DuBois, Pennsylvania
Tonight, more than usual, I feel lucky to be alive. We knew snow was in the forecast, but had no idea it was going to be one of the year's largest snowfalls. The city endured several inches of snow that are probably still piling up as I write (that certainly is the case here). This set the tone for all of moving-out day, postponing the departure time by a couple of hours and slowing down our progress by a good 40 percent (what should have taken four and a half hours took us seven). We saw several vehicles in the ditch, including two semis -- one jack-knifed and one flipped over. About an hour before the sun was going to set, we were nowhere near our destination in the Cleveland suburbs and we could tell that the slush on the roads was going to freeze. Andy and Colleen did some sleuthing and found the names of closer hotels -- and we are so thankful they did. After dark, Ian had to work extremely hard to keep our truck on the road (it took about two hours, but he did!) and I could hardly breathe the whole time. But at 7:15, we were finally safe in our hotel, a pizza on the way to our room and the Olympics on TV (we debated watching something else -- it's snowing in Vancouver today too).
Our UHaul (check out the hardcore snakes)
The happy travelers (Sprout, our grapefruit tree, might be the most worldly grapefruit tree ever)
Gorgeous Pennsylvania scenery (it was nice to have something pretty to look at while traffic crawled at 20 mph)Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!
3 comments:
Glad you are staying safe. Continued prayers and good thoughts for a good rest of your journey.
Glad you got through it but what deja vu for me.
About 30 years ago, my ex-wife and I drove back to NJ and left on a snowy morning with a target of Dubois, PA where we had reservations. It turned out to be the worst drive I ever made. The snow kept coming ALL DAY and conditions worsened. Like you, we saw cars and semis rolled over and were not a bit optimistic. I had to focus my attention on driving every second and it was extremely tiring. My wife tried to drive but found she was too tired and I had to resume behind the wheel. Miraculously, we did somehow make it to Dubois and as I recall kissed the ground.
Since that trip, when I see bad snow I do what you did: stop and enjoy the impromptu layover.
Look forward to seeing you guys soon.
John King
Your post brought back memories for me. About seven-and-a-half years ago, I drove a Ryder truck 600 miles away. My uncle (who has since passed away) drove the Lumina like a banshee in front of me.
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