Yesterday was my first trip out to the Peninsula for work ....
AND boy was it an adventure!!
It all began on the ferry ...
I was talking to my girlfriend who use to cover my new territory, and Kristin said when it's raining in Seattle, it is usually much worse on the islands. She said be careful since the visibility is more difficult out there and in a nutshell told me the roads can be treacherous! Even listening to her, I wasn't really thinking it would happen to me, and boy did I not prepare myself for what I was about to get myself into.
Well, ladies, I had an adventure of my own with my first sighting of snow this entire winter. As I was driving, I saw baby flurries and thought I would be cute and tell Gabe, "It's snowing over here!' So, I did. Then, I see cars driving the opposite direction with a little snow on their vehicle, and then a lot, and then I notice these flurries are actually getting bigger.
At this point, I am already a couple hours in and too far invested to turn around.
So, what do I do?
1. Inform others of the craziness
2. take pictures while driving to capture the moment!
3. ignore their advice to turn around so I wouldn't get
stuck on the island if they shut down
the ferries for wind advisory alerts
And, then I get nervous after seeing multiple cars on the side of the road being pulled out by another car and ropes. It was for sure scary, and I questioned if I was doing the right thing.
My trusty AWD vehicle seemed to be handling fine, but it was my first time driving my Subaru Outback in conditions like this. I am slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I am going to anyways .... I called the dealership to see if there was any button I had to push to help with traction in the snow!!! The service advisor was like, "Nope, AWD is all the time!" LOL - You know he was telling his colleagues of my inquiry and making fun of me!
Then, I thought what if the office closed because of the weather. I called the office I was heading to and found out they didn't have an ounce of snow and just wind/rain, so I pushed through the next 40 miles and saw there was a light at the end of the tunnel as the roads cleared up to little to no snow. But, I then see this (see picture below), there were probably 25 cars completely stopped, staggered like chaos, and idling. Thankfully, I was driving the other direction and wasn't stuck in that.
Good times and crazy weather.
It definitely had my heart rate pumping.
***This girl from Texas doesn't know how to drive in
high wind alerts and snow!!!!
45 comments:
Oh my... I would have been freaked too if I had to drive in that for the first time too.
Yikes, that looks and sounds crazy! Especially if you weren't expecting it. I am from Mass and we see some nasty snowy weather and that would still freak me out!
Glad you made it back alright!
WOW! We've had such a snowy winter here in Virginia, but it looks so odd now that it's been in the 70's and 80's for awhile! =) I'm glad everything turned out okay and glad you had an Outback! Oh, and I TOTALLY didn't know that the AWD on our CR-V was always on and asked my hubby the same question you asked the dealership! =)
Girl that's crazy!!!! I would have been pretty uneasy too! Glad you're safe and sound and you made it through! haha
You did good!! AWD is great. Grew up in MI and driving in the snow. The best thing to do is push ahead and not drive to fast as long as your car can handle it. Thanks for the beautiful scenery pics. I was born in Enumclaw, so I love that neck of the woods too.
Have mercy - I am nervous just THINKING about driving in that weather. When we go to Colorado I always refuse! haha. I am a baby.
Glad you had a good little trip :)
I hate driving in snow. It's so stressful.
Oh dear!! I can't believe it's April and snowing there! Wow!!
I live in Indiana and we get a lot of snow...it's so stressful to drive in it! I feel your pain!!
Glad you're safe and made it back!! :)
Wow your photos are just great, it's like being there.
Wow. That's crazy! Glad you're safe and sound!
Emily
I have lived in Colorado my whole life and I still don't feel like I know how to drive in snow haha its so scary! Good thing you stayed calm and had a suburu- they are great in the snow!
Wow, that must've been so scary! You're one brave girl. :) I live in CT, so I've definitely seen my share of blizzards/hurricanes, but even I still don't like driving in it around here. Even though your car may be good in the snow, it's the other people on the road who don't know how to drive that I always worry about! lol
I'm so glad to hear you made it back safely!
That is pretty scary!! Glad you're safe!
lol... Kinda looks like my drive to work! and, ya.. Im pretty sure you can do anything in a Subaru!
I would have freaked out too! Glad you made it okay!
I'm a new reader and think you blog is great! That drive looked crazy and I would have been nervous too. I live in Seattle as well, and I still don't like driving in the snow (nor do I have much experience with it!) :)
How ridiculous am I .... I got all excited when I saw Port Angeles on your map because it made me think of Twilight ;) Sheesh!!
Glad you survived the trip!!
HAPPY EASTER!
I would have been super nervous! Glad you made it :)
You definitely handled that WAY better than I would have. I would have turned around once I saw the first snow flake!! You brave soul! ;-)
Eeeeks! I'm glad you made it safely home!
Oh jeez. Snow is always scary driving in. I mean we get it a lot up here and im very confident driving in snow, but when I slip a little I always think I might die. I know crazy, but I am glad you made it.!
I'm glad you made it there safely!
HA! Thank you for risking your life so that your blog friends could have a play by play of your treacherous drive! You are too funny! ;)
I would have had my camera out as well:)
I'm trying to figure out where you were??? We definitley didn't get anything down South! :) We also have AWD and its amazing! The snowstorm of 08 was a breeze! One of our cars isn't though, so we always have to tagteam when its nasty. Glad you made it!
This Texas Gal wouldn't know how either! Glad you made it back safely! Happy Easter!
ugh i hate the snow, i hope that storm is all we get this year. if you ever do get stuck on the peninsula you can come hang out with me. :)
That is terrifying! I don't even like driving in the rain. Ha!
Yikes!! I had no idea it was snowing like that in other places! Glad you're okay!
eeek! that would've FREAKED me out! us texas girls do NOT handle driving in snow well! shoot, they shut the highways down with mere MENTION of ice!!! glad you're safe and sound!!!
Oh girl...I would have no clue how to get around in that!! You're right, us Texas girls don't see it often, so it's a foreign world!
I would not have been able to do it!!
You are too cute! It's beautiful out there suring the summer, you and your hubby should go back to visit then:-)
Glad you made it ok!!!
I hate hate hate driving in snow...i would have cried!
You know I was just watching our news the other night saying we only got 95 inches of snow this season. Then I thought about John's stories of driving in Seattle and one day it took him 5 hours just to get home from work. I cannot imagine what that must have been like for you the first time. I am glad that you got some great pictures and that you got back safely!!!!
Good thing you own a Subaru! That probably made the difference between you and the guys on the side of the road.
whoa...looks crazy!! glad that you made it through it safe and sound :)
OK... that picture of the ferry reminds me of my husband and I took our 1 year anniversary trip up to Seattle! It was my FIRST trip there... and we got to ride the ferry! I LOVED it!
We went to this AMAZING waterfall in the Olympic National Park... Scott's great-uncle took us to this waterfall that only the 'locals' seem to know about b/c its not even marked on the map of the park... which is crazy b/c it was GORGEOUS!!!
What islands are you talking about? You went onto the Olympic Peninsula, which is connected to the rest of the state.
Crazy! And ps.. I've always wanted to have to travel on a ferry.. haha.. Eric and I saw a movie last weekend where the dude got on a ferry and I even said "I want to go on a ferry." I'm lame. I know this. Glad you made it safely, love!
Wow girl I am proud of you for trekking through this crazy weather! I've been in scary driving situations before in Utah so I know how you feel- it's scary being stuck in a white out situation when you are not used to driving in these conditions. Glad your car is a snow and bad weather mobile! Stay safe. :)
Love this post! Glad it wasn't me...I would soooo freak out in those conditions! My best friend has a Subaru Outback and she LOVES it:)
TJ and I are visiting Washington in the fall, and I'm already worrying and freaking out about the driving part...we have literally about 5 red lights in our town, not to mention the lack of that sort of driving condition!
How crazy is that weather?! Glad you made it safely though :-) I would have been so nervous driving through that though.
Wow! I am proud of a TX girl for not turning around. This TX girl probably would have. Glad you made it safely.
driving in the snow is freaky! I've had to drive in snow during the winter since I got my license {we get some crazy storms here in ohio} and I'm still always a bit scared. glad you made it all right! :)
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