“Zero degrees!! What is this, the NEW South?”

We finally rolled in this evening from our first Road Adventure of 2009. We drove 600 miles to the South just to find colder weather and snow! Well, that wasn’t the original goal. I am definitely not a winter gal - I try NOT to do snow at all and I can’t stand the cold.

I should have been suspicious when we needed to change our outgoing route due to snow forecasts. We normally take a Western route, hugging the Appalachians, Blue Ridge and Smokies but decided to take I-95 South to Richmond and then swing west on I-85. Turned out to be a wise move. As we passed through Washington, D.C., we picked up the radio reports of weather-related school closings in the first three counties we would have hit using that route. We caught a few snow flurries as we drove past Potomac Mills Mall in Northern Virginia but were soon sailing along in some very chilly sunshine. We arrived at our South Carolina destination at a cool 20 something temperature. (Okay, so we’d hoped for the 50s!!)

We awoke to an 11 degree morning on Friday. We hadn’t been that cold at home yet this winter! Worse yet, we awoke to a rare snow-covered lawn on Sunday morning. (We felt so privileged!!!) Again, we have not had that much snow at home this winter - yet. I don’t think we ever hit 40 degrees over the 5 ½ days we were there. We ended up staying an extra day to avoid driving home in the snow through North Carolina and Virginia yesterday. The icing on the cake, or should I say mountain, was the 0 degree reading we found as we passed the “Welcome to Tennessee” sign on Route 81 this morning. Some Southern welcome! And, yes, we did see snow along the shoulders - all the way home!!!

We did, however, have a wonderful and cozy visit with close friends who have become family over the years. We hardly noticed the cold between the great meals, wild card games and laughter. We always have a hearty laugh when we’re together and that’s what makes those long hours behind the wheel and even those frigid temps worth the effort.

So, until we chat again, keep a smile on your face and a laugh at the ready because : Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle