the interstate.
That was our second mistake.
At 7:30pm we slowly merged into the five mile per hour traffic, naively positive that the pace would increase.
Fast forward two hours. Hubs and I are irritated that we've only traveled a mere quarter of a mile and complaining about the state of the roadways and Virginia's inability to prepare ahead of time fails to cheer us up. With little else to do, I grabbed my camera.
These videos give a good account of how we felt through out the night.
7:30pm
12:03am
5:56am
9:30am