This will be our third and hopefully final Christmas outside of our home. So while next year we'll be in New Orleans, this year we again decided to drive to Omaha where both Therese's and my family live. The problem is that it is more than 1000 miles and usually takes about 17 hours. We knew there was a bad storm forecast for the midwest on Friday, and so I begged Therese to leave on Thursday. But she had a Christmas party as school that she "couldn't miss." So we left Friday at 10PM. The first problem came when we noticed that the rear passenger tire was slowly losing air. We had to stop about every 100 miles to fill it up. We finally found a service station open in Sweet Springs Missouri. We pulled in to Tony's Auto Repair. There a very nice 16-year-old named Quin who removed a New Orleans' debrisville nail, patched the tire and told me about sprint racing, which he is able to do if he keeps up a B+ average in school. He then balanced the tire, and Tony said that I only owed him $10. I paid him $20 and we were on our way, though the weather was turning nasty with sleet. As we approached Kansas City the roads suddenly got horrible. There was an ice layer with snow rapidly accumulating on top. Between KC and St. Joseph's the road just disappeared. We saw more than 100 cars in ditches, and also some very bad accidents, some involving fatalities. Just past St. Josephs there was a 40 car pile up, and news that they shut the interstate down. We drove through that stretch at about 15 mph. It was the worst winter driving conditions that I've ever seen. Along the way we noticed that the tire still leaked, and that I was unable to see because the window washer fluid froze. Plus then Gilgamesh notified us that Mosey's leash was half-way out of the car. I was nervous that it would catch in the back wheel and then choke her or something. Along the way, gripping the steering wheel, I asked Therese "So, tell me about all the fun you had at the Christmas party you couldn't miss." But anyway, after 21 hours, we pulled in to the driveway of Therese's parents.
In the words of one of my favorite songs off Trailer Trash Christmas, "O Christ, it's Christmas again."
I'm glad you survived the trip. Thanks for the link to Trailer Trash Christmas. I've been enjoying working on my Christmas mix this year. Too late for this year, but it will make a nice addition to next year's Christmas music.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas
Glad you got there safe. The midwest did indeed get hammered. But as usual, the vacation wonderland that is South Bend only got some wind. Dodged another one.
ReplyDeleteOh, and leave Therese alone, she was being a good teacher.
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ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas, I glad you got there safely, at least by driving your flight didn't get canceled.
ReplyDeleteSweet Springs, Missouri sounds perfectly bucolic.
Wow! It's very unsettling to think about how that could have played out. I'm glad you guys made it safely hope all the bad weather and icy roads will be a thing of the past when the time comes for the trip home.
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for sharing the Apathy material with us. You guys were good!
Oy vey. Glad you made it safe, and I hope it's a happy holiday!
ReplyDeleteYikes. That's scary stuff.
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