Our original plan:
-Leave FL on Friday Dec. 18th and drive to our friend Shaaneen's in Raleigh, NC
-Stay one night leave for Ophelia, Va to meet up with my parent's and my sister Stacey and her family at my parents new home on the water.
-Stay 2 days - Head to my parents house in Maryland
After seeing the forecast and receiving several concerned phone calls from family about the huge snowstorm scheduled to hit, here's...
What really happened:
-Thursday Dec. 17th at 5:00pm we decided to leave by 7:00pm heading for my parents home in Maryland. I hadn't packed a single thing at that time. But we just grabbed it and shoved it into Ben's truck.
-We drove about 5 hrs to Florence, South Carolina and stayed the night in a hotel.
-Thinking we had plenty of time and were ahead of the storm, we took our time the next morning, stopping in Roanoke Rapids for lunch and then heading on.
-At an hour and a half shy of our desitination, Ben's check engine light comes on and the the meter read hot. We started to smoke. Ben took the first exit. (Here goes the short version)
-Afraid of the car exploding, I get the kids out. A man pulls up with a Van, offers a warm place for the children we accept. Drive's me and the kids to the church up the street. Ben starts the care and was able to follow, to get the car off the side of the road.
-Go into Church, call our Roadside assistance. They tow the car and Ben goes along to an auto place. Me and the kids stay behind at the church. We're offered an classroom full of toys for the kids to play, we again accept.
-Ben calls - it's worse than we thought the car will take 7 hrs and $700 to fix. The storm will hit before then. I call my Dad. My dad leaves their home in Maryland and heads our way. But wait the car seats are in the car at the auto shop with Ben. A women at the church calls her husband and he swings by to get the car seats. Church closes at 5:00, not sure if my Dad will make it in time.
-Dad calls and was making good timing and is 15 mins away, but also informs me that it is already snowing hard and we have to have a quick turn around in order to get home. Also tells me that we are going to get Ben (who had planned to stay behind with the car and drive home later)
-Dad arrives, picks me and the kids up, in the heavy snow and rush hour traffic, we rush to get Ben. We then (in record time) unload the mass of suitcases and presents and shove into my Dads Jeep. And we're off.
-Barely able to see the road and cars in front of us we drove 30 mph heading northeast. My Dad told story's and talked continuously which helps calm mine and Ben's nerves. I thanked him later and told him, because he was so calm about driving in the conditions it made me calm. I later found out he was freaking out too! lol.
-Finally 3/4 of the way home, we got ahead of the storm and bolted for home. We made it.
Thank you lord we made it. (and yes, that was the short version)
So many people went out of their way to help us and allow us to be with family, we are so thankful.
That night the storm caught up with us. We went to bed with our minds at ease that we were safe and sound and with family, and woke up to this beautiful sight...
