Winter Trip 2016-to Montgomery, AL

Sat. Jan. 23: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANALYN! We packed up and got things to the truck just as Tom and Mary Ann arrived to pick us up. Tom had even swept the truck clear of snow for us! They tried to take us to a funky, world famous diner near Churchill Downs and the University of Louisville for breakfast but to everyone’s great disappointment it was closed (due to snow? We’ll never know, I guess). Instead we went to a nearby Denny’s and had a nice visit before they returned us to the motel to check out. We were on the road by 9:30. I65 was clear and mostly dry as we started out. As we rolled along we found out that:

1. 1)    Sallie and Jim had gotten off I75 at 11:30pm and found a Knight’s Inn to stay for the night. They got on slushy I75 south around 9:00. By the end of the day, they got to a Holiday Inn in Tifton, GA. In the meantime, Shari’s family’s flight to meet them in Orlando Sunday had been cancelled because of the blizzard and up to 30” of expected snow. They hoped to be able to fly out on Monday instead.
2. 2)   Mary Ann and John were settled in for another day in Kentucky as northbound I75 was still closed and it was still snowing. Some people had stayed on the freeway for 19 hours before they could get away.
3. 3)   Rachel and Michael had lost power because of snow and high winds in Atlanta.
4. 4)   Periodic photos from Hank showed towering and still growing snow banks such as we haven’t seen in many years.

Janis and Jinx walk up the driveway, between cars

Our drive took a sudden turn for the worse when we arrived at the Tennessee border. It took us several hours to c-r-a-w-l to Nashville on two hard packed, snow covered lanes that were piled with snow on each side, with scores of cars and semis off the road in the snow banks. As we inched along I got some pictures of the snow and traffic. By lunchtime it was clear we couldn’t make it to Atlanta today. We let Rachel know and then contacted the RV Park, where they told us they would have to charge us because they have a 48 hour cancelation policy. I appealed to the woman on the phone, pointing out that even the airlines were accommodating people without charge because of the weather, and she said she’d see what she could do. Time will tell….

The next 4 are all pictures taken along I65 while we were stopped or slowed.

We shared a quick Subway footlong for lunch (bought from a woman who had been there all night and was planning on staying in her car there for another night), and, fearing the road condition on I24 which runs southeast, continued on I65 south. The freeway improved greatly and we made good time as we entered Alabama with temperatures around 34° and clear skies. As we drove through Birmingham a huge full moon rose. We got the MSU/Maryland basketball game on Marv’s phone app and listened as we drove. Just before the half we lost our signal so we stopped at a great diner off the freeway for their half a fried chicken with salad bar and one side (Marv, fried green tomatoes; me, homemade onion rings). It was more than either of us could finish! We got the signal back with about 12 minutes left in the game and listened with delight as MSU pulled out the desperately needed WIN! There was a Sleep Inn on the north side of Montgomery where we got a room and stayed the night, anticipating an early start and getting back on schedule with arrival at Payne’s Prairie State Park on Sunday.