(14 Weeks)
We wound up on a road trip to Nova Scotia in February because Chris found a great deal on ocean front property on eBay and I thought making such a purchase sight unseen was insane. So with a referral to a local attorney, a week free for winter break and what seemed to be clear weather, we hit the road.
The first indication that we were headed to another bad vacation occurred even before we left home. My daughter, using her dresser as a ladder, (and with it poorly anchored to the wall) tipped it just enough to deposit her goldfish bowl and all its contents on the floor. The water went straight down to the laundry room below and all over the clothes I just washed for the trip.
Ignoring that omen, we were on the road the next morning. First stop Bar Harbor, Maine; continuing on to Canada the next day. Had it been summer, we would have enjoyed a relaxing ferry ride across the Bay of Fundy to Yarmouth, and from there about a 3-hour drive to Halifax. But it was February, no ferry. So, it was (what should have been) about an 8-hour drive around the Bay of Fundy through New Brunswick.
Not long after we crossed over the Canadian border, it started to snow. This wasn’t in the forecast! It wasn’t so bad at first. We continued north. We’ll be okay if we can get to Halifax before dark. Visibility was about five feet. The driving snow was relentless.
The girl was happily watching Aladdin on her portable DVD player completely without a care. We couldn’t pull over, because we couldn’t see what “over” was and were afraid we’d end up in a ditch. The lights of a truck stop came into view, so we stopped to eat and to look for a hotel. Nothing. We got back on the road. We changed drivers. I was a good driver in the snow, but this was terrifying.
We had easily been driving in the snow for 10, maybe even 12, hours. By the time we got to Halifax, the snow had stopped. We arrived at the hotel after 10 and the restaurant had just closed. Being hospitable Canadians, and seeing the sad shape we were in, they let us eat. The girl asked if the pool was open. It wasn’t.
Chris apologized. I can’t believe I almost killed my family. “It’s over,” I told him. “Tomorrow’s a new day.”
The new day meant a trip out to Cape Breton Island, and specifically Isle Madame, to look at the property. It was about a 3-hour drive. It was a beautiful day and the property was gorgeous! And I kept thinking how nice it would be in summer. We met with the attorney who notified us that the property was part of larger plot that had not been legally sub-divided – yet. He advised us of what needed to be done, and we went on our way, not as excited as we were when we arrived.
As we headed back to Halifax, a weather report said snow flurries were expected. I quickly learned that a Canadian’s definition of “flurries” was quite different than mine. What we got was a snow squall that dumped 6” of snow in about 15 minutes. The snow continued and the 3-hour drive back to Halifax turned into 5.
I vaguely remember getting the kid to the pool that night though, so not all was lost. We were heading back to Maine the next morning and thankfully that leg of the trip was uneventful. When we woke up the last morning to head home, there were flurries, but we were headed south. That would be better, no?
In our defense, this was in the days before we had smart phones, so up-to-the minute weather reports for every region at our fingertips just wasn’t an option. After an hour or so on the road in worsening conditions, where cars were beginning to spin off the road, we took the next exit and followed the signs to what was probably the only hotel for miles.
We took a nap. Waited out the storm and got back on the road. We just wanted to get home. And somehow, miraculously, we did. That trip goes down as not only the worse vacation (if you can even call it that), but it was without question, the most terrifying experience of my life. I get triggered anytime I hear the Aladdin soundtrack. And no, we never did get the property.
Our last vacation as a family was Christmas 2010. We decided to spend the holiday and Chris’ birthday in Colonial Williamsburg. Christmas Eve we visited with my mom and aunt at their memory care residence, had dinner with Chris’ mom, and got on the road to Virginia early Christmas morning.
As we hit the bridge between New Jersey and Delaware, it started to snow. Not as bad as the trip almost four years earlier, but we were holding our breath the whole way. We got to Williamsburg as it started to stick on the roads. The next morning, we awoke to a foot of snow. Of course, Virginia doesn’t really know what to do with that much snow and everything was closed.
I thought it added something to the historic landscape. The girl got to use the indoor pool. The food was great. But we wound up leaving early because there was “nothing to do.” The (almost) Christmas blizzard of 2010 hit the entire northeast and when we arrived home, we had to leave the car in the lot at the park across the street because the snow in the driveway was too high. About a week later we got a new puppy, and he became a good excuse to stay home. Especially in the winter.
Did you really think this wasn’t going to include a fundraiser? It’s me. Of course it is! Over the course of these 60 weeks, I am hoping to raise $6000 for the children of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls (that’s just $100 a week!). To learn more about Mercy Home and my why, please visit my fundraising page. Thank you.
