Yep, It Was a Nightmare

This is my account of taking my 19 year old granddaughter to the airport that is 3 hours away for her flight to the UK to visit her boyfriend for 3 weeks.

I am finally getting myself back. I cannot begin to describe the two days of hell. But of course I will try. It was truly a nightmare. First of all, at 2PM on Friday, the 18th, it started snowing heavily. I was supposed to pick up Granddaughter, who works 25 minutes away, at 5PM.

By 4PM I knew I had to get on the road. By the time I got into the car after shoveling the driveway and packing the car with water, snacks, sleeping bag, and wool blanket, it was 4:15. It was still snowing heavily and the heavy wet snow was piling up. I backed out of the driveway and slid around on the street. Started off down our one way street at 5-10mph. Every time I slightly applied the ABS brakes, they made a strange scary sound. The car was slipping and sliding for a block. Stop sign, I could barely get stopped. I knew I could not do it.

I turned around right there and made my way back to the house and called Granddaughter from the driveway. I told her she would have to find someone to spend the night with. She got upset and said she had to come home. She was sick. I said I didn't think I could make it.

Then I thought of going the wrong way on the one way street reaching the main road quicker. I did that and continued carefully on my way. When I finally reached and entered the interstate, I texted Granddaughter that I was coming. She texted back NO. I texted Yes. I could not turn back and I could not pull over to argue it out with her. There were cars all along the way in the ditches.

We texted the same thing back and forth for miles, me crawling along on sheets of ice and snow in very heavy traffic. I was following a semi and trying to stay in his tracks. Once he moved into the left lane and I followed. I could not see out of my rear-view mirror or side windows. Actually I didn't even think to look, I was so intent on staying in his tracks. I had pulled right into the path of another semi. He barely missed hitting me. We crawled along for more miles and Granddaughter texted that she already had a ride. I said, I was coming anyway. I had no choice.

It took about 1 1/2 hours to get there. I pulled into the parking lot and waited for her to finish up, she had to work an extra hour, but it was now 6PM. She came out and said the interstate was closed. It wasn't but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to drive on it again anyway. We drove up a curvy slippery untreated road to the Doubletree Hotel. I pulled in and we got in line for a room. I did not ask how much. Luckily we got a room. No comb or toothbrushes with us.

When we got to the room, Granddaughter tried to call her mom. Over and over again, no answer. She started losing it and I could do nothing as she did not want to hear from me. Finally her mom answered and poor Granddaughter went to pieces. I didn't know what the hell was going to happen. But her mom got her calmed down. She told her the snow was stopping, there was no more on the way, that it was only raining in Asheville and Charlotte. It would all be cleared up by morning. Of course I knew better but kept my mouth shut.

I did not sleep more than two hours that first night in the hotel. I was so worried about the next day and looking outside every hour to see it still pouring down snow. Oh, and Sis called me before I went to bed, telling me do not attempt that trip to Charlotte, her hubby in the background saying no don't go. She said the weather was very bad in Asheville and all the way to Charlotte. She said her hubby had come to pick her up at work at about 5PM, leaving her truck there and driving her home in his 4 wheel drive. She said that did not help at all, they were all over the road. When they got to bottom of the mountain, they had to park there and walk up about a mile in 10 inches of snow, her in her work clothes and shoes. Guess that is a kind of hell. They had no electric when they got home.

In the morning I could only run my hands through my hair, putting the same clothes back on, woke Granddaughter at 8AM (I thought it was 7AM but the hotel clock was wrong)and went to check out. The lady behind the desk said her daughter was stranded on the interstate for 9 hours with her new baby. The lady said she could not help screaming in fear all night until her daughter was safely rescued.

It had stopped snowing but we had 8 inches on the car that I had to scrape off. I cried with painful frozen fingers and could no longer grasp the scraper so Granddaughter finished the job. The parking lot was not scraped so we carefully made our way to the main road, about a quarter of a mile. Then slowly home. I was praying that Granddaughter would be able to pack fast and we could get on the road by noon so we could be in Charlotte before dark. It did not happen, we did not get on the road until 3PM. All the way to Charlotte the road was barely scraped, lots of swerving around mounds of snow piled on the interstate. Hundreds of cars in the ditches turned every which way and covered in snow and ice. It looked like a war zone. I worried there may still be people in them.

We got close to our hotel and it was already dark. I pulled off at an exit for some food. The traffic was horrible and it seemed everyone wanted to run over us. The lights were too bright and I had a hard time reading signs. I must have been suffering severe fatigue because when we were in the drive through to order, Granddaughter said something to me and I started to cry, pulling away without ordering. Neither of us got to eat and she needed it badly. After that she refused to order when we stopped at Waffle House. But I guess I misunderstood and she meant she did not want anything to drink. So I drank half a cup of coffee and we left. I felt really bad when she said later she was ready to eat. But would not agree to stop again. At the hotel I went another night without sleep, none at all, sat up most of the night. I was worried about the terrible weather they were having in Newark and so afraid her flight would be canceled.

In the morning, I got hold of the airport and her 6:30AM flight was delayed 5.5 hours but we still had to be there at 4:30AM to check in and she had to be at the gate by 6:30AM regardless. We left the hotel at 4AM and when we got into the airport, there were thousands of people lined up everywhere. We could barely get in the door. Or move after that. Granddaughter said she was not going to fly again on a holiday. I said that would be a good idea.

We managed to find the Continental ticket desk and luckily there was a short line there, it looked really long but those people were waiting for other airlines. The lady who checked Granddaughter in was so thrilled with her itinerary because she had made sure she had 12 hours between flights in case of delay. So she had an 8 hour wait at Charlotte and a 6 hour wait at Newark. Good thing I had bought her a new laptop to replace her broken one.

When she got to Newark she had a urinary tract infection that caused her awful pain and she could hardly leave the bathroom. She called her mom in Florida and her mom, after calling the airport numerous times, finally found someone there to get her a wheelchair but as soon as Granddaughter sat down in it, she got back up and ran into the bathroom. Her only choice would have been to miss her flight and go to a horrible (I looked it up, internet said horrible) hospital. She decided she could make it to the UK and Andy promised her medical help when she got there (after an 8 hour flight). I have not heard but I hope she did get medical care.

I drove for home in the early morning darkness, got lost in Charlotte and had to backtrack many miles. Finally on the right road, I drove for 3 hours with my eyes trying to close on me and no food since a half a mayonnaise sandwich at noon the day before. The sun shone and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Until I got to Asheville where it got darker (it was still morning) and I could barely see the mountain. The traffic on the interstate out of Asheville was heavy and only one lane open. Hundreds of utility trucks in a convoy heading for VA and other places that had no power. There was a blizzard on the mountain gap but we all drove slowly. I was so thankful when I finally came to the exit to my town.  Had to guess at where the actual road was but I did not end up in a ditch. 

I made it into my driveway where I saw that our 7 inches of snow was now 11 inches. I checked my phone and saw that Sis had called again. I listened to the message and she said to stay another night in Charlotte because of bad weather moving in again. Too late, I was home.

I called her and she said for me to go into the house and have a big glass of wine, not coffee, wine. Sounded strange for breakfast and on an empty stomach but I did what she said.  Then I passed out in my chair for hours. Later I went to bed and passed out again for 12 hours. The next day I unpacked my overnight bag and put some things away. I sat down in my chair for a minute about 11AM and passed out cold again. Did not even know I had shut my eyes until I woke up 3 hours later. I don't think I have ever been so tired.

I am a bit nervous about going back to pick her up on Jan 9 as it is a Saturday and the bad weather seems to be in a 7-day weekend cycle that will probably continue throughout the winter. This was the first time I have ever driven in snow and I do not like it.

Please Don't Let It Snow

Big snow coming. I have to drive 50 miles round trip tonight, leaving at 11:30PM and after picking up Granddaughter, returning home around 12:30AM. It is supposed to start snowing about 1AM. Wellll...I'm telling you, this much I know is true, it will be snowing out, there is no doubt, before this night is through. It seems whenever they make a nasty weather prediction for a certain time, whatever awful stuff is coming, always arrives about 2 hours early. Guess I will just have to deal with it. Not happy about it though. I have a wool blanket, sleeping bag, down jacket, water, and energy bars in the car. I wish I had a heavy bag of kitty litter in the trunk for traction but forgot to buy that. Wish me luck. I might just need it.

Ok, this is the next day and I know I sounded like a wuss but I had never ever driven in snow before and I do live in the mountains, so that adds to the terror. I usually make a point of staying at home during bad weather no matter what I need or where else I need to be.

Of course when it comes to my granddaughter it will be thru hell and high water to get to her no matter what. Glory be and hallelujah, though, it did not snow last night. They said it was going to be snowing pretty heavily today instead.

Well, guess what. I had to drive her back to work this morning in the snow fall. I dropped her off and hightailed it home though I really wanted to go shopping for computer bargains. When I got home, everything cleared up and I am still kicking myself for being such a scardy cat and not going to Best Buy but instead hiding out at home from the big bad storm that wasn't.