At that time, I was in KC celebrating Christmas with my husband's family. It was a really nice time. We had a lot of fun. Babycake didn't sleep at all, got a cold, and shared it with us. But really, it was good. With my sister-in-law living 8 hrs away, we don't get to see her enough and getting the whole family together is always nice.
Now as I mentioned, we were warned for days about the oncoming weather. Did we worry? No. Did we plan? Yes, we did plan. Did we bother to leave a day early? Um, no. That would just make too much sense. The drive from KC to Indy is 8 hrs without stopping. We have a toddler. Our drive takes around 10 hrs. So, our plan was to wait 4 hrs after the storm left Indy to leave. That would give Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana 12-14 hrs to clear the roads and make way for safe travel. Logical right? We thought so.
We left, caravanning with my parent-in-laws, at 4 pm. Driving through Missouri was fine for the most part. It only began to get slushy in St. Louis, which also happened to be the point we went our separate ways from the in-laws. By now, my dad was texting us at asking if we were going to stop and stay in St. Louis, or if we were going to keep going. At 45 mph on the highway, all we wanted was to get home. We'd been traveling for weeks going to see family all over the Midwest, we just wanted to be home. I am so thankful Babycake was sleeping by this point because once we got into Illinois it became scary.
At 2 am (that's 10 hrs of driving) my dad called saying he had a room reserved for us at the next exit. Where were we at this point? In the middle of Illinois. Now if you've never been to Illinois, the middle, the edges, the top, and the bottom of it is flat. If you are lucky to drive through it in the summer you get to drive through fields upon flowing fields of corn, sometimes soy beans, but mostly corn. I love driving through Illinois before harvest season. If you think I'm joking, I'm not. But driving through it in the winter? No. It's cold, bare, and boring.
So we pull off the highway at the exit of Effingham. That's right Effing...ham. After 10 hrs of scared you might slide off the road driving, that's hilarious. Anyway, we drive onto the off ramp and get stuck in 5 inches of snow... with the snow plow directly behind us... Yep... There's also a stuck semi and mini van directly ahead of us stuck on the ramp b/c the ramp had not been cleared. 10 hrs Effingham! You had 10 hrs to clear your exit ramps! You'd been warned for days about the storm! Whateves.
Only now looking back at the situation does the shock at the lack of preparation for that exit ramp really hit. However, in the middle of it, all I did was laugh when we got stuck. Yeah, I laughed. I couldn't help it and I couldn't stop it. I'm the person who laughs, not cries, in crazy situations.
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| This is essentially what our hotel parking lot looked like. |
We get to the hotel, settle Babycake in, and everyone passes out. Babycake got a great night's sleep. She got her 10 hrs. She was ready to go at 7 am. Hubby and me? No, not so much. After breakfast we decided to pack up our stuff and head back out. No, we did not consider that the roads would still be sheets of ice. "The snow plows would have been working all night clearing the roads." That's what we thought. We figured they would have gotten enough salt down before the temps got too low for the salt to work.
Nope! Wrong! There was just too much snow and the temps dropped too fast for the plow drivers to keep up. The drive from Effingham to Terre Haute, IN, which is on the border of IN, is 1 hr. Guess how long it took us. Go ahead, take a guess. Ten hours. It took us 10 hours! Granted, about half of this drive consisted of us sitting in a long line of traffic, but still, 10 hrs. Uhlg!
Now b/c most people were smart and stayed inside during this insane weather, they didn't get to see what the conditions were like on the roads yet. Let me describe the situation. You couldn't see pavement, either b/c there was 4 inches of snow on top, or b/c there were layers of ice on it. If you happened to see black, it was pavement, but under the thinnest layer of ice. In other words, there was no pavement. In order to get traction it was best to drive on the shoulder of the road where the rumble strip was. At least then the ice was uneven in a pattern your tires could follow.
Babycake took great naps that day in the car. She was pumped and ready to go when we got to a hotel in Terre Haute. She literally did laps around our room. When it was lights out she climbed out of her pack n play repeatedly to walk around handing anything she could find.
Our third day of this drive we decided to watch the traffic on the highway out our window for indications a to the road conditions. That morning was pretty fun. We had a great breakfast, I got to work out for the first time in days, and Babycake and I went and played in the pool. We left Terre Haute a little after noon and made it to Indy at 6 pm. Only six hours for a typically one hour drive!
Really as horrible as this trip sounds, and as exhausted as I was, I had a good time. The whole experience was a true adventure my husband I will never forget. I am thankful that the drive was normally eight hours b/c I was already prepared with material to entertain Babycake for hours. Babycake was happy all three days of driving. We sang songs and made up dances (while strapped in our seats). We colored, read books, played with toys and took naps. She even got to watch some videos. The only thing we didn't do was get up and run around (unless you count the 10 min stops at gas stations). Yeah I was incredibly stressed while we were on the road, but it wasn't b/c of the people I was with. My husband did a great job getting our family home and I couldn't ask for a better daughter. I was scared for the safety of my family. Obviously I was scared b/c we were driving on ice, but I also hate semis. Semi drivers are insane. While driving on iced over roads, they found it perfectly fine to drive at 60 mph. Totally safe... and the reason I lost count for how many semis were in ditches.
So we learned our lesson. When the weather forecasters are saying for days to prepare for a sever winter storm and to stay indoors, we will do just that. If we are out of town, we will either stay until the news anchors say it's safe to be on the roads, or we will leave before the storm hits.
As a final note, I'd like to say that I think we rarely appreciate those who work at gas stations and hotels. I am so grateful for those people who went to work that Sunday night knowing they would most likely be (and did end up) stranded at work away from friends and family. We insane travelers who thought we would attempt to make it home would be lost without you... And frozen too.
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