Sunday, August 21, 2011

Neither Torrential Rains, Falling Hail or [40 MPH] Winds Will Keep Us From Our Mission

Wellllll, THAT was interesting.

Taking our daughter back to college today was such a fun trip.  It started out bright and sunshiny  We left around 10:30, having packed the night before, when 100 miles into our trip we hit severe storms.  We had rain, we had hail, we had winds that I thought were going to pick up a cow out of one of the fields that run along the highway and toss it at the car.  It went on for almost 25 miles and we were reduced to speeds between 30 - 35 miles per hour due to poor visibility.  At one point we had to pull over and sit to wait because we couldn't see.

Thank goodness for this guy.  My hero.

The man can drive.  
I trust him above all others, but boy-o I was a nervous wreck.  HE can drive, but what is it with people that feel the need to go over the speed limit when it is zero visibility?  Do they have magic windshield wipers I don't know about?  Super powers only "special" people get? [For what it is worth we have four brand new tires and brand new windshield wipers.  You couldn't see and it was hard to control.]  Sigh. They are special all right - especially stupid.  I am surprised we didn't see more accidents than we did.

We finally arrived at 1:30. An hour late.  First we checked Squirrel into band. 20 seconds max.  Next we went over to her new home for the next year and checked her in there.  Again, 20 seconds, with a slight hiccup with the wrong key. No worries. Done.  BONUS!  Her room is located at the back of the dorm, approximately 20 steps out two [security] doors to where we had parked to unload with no stairs. YAY!  Squirrel, Wallene and Dad unloaded in under 10 minutes. It was amazing.  We spent a little time setting up her room, but had to go grab a quick bite to eat before we had to drop Squirrel off at band.  The Royal Marching Dukes sure get on it fast!  We dropped her off at 3:30, said goodbye [sniff, sniff - okay, okay waaaaaaaaaah!] and had a rain free trip back home.

We walked in the door at 5:30 and found our own little rainbow after the storm waiting for us:
The birthday cake from last night.
We don't know if the snow man is excited that he has his own piece of cake
 or if we accidentally suffocated him.
On another fun note - Squirrel neglected to mention that her dorm has co-ed floors.  Imagine Pooldad's shock and consternation when he was reading the names on all the doors and noticed "Mike", "Tim" and "Trevor" living next door. giggle - Yep, there was NO explaining that one away.

I am completely wrecked from the trip, but it was so worth it. I am glad our baby is safe, sound and back at a place that makes her so happy, doing what she loves.

See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles. Enjoy your week.  I hope it is sunshiny with no hail or flying cows. :wink:



14 comments:

Carolyn said...

Glad your daughter is safe at school (well, except for those "boys! hehe....sorry Pooldad).

And I though the last picture of the rainbow cake was pretty enough, I didn't know it was also a rainbow INSIDE! How cool looking was that!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

I hate driving in bad weather and for the love of me do not get why some people feel the need to drive so fast during such shocking weather and like you I am amazed that there are not more accidents........

Co-ed hey yeah bet pooldad was surprised........

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi Skippy. I'm just about to leave for the airport, but just had to comment on this post. Sorry you had such an awful journey taking Squirrel back, but glad you're home safe and sound in one piece! That cake looks just as good on the inside, and I did smile with the bit about the snowman!! Probably won't be around to comment quite so much over the next week or so (I'm back on the 1st Sept) so take it easy over there my friend.

Lyndylou said...

That was some trip! Glad you made it there and back safe and sound :)

RVVagabond said...

No offense but I hope you took all that bad weather with you since we're moving on down to Jersey today. It's bad enough driving in nice weather nowadays--lately Denny and I have seen enough stupidity on the road that we're beginning to think the DMVs no longer give driving/written tests, they just hand out licenses to anyone who asks.

Death by rainbow cake...not such a bad way to go.

word vert: berbil. There were a lot of colors in your cake, except for the berbil.

Jeannie said...

Severe downpours while driving can be terrifying - not just the inherent danger before you pull over - but the not knowing if someone has already stopped dead in front of you and you can't see them - or worse - the idiot that might be coming up behind you at high speed with no intention of letting "a little rain" slow him down. Even pulling over is no guarantee that guy won't slam into you.

Remind Pooldad that he was young once. Oh. Wait. Scratch that - make an ostentatious purchase of a giant onesy for Squirrel - with a padlock for Pooldad's piece of mind! LOL

Celia said...

Glad you are well. Driving in bad weather is so scary!!

Anonymous said...

I used to drive to my brother's house a lot when he lived in DesMoines - several trips there was foggy conditions, so much so you could barely see 10 feet in front of you, but like your experience, people were still driving 80 mph! So crazy!

I don't like driving in bad weather at all.

Glad she's all settled - my college dorm was co-ed too - I was a freshman in college GULP - 25 years ago! When the hell did I get so old??!!

Tracy said...

Did you have to unload in the rain? That would be bad.

I lived in a co-ed dorm and it was like I had 40 brothers watching out for me.

That said, I'm glad my daughter is in a girls only dorm with strict visiting hours. LOL

Alycia Grayce (Crowley Party) said...

that cake looks awesome :) new follower!

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you had a rough trip up there, but am glad you made it there and back safely.

Hope you're having a nice Monday!

Hugs from Ireland :)

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Sounds like quite an adventurous trip. Gee, how times have changed, huh? No need to yell, "Man on the hall!" in the dorm anymore.

pooldad said...

Yep. We got home in time for corned beef and cabbage leftovers and the Dallas Cowboys at 8pm.

(I'll get over the co-ed dorm thingy. Sure I will)

Oh, and props to Skippy. She is my fave co-pilot. Yet another adventure.

Teresa said...

i hate, hate, hate driving in blinding rain. ranks right up there with driving in driving ice/snow. the only benefit to the first one is it's not freezing if you have to stop and get out of your car.