Snow Scare & Answered Prayer

My drive from Williamsburg to Richmond a few Sunday evenings ago was probably one of the biggest scares I have had. I keep thinking that I dreamed the whole thing up because it seems so crazy now looking back. I was aware that the forecast was calling for snow in Richmond on Sunday evening and a little less in Williamsburg later on into the next morning. Because it looked like the weather might affect my morning commute with the peak of the storm hitting Williamsburg between 6 & 9 am, I decided (with support) that it may be best to head out early in the evening on Sunday to avoid trouble the next morning. I quickly realized that this was not a wise decision, but once I had committed, it was very hard to turn back. 
7:00 PM - Left Williamsburg
7:20 PM - Shortly after getting on the interstate, snowflakes were falling big and hard. The falling snow was dizzying and I was having to concentrate on the faint road lines to stay focused. As soon as I started experiencing this, I should have turned around. Believe me...I will next time...if there is a next time of me being anywhere close to an interstate when snow is in the forecast! 
7:30 PM - The roads quickly turned to white and the lines I was using for guidance started disappearing. And I started panicking! I have many miles under my belt and I feel as if I know the stretch of road between Williamsburg and Richmond like the back of my hand, but neither of those comforted me in the least when my ability to see was dramatically fading with each passing mile. I realized after about 10 miles on the interstate that the conditions were getting dangerous and that it would be wise to get off as soon as possible. When the next exit approached, I couldn't find the exit ramp because snow was completely covering the road at this point and I was forced to keep driving. (My car does not exactly perform well in the snow and has little traction when it drives on any of the white stuff.) At this point, tears were starting to well up in my eyes. I quickly tried to fight them back knowing that I needed to be able to see and this wasn't going to improve the precarious situation in which I found myself. I was fighting so hard to stay on the road that I didn't feel as if I could even reach for my phone to call home. 
7:40 PM - My Mom called at this point (fortunately) to check in and she could hear the panic in my voice. She ended up handing the phone to my Dad and he encouraged me to keep on as I was, which was staying in the tracks of a big tractor trailer that was paving the way ahead of me. One problem...all of the traffic was driving way faster than me and would quickly pull ahead. As soon as the cars were gone and there were less headlights around and fainter tracks to find, I would begin to get nervous again. 
8:00 PM - I had officially slowed down to 20 mph and was creeping along in whatever tracks I could find that other cars had paved ahead of me.  I would cringe every time a tractor trailer blew by me because of the tidal wave of snow that covered my car when they passed. The snow hit so hard that it felt as if it might force me off the road.
8:30 PM - At this point, my Mom was talking to me on speaker (it eased both of our nerves). I could tell that the traction of my tires was worsening. My car started to slide and pumping the brakes didn't make much difference. I ended up sliding off of the road, but fortunately I wasn't going very fast so I didn't slide very far.  I thought this might be the end for me and that I would just have to give up (I had even thought as far as being thankful I had food and extra clothes in the car in case I had to spend the night there. I wasn't thinking straight (obviously) because I doubt my parents would have let me just sit there. I just couldn't imagine wanting anyone else to be out in the horrible conditions like this to help me.)  I put my car in reverse and miraculously was able to back up into the road and get going again.
9:00 PM - I finally made it to the I-295 ramp (and was relieved to have made it that far even though I still had a ways to go).  As I was making my way up the ramp (which has a slight curve and incline) I felt the back end of my car sliding (again!) and I turned completely horizontally across the ramp.  Fortunately, all the cars behind me were able to get stopped in time and they sat and waited until I reversed (AGAIN) and got going in the right direction (AGAIN!).  Miracle #2.
9:10 PM - The conditions on 295 were slightly better and I was feeling more confident that there might be a chance that I could make it home until...
9:15 PM - I notice a red light indicator on my dash...and my car was overheating! At the point where it caught my attention, the gauge was reading as hot as it could read. I knew I needed to do something (like stop!) quickly but I couldn't navigate whether I should wait till an exit or pull off into the deeper snow on the interstate (and risk someone sliding into me).  I continued to drive unsure of what to do until I started detecting a burning smell and smoke (or something similar) was pouring out from under my hood. The only option at this point was to pull off on the side of the interstate.
9:20 PM - I get on the phone calling around Richmond to find someone with a rollback who can tow me.  Being that it was a snowy evening with many cars in ditches, it was hard to find anyone who was available anytime soon.  They told me that they would get to me when they could. As I sat on the side of the interstate praying that no one would slide into me, I quickly was growing more and more scared about being broken down on the side of the road by myself.  Thankfully, my Dad was already making calls to find someone who lived close by to come help me.
9:45 PM - Help #1 arrives and drives me to the only gas station open around to buy antifreeze and water.
10:15 PM - Help #2 arrives at the same time we make it back to the car with fluids. Filled my car with water and antifreeze hoping it would cool down.
10:30 PM - Car has cooled slightly so we make a plan to drive as far as possible to try to get it to the next exit and off the road (about 1.5 miles ahead).  As soon as we get my car going, we realize that it is stuck in the deep snow!  Imagine help #1 and me(!) trying to push the car (as it's snowing steadily still) while help #2 is driving.  Amazingly enough, we get it going and we all caravan down the interstate at 20 mph for 1/4 mile...until my car overheats again! We all pull back off into the snow and wait until the temperature gauge comes off of hot again. We decide to drive the car a bit until it gets really hot and then let it sit for about 20 minutes until it cools slightly enough to keep going.  We repeat this process at least 4 times before making it to the exit.

11:45 PM - Finally make it to the off ramp to exit I-295. How relieved we were to make it to this point. The only stressor was the chance we had taken at causing significant engine damage to get my car off the interstate.
12:15 AM - The rollback shows up. Thrilled to have a tow but sad to see my car on the rollback.
12:45 AM - Left my car at the dealership and thanked the driver for the tow.
1:15 AM - Finally climbed in bed (after a 6 hour trip home) and thanked the Lord that He protected me and got me home safely after a night full of horrible road conditions and car troubles.

I woke up the next morning to the scene above.  How could something so beautiful wreak so much havoc?

I did have to drop a nice chunk of change to get my car repaired, but the good news is that the damage was minimal and my car was fixed in 1 day! The results were WAY better than anticipated...especially after wondering if I had ruined the engine driving it while overheating for so long. 

With daylight savings this weekend and a week ahead of warm temps, I can't believe that snow was a reality any time recently. I'm thankful to be seeing more and more signs of spring!    

California Dreamin' Part III - La Jolla (Day 2)

Thanks to taking the red eye late Sunday evening, I was able to enjoy another full day with the Zs before having to head home.  Our first stop before church was at their local farmer's market.  Even though I enjoy the ones here in VA, ours just do not even compare.  The market was huge and takes place every Sunday.  The vendors were all so friendly offering samples of any of their foods.  It was hard to be there and not be able to bring back a few bags of fresh veggies and fruits.  They had many varieties of produce that I had never seen before and the flowers were exotic and unique.  One of the favorite things I tasted (and brought a small bag home) were honey orange flavored almonds.  Yum! 

The girls ate up the samples (figuratively and literally)

After the market, church, and lunch in Del Mar (and a full Saturday the day before), the gang was all ready for some down time that afternoon.  Of course, I wanted to soak up the nice weather while I could so I made my way back to beach for a few hours by myself.  I was thankful to not have missed the sunset that day. 

Happy toes...

 The only reason I was able to leave (rather than purposely missing my flight home) was knowing that I would be heading back soon.

California Dreamin' Part II- La Jolla (Day 1)

After a couple of wonderful days at the Inn I headed about 20 minutes south to La Jolla to visit the Z family, who I was a nanny for right after I graduated from college. They just recently moved to the west coast and were more than willing to offer me their guest room for the weekend. I have heard about La Jolla and how great of a place it is, and my visit there only confirmed this and exceeded all of my expectations. 

Did I mention that the Z's are renting an amazing spanish mediterranean house with spectacular views of the coast/Pacific ocean?!?! Talk about breathtaking...

My entertainment and little sweetie while I was there. :) She would come in when I was getting dressed and ask me if I was wearing flips or flats that day. Quite the fashionista...

First thing Saturday morning we headed down to walk along the water. It's no secret that anything near water makes me a happy girl. It was a beautiful, sunny morning...

We walked out on the narrow pier below to get a good look at all of the seals in the cove...

You have to look closely to see the seals that blend in with the rocks. There were so many!

I think they enjoy sunbathing!

 Me with A, A, & A while we waited for an outside table at a great restaurant on the water for lunch.

In this particular place, the area down below us was full of pelicans. The wildlife was amazing all along the coast.

Delish fish tacos...

After lunch we decided to explore The Cave Store where there is access to a manmade tunnel that takes you down a TON of stairs to a sea cave.  This is the only land access to a cave of this type on the California coastline.  It was definitely a very "tourist-y" thing to see but neat nonetheless.  

The tunnel was so long, dark, and damp that it was a little creepy, but the view at the bottom was worth the workout.

 The cliffs you see in the distance (pictured right) are probably the same as the ones in the background of the photo of me with the 3 girls above. The opening of the cave now looks like the silhouette of an old man/indian chief!

By the time we finished our sea cave tour, it was early afternoon and the temps had really warmed up.  We headed home briefly to take a quite break and change before heading to the beach.  What an unexpected treat! Of course, I was excited to tote my camera with me and take shots of the girls while they played.

It was certainly warm enough for bathing suits but certainly NOT to be in that water. I dipped in my toes and they went numb instantly.  Clearly that was not an issue for these girls or the many others (who I avoided photographing) who were frolicking in the water.

West coast life agrees with these girls. They would have played here all day! This beach is only a few blocks from their house.

This is a picture heavy post (and I'm leaving out tons!), but I must include a few I snapped around their place. There was so much to take in that I would just stand and stare for long moments.

 I went and picked a bowl of oranges from the tree right outside the master bedroom so that we could have fresh juice in the morning.  How wonderful...

This room below was an add on to the backside of the house up above the roof.  Can you imagine this being your office with a view of the coast/ocean? Breathtaking...

The below pictures show one of the many intricate details that the owners poured time and energy into to make this a spectacular home. The wife cut down each of these books and then attached to the face of this door that leads to an elevator. It reminded me of something you'd see in a mystery movie.