Had a Merry Christmas and looking forward to the new year!

Hey all, We are home safe and sound. My last post indicated the anxiety over this years trip to MI, and, as it turns out, it was not for nothing. We took off on Friday afternoon around 2pm. I had been hearing about bad weather all day and school had let out early because of the threat of coming snow. We all figured that since we were from MI and used to driving in snow, we could push through it. Also, the weather updates seemed to indicate that we could beat the worst of it if we left when we did. However, we learned different. About a half an hour into the drive, we started to see snow covered cars coming from the southbound lane. We were headed north, straight into this snow, and began to get slightly concerned. It was hard to believe though because all that was happening above us was endless rain....how could it be snowing so hard just a few miles ahead? Well...it was. It was actually snowing so hard that we went from moving at 65 mph to 25mph in a matter of seconds. The roads that were covered in gallons of rain water soon became pure slush because of the falling snow. At this point, we were already an hour into our trip and did not want to turn back. We continued on, slow but sure, not knowing that 3 miles ahead we would end up stopped in a terrible traffic jam. We figured this out rather quickly but still were not deterred. A small accident up ahead...no big deal. It would be cleaned up in no time and we would be on our way again. NOT QUITE! The minutes turned into hours. We were stuck on I26 amidst falling sleet/snow and miles and miles of stopped traffic. We could not turn around or go forward. We were stuck. After about an hour of waiting, several cars tried to pull through the median and turn back. The bigger vehicles made it though, but every car got stuck in the deepening snow. We knew our cars would end up stuck so we had to stay put. An hour turned into two hours. The kids were amazingly good. They were hungry, but we had some snacks and activities to keep them occupied. Mommy needed to use the bathroom...but the wait continued. Two hours turned into three and three into four. I personally was getting very scared for the safety of my kids. By this time, the radio had been broadcasting about the storm and the accident up ahead that had put both sides of I26 at a complete standstill. Two semi trucks had jack knifed across all lanes, and the roads were too icy for wrecker crews to get in. They began to mention shutting down the interstate for the night and finding a shelter for all stranded motorists. YIKES! By this time, I was terrified. We had plenty of stuff and two cars full of gas, but home was less than and hour and a half back and we were going to end up either sleeping in our cars or in a shelter for the night. After 5 1/2 hours of worried waiting, the DOT managed to clear a path for the miles of motorists to at least exit the interstate. They ordered us to either find an open hotel or go to the nearby shelters for the night. The interstate would be closed, and we could go no where else. Ironically, we were at the Asheville airport exit. The airport had cancelled all flights for the night and 7 out of 7 of the available hotels had absolutely no vacancies. Mind you, the roads were covered in over a foot of snow, and we got stuck in every driveway while searching for an available place to stay. There were a bunch of cops manning the exit ramps so we stopped and asked them for directions to one of the shelters that had been set up. They had no idea that there even were shelters available and sent us on a treacherous goose chase to find nothing. We ended up driving and driving down some road that was taking us the back way to Asheville. It was the only way we could even travel so we just started praying for an open hotel. We stopped at every one we saw and all were full. We were starving and nothing was open. Finally after about an hour and a half of driving, we found an available room. It was crazy expensive and the last one available. It was 11 o'clock at night, and we were tired and hungry. Also, completely overwhelmed! Thank God we did not end up having to sleep in the car. Believe me, in the middle of all this I was thinking of all of the worst possible outcomes. I prayed and prayed and am sure that God saved us that one room. Anyway....I'm sure you figured out that it was a long night. We raided the vending machine and tried to calm our nerves enough to sleep so that we could hopefully continue the drive in the morning. We managed to leave about 9 o'clock the next morning and made it to MI around midnight. Needless to say....it was a long trip. I think it snowed the entire way up! So that's how out trip up went...our holiday was wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed the time with our families. I'm sorry this is such a long post...but it is definitely a memory for the scrap books! I'll try to post some fun pictures from our trip within the next few days! Good night everyone!