Stormy Valentine (0 comments)
Valentine's day 2003 brought with it a fantastic winter storm. After the car show (photos and video forthcoming), Aaron, Mel, and I headed from Chicago to East Peoria to spend the night at my parents'. During that drive, it started raining. As we ate dinner with my parents, the rain turned to snow, and by about 10:00, we had accumulated around six inches. That's when we went sledding! There was sledding, snowball throwing, snow-angel-making, and a trashcan that was repeatedly filled with snow and dumped on Mel.
Of course, that snow didn't disappear overnight. We had a fun time driving from East Peoria today. There were quite a few cars stuck on the side of the road between Peoria and Bloomington. About 80% of them were SUVs, proving that four wheel drive isn't a safety net, especially when it comes time to slow down on ice (even ignoring the 4wd/awd differences). But we got back just fine, and I was once again impressed by my Empreza. though I must say that all the concentration involved in driving safely in these conditions left me a bit tired... too much thinking.
I came home and looked online for an official estimate of our snowfall and found that we're under a winter storm warning. Among othe things, the text of the warning says this:
Any travel is strongly discouraged. If you leave the safety of being indoors... you are putting your life at risk.
Excellent.