The Long, Long Road Home

Dec 10th & 11th- Days 4 & 5

I woke up at 10 AM, perfect timing to get ready for the ride home. I sat in bed for a while and wrote out a postcard to my friend, Leah, as I tried to shake the post-sleep cobwebs from my brain.

We watched the weather reports and things didn't look great. After some debating, we decided to just get out as soon as possible and try to beat the worst of it.

Like a well oiled machine, we were packed, bundled, ready, and on the road at 11:45 AM.

As we rode the freeway out of Toronto, we hit a little bit of snow, but nothing of any real consequence. The wind gusts were the worst part of it.

Back on Day 1 of this trip, I wrote "As we approached Buffalo, the weather got bad. Real bad."
In hindsight, that was but a flurry.

When we hit Niagara, we were hit with whiteouts. I've driven through some heavy snowfall, but I've never seen anything like this. In a matter of seconds, everything beyond the windows would vanish, swallowed by pure white. It was disorienting and actually pretty scary.

WALL-E tries to see through the snow

We pushed on, crossed the border, and made it to Buffalo...where things got even worse.

The whiteouts were more frequent and the road conditions became far worse. The three lane highway became a two lane parking lot as the already slow moving traffic came to a complete stop.

At times, we would go for well over an hour without moving so much as a single inch.

When we would finally start moving, speeds would rarely reach 15 mph, but never higher than that.

My overpriced iPod adapter didn't even get used, as we wanted to keep listening to local radio to hear what was going on.

Eventually, all daylight was gone and we were still stuck on 90 West in the same awful conditions. In the dark.

Our plan became to make it to the Angola rest stop for a break and then decide if we should keep driving or hang there until sunrise.

Upon arrival it didn't even look like the rest stop was open. The entire parking lot was buried under several inches of snow.
Eventually, we saw people go in, so we at least knew it was open, but there was no possible way for my wheelchair to get through all that snow and get inside. Luckily, the guy who was plowing the parking lot was extremely helpful and cleared a path right up to the door for me. He even cleared a parking space near the door for us and made sure we got inside.
I can't thank him enough.

The drive from Toronto to Angola should have taken us about 2 hours. It took us 8.

Once inside, we made our way to Denny's, got some food, and tried to figure out what to do.

We made a couple calls and checked online, it seemed that if we could make it past Erie, PA, we'd be in the clear. Our decision was made for us by a phone call to the restaurant, informing them that the freeway had just been closed.
We were spending the night.

Our awesome waitress, Elke, was really helpful and nice throughout the night. I set up shop with my laptop to pass the time and keep tabs on the weather situation.

There were about a half dozen other travelers spending the night there. Some had pulled into the parking lot and gotten their car stuck in a snow drift, so they just left it and came inside. Later, a few semis pulled in, also got stuck in drifts, and ended up completely boxing the car in.

It was such an odd scenario and, honestly, kind of creepy.
Sometime during the night, Mom and I went to see how the road looked from the windows in McDonald's. It seemed so bizarre to see people sleeping in every booth inside the place.
I felt like I was in a zombie movie. We were a band of survivors holed up in a secure facility, waiting to hear something from the outside, trying to decide if we should stay put or try to make a break for it.


Mom managed to doze off for a few minutes throughout the night, but I was way too wired to sleep.

Eventually, the sky started to lighten as the sun unsuccessfully tried to peek through the clouds. We ordered small breakfasts before Elke went home and resumed our stay-or-go debate.
Neither of us wanted to spend another night in a rest stop Denny's, but every time the freeway reopened, it closed again within minutes.
We decided to get off of 90 and push for home via Route 20.

We set out again at 9:30 AM.
It was still bad, but at least we had daylight on our side.

For hours, all we saw were vast snow-covered grape fields and tiny towns, each one looking exactly like the last. Winds would come sweeping across the fields, picking up snow from the ground and repeatedly slamming us with whiteouts as we crawled down the long, boring road.

We were moving slowly, but I was just happy to be moving at all. We would occasionally come to a halt, but none like the day before.

WALL-E just wants to go home

I had been up for a full 24 hours. That, combined with the bland scenery, the hum of the engine, and the whoosh of the defrosters, would get the best of me as I found myself randomly falling asleep for seconds at a time.

Mom caught me dozing

We finally crossed into Pennsylvania just shy of 11 AM.

There was a whole convoy of us headed west on 20. It must have been quite a site for the locals, seeing this endless line of big rigs and other assorted freeway refugees slowly filing through their rural towns.

Our convoy

Bort! Bort!

Somewhere near Wesleyville, we hit another dead stop. A long one. About a mile or so ahead of us, a semi tried to get up a hill (a very small hill) and failed. This blocked traffic for over an hour.
We were losing daylight fast and started to discuss whether or not we should just find a hotel and try again the next day. We were tired, stressed, and all we wanted was to be home. So we pushed on.

It was completely dark by the time we reached Girard. That's when my uncles started calling, worried and urging us to get a room somewhere. But we were determined.

We were finally in familiar territory once we reached a snow covered Conneaut. Just an hour from home if 90 was clear. We decided to try it.
And it was clear.

Mom and I spent the final hour of the long drive talking to keep each other awake.

We got home at 7 PM on Friday night. 10 hours since we last had anything to eat or drink (or had access to a bathroom). Roughly 30 hours since we left the hotel on what should have been a 5 to 6 hour drive.

We were home.

We came inside and quickly ordered pizza and started guzzling whatever liquids we could find.

We were home.

It was a long and sometimes scary vacation. Most things that could have gone wrong did. It was chaotic...but I had fun. It was worth it.
I will give it some more thought next time I consider traveling during the winter months, though.

PS- Here's the weather we came home to.

Toronto Bound

Dec 7th, 2009- Day 1

Meaning to leave by 10 AM, my alarm clock went off at 7:30. Mom had been packing and getting things ready all night. As a result, she had only been sleeping an hour and a half at that point, so we slept a little later and got up at 9. We were both groggy still, but we were ready.

Despite being later than planned, things were going pretty smoothly, until a staple of our roadtrips went missing: the car adapter for my iPod.
After about fifteen to twenty minutes of searching both the house and the van for it, I decided we should just leave it behind and go.

Granny stopped by to see us off and we headed out to the van. As I went through the front door, I saw my first few snowflakes of the winter. It was a nice little surprise, but also a subtle harbinger of approaching chaos.

At 12:20 PM, we finally hit the road.

A light snow came down for the first leg of our ride. It was nice traveling on a Monday, the freeway was pretty much all ours.

WALL-E on the road

Everything was gray. The sky, the trees, the ground, even the snow looked gray. Ahh, December.

Just before we reached the rest stop in Angola, Mom and I heard a small, high-pitched chime. Halfway to Toronto, my fully charged phone died.
Item number two on the day’s glitch list.

We stopped in Angola to eat and gas up the van. I fiddled with phone, but had no luck.

As we approached Buffalo, the weather got bad. Real bad.
It was rush hour and there was a big burst of lake effect snow coming down. This resulted in us traveling at 10 mph through Downtown Buffalo with about 100 feet of visibility.
Mom’s a nervous driver and an extremely nervous winter driver, so it was an interesting few minutes.

But we made it through.

It was dark out by the time we made it to the Peace Bridge. The next hour and a half on the QEW was nice and uneventful.

Though it was only evening, it felt like we had been driving for days. If only I knew...

We pulled up to the Cambridge Suites at 7 PM and were up in our room minutes later.
As has happened in the past, the room wasn’t as wheelchair-friendly as I needed, so we had to change rooms. The people at the hotel were extremely helpful and we were moved into the new room by 8.

The room

We switched the TV on and caught part of ET Canada’s week-long feature on Chantal & Raine’s wedding vow renewal. Pretty cool and bizarre seeing friends featured on TV like that.

The view

The show was over and bellies were a-rumblin’. The search for food began at 10.
We wandered up and down Yonge St. a bit to see if any restaurants caught our eye and ended up stopping at Mamma’s Pizza. We grabbed our grub and took it back to the hotel just as a light snow began to fall.

Mamma's Pizza

Mom had manicotti and I had gnocchi, it was great. I need to find some gnocchi like that around here.

Completely exhausted, I was in bed at 1 AM. The next day was set to be the big day of the trip, I wanted to be wide awake for it.

June 28th, 2009- Homeward Bound

Another alarm-free morning. I actually managed to wake up with loads of time to spare before check out. Can you believe it?
Granny and Maude weren't too far behind in waking up this time.

It was a dreary day. The sky was full of clouds and the occasional drizzle would sprinkle down randomly.
At least the rain held off until our driving day.

As the girls got started packing, I sat in bed for a bit, snacking on leftovers, shaking the cobwebs out, and checking out my souvenir from the night before.

Shortly later, I was up in my chair and everyone was packed and ready to head home.
Mom called down for a luggage cart and I took a last look at the view, as I always do.

We waited. And waited. And called again. And waited some more.
It was about 45 minutes until the luggage cart arrived. At least it was cool that our buddy Stu ended up being the one to bring the cart and help us head out.

Before loading up the van, there was one last stop to make. We had to stop at the front desk to have them fix the bill, as they never adjusted it after we were downgraded.
I hate to be negative, but I really wasn't impressed by the Hilton. Maybe I've just been spoiled by how smoothly past trips have gone, but staying at this hotel just seemed to stress me out. I can't really see myself staying there again.

By the time we got everything squared away with the bill and packed up the van, we hit the road around 2:00 PM.

The drive home was pretty routine. We stopped at Duty Free, I grabbed myself a few bottles of Jackson-Triggs (I loves me some Gewürztraminer), and crossed the border back into the States.
The rain had stopped by the time we stopped to eat in Angola.

After Angola came the long stretch of the drive. Granny and Maude dozed off in the back of the van, so for most of the ride, it was just me, Mom, and my iPod.

We reached Ohio and Maude was the first to be dropped off. Then Granny. Mom and I finally arrived home at 8:00 PM, officially bringing the trip to a close.

Even though I was stressed out a lot on this trip, it was still a good one and I did have fun. We took Granny to her second concert, she had her first long island iced tea, we saw the sights, and had lots of laughing fits.
Good company, good food, good music, good drinks. It was a much needed and greatly enjoyed getaway.

As always, until the next one...

June 26th, 2009- The Chaos Continues

Vacation- a time to relax and sleep in as late as your heart desires. And then you're woken by the fire alarm going off.
It was 10 AM. Mom and Maude shot out of bed, confused, looking around, trying to focus and figure out what was going on. I laid still, eyes still closed, listening. Meanwhile, Granny was in the bathroom panicking, thinking she had done something to set an alarm off.
Eventually, they came on over the PA system and gave the all clear.
How's that for a start to the day?

I dozed for a few more minutes before getting up and snacking on some leftovers with Mom while waiting for Maude & Granny to wake up for the day.

Around noon, we decided to take the initiative and help them wake up.

Finally, once everyone was up and ready, we headed out.

On the way to the elevator, we bumped into a lady from the housekeeping staff. While talking with her, we learned that the fire alarm goes off almost every day because of the continuing construction on the new wing.
Lovely.

The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cool, and sunny skies full of puffy clouds.

For our first stop of the day, we scooted across the street and up to the top of the Skylon Tower.

It was exactly as we left it last time, but still an impressive and gorgeous view, perfect for picture taking.

Beware Goat Island! Canada's only island fully inhabited by bloodthirsty Goat People.

We descended down to street level and pounded the pavement up to Tony Romas for a (really) late breakfast. I had been craving some really good chicken fingers for a while and these totally hit the spot.

Maude vs. Cheesecake

We also went and found my brick from last time.

I love it there- the food, the music they play, it all just does it for me. I wish we still had a Tony Romas around here.

Next up, we were aiming for the Pen Centre, so we headed back to hotel to get the van.
The sign said to allow up to fifteen minutes for valet to bring your vehicle. No biggie. So we waited.

And waited.

A half hour went by before the van showed up.
I've always been one to keep my cool when I'm frustrated, but this was pushing it. The little things were piling up and I wasn't digging this hotel.

So, we loaded into the van and hurried off toward St Catharines.

We wandered around the Pen Centre for a couple hours. It's so much bigger and nicer than the malls around here, I actually love just roaming around inside. It's even interesting to people-watch, it's so noticeable how much more peaceful, laid back, and just generally happy Canadians are compared to most folks in these parts.
I bought myself a copy of Let the Right One In on DVD and we headed back towards Niagara Falls.

We dropped off our purchases in our room, then made our way back down to the first floor to get some dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill. I'm a macaroni junkie, so I was ready to chow down. So, we got to our table, looked at our menus for a few minutes, and then I asked a question I didn't think I'd have to ask- "Does anyone see macaroni on the menu?" We asked our waiter and it was confirmed. Romano's Macaroni Grill does not serve macaroni.
I repeat.
NO. MACARONI.

Macaroni disappointment aside, dinner was good. I particularly enjoyed the ultimate leaning bellini I had.

The restaurant itself basically seemed like a slightly more upscale (pricier) version of Olive Garden, though I think I prefer Olive Garden.

From there, we headed across the street to the casino for a little while. I'm not much of a gambler, so as usual, I gave myself a nice low limit and stuck to the slots. In the end, I didn't win anything, but had a good time playing.

It was getting late, so once Granny and Maude finished on the slots, we mozied on back to the room. The next day was the concert, so I definitely wanted to be well rested. Stuffed, tired, and hoping for no more fire alarms, I drifted off to sleep.

June 25th, 2009- The Other Side of the Storm

As usual, I had planned to leave early in the day, around 9 or 10 AM. Also as usual, we got off to a late start, leaving the house around noon.

Our first stop was a couple streets over to pick up Granny. We grabbed Granny, then Maude called just as we set out to pick her up. She called, saying that the news was reporting Farrah Fawcett died. It's weird, celebrities seem to die when I go on vacation. Anna Nicole Smith, Steve Irwin, etc. Kinda creepy.
So, by the time we drove out, picked up Maude, and really on the road, it was somewhere around 2 PM. Definitely later than I had hoped.

The ride started out pretty smooth, despite the hot (especially hot for this summer) temperatures.
As we drove through Pennsylvania, approaching the New York border, the skies in front of us grew dark.

A few minutes later, we were driving through a downpour, accented by heavy winds and some wicked looking lightning. Thankfully, most of it had stopped by the time we reached the rest stop in Angola, save for the occasional stray drizzle. We popped in, grabbed a quick bite at Denny's, and got back on the road.

A windblown Granny tells us it's all good!

We finally crossed the Peace Bridge into Canada, rode into Niagara Falls, and arrived at Hilton around 7 PM. As we pulled in and waited to unload the van, Baytosh called to tell us that Michael Jackson had died.
See what I mean?
That one was a bit of a shocker.

We unloaded and headed in. I was pumped. The Hilton had been renovating for a while and the room I booked was part of the brand new wing, which opened less than a month earlier.
Only three of the six elevators were up and running at the time, so there was a bit of a wait, but I figured it's just one little inconvenience.
The bellman that helped us to our room, Stu, was really cool. He kind of looked like Simon Pegg. All was going well, the room looked great. Excellent view of the Falls, fireplace, flat-screen TV's...then we found a sizeable problem. To summarize, the bathroom door wasn't exactly handicap-friendly and I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have been able to hold it all weekend.
Stu went from room to room, checking to see if any of the bathroom doors were different, but no luck. He hung around with us for quite a while, calling down to the front desk, searching for any kind of solution for us.

Finally we ended up downgrading and moving over to a room in the older wing. We got into that room around 8 PM.

As they unpacked, and helped the confused lady who thought our room was hers, I flicked on the TV and saw that The Dark Knight was on and it was right at the pencil scene. That was an enjoyable little moment of relaxation.

It was starting to get dark out and I wanted to do something, so we left the room and aimed for the Falls. We decided to cut through casino, so we took the walkway that went over the street that connected our hotel to the casino.

The walkway.

So, we walk cross over the street...and find stairs on the other side. Besides turning around and going back, the only way into the casino was through the parking garage, so through the parking garage we went.

Through the casino, down the hill, and we were down by the Falls. We made our way up the sidewalk and through the mist and looked at the Falls, illuminated in the night.

Once at the top of the Falls, it was getting a bit chilly, so we shuffled into the Table Rock building to warm up a little. While inside, I consulted the all-knowing mystic, Zoltar! And before you ask, no, I didn't wish I was big.

It was getting late, so we headed back up the hill and had dinner at the Keg inside the Embassy Suites. As always, it was delicious.

Totally stuffed, we made our way back up the street to our hotel to get some shut-eye and prepare for a full day.