I was reminded over Christmas once again just how fortunate we are to live where we do.
As has become the tradition, Mark and I did the "tour of the upper Mid-West" for the holidays. This "tour" involves a stop in Wisconsin at my family's and then a quick jaunt (can you detect the sarcasm?) to Michigan. The weather was HORRIBLE this year. It was so bad that we decided at the last minute to take the gas guzzling truck instead of the car. Three times the control in in the snow for twice the price!!! It ended up being the luckiest decision that we've made in a long time.... more on that later.
The journey started about half a day late. Between working and packing and squeezing in that last ride before the self imposed week off, it took a while to get going. We beat the ice storms but not the wind. Illinois had some of the strongest winds we have ever experienced. Gusts were easily 50+mph and steady from the north at 35mph. Let me tell you, gas mileage was downright dismal but we made it.
Day 1: -9 degrees, I think I'll go run. Bad idea. Lasted 15 minutes and I am sore and FROZEN.
Day 2-4: Around 20 degrees. Running is better but still a bad idea. I am a cyclist. This fact was made painfully evident by my running abilities.
Day 5-7: I have given up on running. Mostly due to my inability to walk because of sore muscles.
We had a wonderful time both in Michigan and Wisconsin with out families. I miss them a ton but do NOT miss winter. Not even a little. I did like the white Christmas (we got 12 inches in WI).
The Drive Home:
Now for the part about the good luck in spending a small fortune in gas. We got hit in Ohio on the drive home. It was in a construction zone with heavy stop and go traffic. We were car #3 of 6 in the pile up. The car behind us and the car in front of us were both totalled. We have dented bumpers. It is good to be the biggest car. We will definitely buy another Xterra some day. I love my truck. We would not have been so unscathed in the car. And we would probably be car shopping right now....
1 comment:
Glad YOU are o.k.
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