I am hoping that by checkout time (11AM) the snow will have stopped and I'll at least be able to see the tollway to make it home. Yesterday afternoon, I hopped in the car and drove to the tollway assuming all would be well. The roads weren't too bad (bare and wet - like some of you like your women *giggle*), but there was no visibility. I turned around and decided my son and I were much safer staying in a hotel for another night.I took a peek out the window this morning and today isn't looking terribly promising either, but if I can make it out of the unplowed parking lot, I might be OK. Fortunately, I'm quite comfortable driving in the snow - seven years of Minnesota winters will do that for you!
I'm taking bets on how long the normally 2.5 hour trip will take this afternoon. Anyone up for an informal poll?
**UPDATE**UPDATE**UPDATE**
Ahhhh ... good old best intentions ...
It just seemed 11AM was far too late to leave. Yes, it was still snowing in South Bend - yes, the weather report indicated that there were significant lake effect snows just west of South Bend in La Porte - but I am Dana, Princess of Power, and none of those things mattered - I wanted to head home and head home I did!
We left at 8:37AM. It was still snowing big giant flakes, but I could see the tollway was moving at a decent pace. I should have known there would be trouble when I turned to get on the tollway and the on-ramp had not yet been plowed.
As I do when the weather gets a bit dicey, I tucked myself behind a semi-truck once I got on the tollway. He seemed to be driving a bit conservatively which, considering the weather, seemed quite appropriate. The first 10 miles of the trip weren't bad. Only the right hand lane was relatively clear, but we were maintaining a 50-60 mph speed. Then all hell broke lose.
About 10 miles outside of La Porte the snow started to really come down. I knew this was where the lake effect snows were, so I wasn't surprised. What did surprise me was the fact that just as quickly as the snow started coming down, the road and visibility went to shit. I could not tell where the road was and the only thing I could see in front of me were the back lights of the semi-truck. At speeds averaging 25 mph, this is what I could see (no, I didn't snap a pic while driving, this was one I found on-line that was close to the conditions today, but not quite as bad)
After about 20 minutes of nail-biting, "Ah Shit!" driving, we did make it through. I felt like a lemming, knowing if the semi drove off the road, into a ditch, I'd be following him right on in. I am an experienced winter driver and these were the worse conditions I've ever seen.
Just as quickly as the snow started, it stopped. Once we got to the west side of La Porte, the skies were bright blue and sunny. It was the strangest thing. The rest of the trip was uneventful and we pulled into the garage at 11:42, 3 HOURS AND 5 MINUTES from the time we left South Bend.
There's no place like home ... there's no place like home ...
