Leaving Lloyd and Stephen’s is never easy. We have been close friends for many years and I cherish spending time with them. They have a gorgeous house full of art and love and I always feel grateful to spend time there.
The night before there was a Freezing Rain Advisory. The TV news said that “if you value your life you’ll avoid traveling during this storm.” I considered changing my flight and extending my trip by a couple of days to miss traveling through the storm. But the fact that I am eager to see my kids I decided to stick to my itinerary. Besides how bad could it be? I come from the Yukon after all and have experienced all kinds of winter storms. Boy, was I wrong.
I woke at 4 AM and got dressed. The first clue of the extent of the freezing rain was when I stepped outside with my bags and slipped on the glare ice. Next, the car was entombed in a thick layer of ice. I warmed the car and scraped the windows and tentatively backed onto the highway. I slowly made my way south through Long Island towards New York City on deserted streets. The street lights reflected on the ice on the road and I had to keep my wipers on fast to keep up with the sleet. I have taken the drive to Laguardia many times and it always takes less than three hours. This morning it would take almost four and a half. But. better safe than sorry and since I had allowed lots of time I didn’t feel stressed and got to Laguardia without incident.
I got rid of the rental car and took the shuttle to the terminal. Laguardia was eerily empty and I learned that almost every flight was cancelled except for mine. I found a seat facing a TV playing weather forecasts from CNN. Chicago, St Louis and other cities were being hammered by this storm and the broadcasters seemed pleased to describe the drama of this huge event. It felt good to be in the terminal and preparing to go home. It’s been an interesting trip with lots of surprises and I’m ready to sleep in my own bed.
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