DWIs (Driving While in Snow)

The official decision finally came down a little after 2pm.  They were going to be letting us go home early.  The office was closing down at 3pm.  A whole whopping hour before I was going to be getting off anyway.  This happens as we've been looking out the office windows all afternoon watching the weather conditions deteriorating rapidly.  I'm still thankful though.  I have friends who work in retail whose jobs don't know the meaning of closing due to inclement weather.

My drive home to Ames would normally take 40 minutes from door to door with optimal conditions.  I estimated this particular trip would probably total a hour and a half.  That was a conservative guess since I figured the road conditions would keep the speed down to 40 mph or less.  That's also allowing time for the unexpected accident that would slow things up even further.  I was just hoping that accident wasn't me.  My fellow co-worker Buff Daddy did offer to tow me out if he saw me along the side of the road since he was also headed to Ames.  Although I appreciated the offer, I did not want to be a casualty of the storm.

The thought briefly crossed my mind to stay in Des Moines instead of trying to brave that drive.  I did have a few choices of places to crash to avoid the blizzard.  I even had a change of clothes in the trunk.  I also had an extra charger so the iPhone wouldn't die.  However, the one thing I didn' thave was my lappy.  Staying in Des Moines would mean going a day without that.  That wasn't happening.

It's funny how a blizzard can have you reverting to your childhood so quickly.  There are exactly two times that you drive with absolute proper etiquette:  during driver's education and during  horrible weather.  Both my hands were locked at 10 and 2.  There was no looking cute with a lean and one hand on the wheel.  My seat was moved up at least two notches closer to the windshield than I normally have it.  I even had my eyeglasses on.  The only thing that wasn't driver's ed compliant was my music that I had blasting. But my Movie Goodness playlist on the Zune was like my co-pilot that helped keep me even more alert.

The going started off not all that bad on the highway in town.  Traffic was moving slowly, but the snow plows had done a decent job of clearing the roads so that you could still tell where the lanes were.  The snow that continued to come down was soft enough to melt on the windshield on contact.  It probably helped that the heater and defrost was on high so that it escalated the thawing process as I trudged thru to the interstate.  That first 10 miles or so had lulled me into a false sense of security.

By the time I hit the second Ankeny exit (putting me still a good 25+ miles from home), the wind picked up.  It had successfully created small drifts that completely covered the second lane of the 2-lane northbound highway.  The visibility decreased from three car lengths to one im the matter of seconds.  My phone happened to ring at that most inopportune moment.  I didn't even bother to see who it was.  I just touched 'Answer' and yelled "I'm driving!" then 'End call'.

I figured I was going to be in for a long drive with that type of adversity ahead of me.  It switched up on me though.  Typical for moody Iowa weather.  I must have just hit a patch of the worst of it as it let up just a little to allow more visibility.  The horrible part ended up lasting for about two songs (best way I could gauge it) but it seemed like an eternity.  At least I knew to be better prepared for the inconsistency with the driving conditions which allowed me to better pace the trip.  It still didn't make it any easier.

The one thing I had faith in the entire way was I was rolling on a brand new set of tires.  That's what stood out about the Dark Knight when I first got it.  They weren't the standard tires that normally come with a PT Cruiser.  These jokers were built to tackle adverse weather conditions and they did not disappoint.  Not once did the Dark Knight falter while traversing the frozen terrain.  The closer I inched to seeing those faint halogen streetlights that marked the first Ames exit, the more faith I had in the Dark Knight's ability to handle an Iowa winter.    

My estimate was off by 10 minutes.  It only took me 80 minutes instead of 90.  The important thing was that I got home in piece.  Cursing out the Iowa weather the entire way.  Remembering the whole time why I am so anxious to move.  And yet hoping that it gets even worse over night so that we can be informed that the office is closed tomorrow.  Yes...I do only want the snow when it's beneficial.  Other than that...go away.

Comments

[CreoleInDC]

Glad you made it home safe! I hate snow. But I know you know that already.

[Stan]

Snow and me have a love-hate relationship. I hate it and it loves irritating me

[Sissy]

Glad you made it home safely. I completely understand, as a Midwesterner, I too have driving skills that are intensely heightened during snowstorms. I can't even listen to music - I have to be FOCUSED. I hollered at the vision of you yelling "I'm driving" into the phone! LOL Yeah, about that leaning in the car - um not so cute. You get a side eye for that o_O

[Stan]

Sissy commented on my page?! I feel so honored! Thanks for stopping by! But come on...you mean to tell me you don't do a little leaning in your car when the weather conditions are perfect? Come on now...