Ahh! A beautiful sunny blue sky, kids playing in the white sandy beaches. Cabo San Lucas. No, not really. The sunny blue sky but the white sandy beach was really 8 inches of snow in Richland! And that is where we spent Christmas 2008.
The "Sweet Story to tell" as Braden puts it began Sunday morning when there was a snowstorm in Richland. Church was cancelled and we thought we were getting an early start on our trip to Portland. We were to fly out Sunday night to San Diego and get on a cruise to Mexico Monday with Brett's parents, sister, and brother and family. We had planned this trip for several months and were really looking forward to some time as a family without the stress of meal planning, etc. The we thought we could get out of the Tri-Cities and into Portland where it usually was just rain. About partway to The Dalles, Oregon, we got a voice message that our flight had been cancelled. The message didn't say we were changed to another flight, just cancelled. Then the road was closed on the Oregon side to Portland. We found a bridge to the Washington side and continued, albeit at a slower pace, toward Portland. The snow just kept coming down and as we came to the outskirts of Vancouver, two police cars closed the road behind us. No going back now! But we weren't planning on going back for another week, after some sun and fun!
We got to the airport 2 hours before the originally scheduled flight and 6 1/2 hours after leaving Richland. While some of us waited in the "no waiting zone", Brett and Jack went into the airport to see what could be arranged. There was still 20 hours before the cruise left San Diego. The Portland airport was all but shut down. Very few flights were leaving and nothing that all 13, or even some of us, could get on to get to California. So we got a hotel in Vancouver for the night and set to work on the internet and phones to try to find a flight that would get us into San Diego by 1:30. The options were few. We decided to get up early (most of us were sleeping in our clothes anyway because we didn't want to repack and shuffle the luggage) and head to the airport to see what could be done.
After a restless night and a quick Holiday Inn Express breakfast, we headed down the snowy roads back to the airport. Yes, it was STILL snowing. Again, we waited in the departure and arrival lanes while Brett and Jack went in to wait in lines. The lines were so long, that by the time they would have gotten to the front to talk to someone, it would be too late to make it to San Diego on time. There were hardly any flights leaving Portland and Brett's sister Judy was not able to get her plane out oof Spokand with it's connecting flight through Seattle. We were dead in the snow.
So onto the deserted Portland streets we went. There was an IKEA and a shopping mall nearby and we thought we could pass some time there waiting for the roads back home to open. Unfortunately, they didn't open for another hour and it was questionable whether any employees would be able to make it into work. The radio reports said the in the Metro Portland area you should have chains on if you were going anywhere. Our two vehicles (Kevin's family and Jack and Valerie, and our family) both had four wheel drive and fairly new tires on. There was about 3-4 inches of packed snow with 1 inch of ice underneath it on the freeways. The side roads were much worse: they are not used to this kind of snowfall in Portland. We headed for where the freeway home was closed to find a hotel and wait it out. We ended up in Gresham at a full-service Holiday Inn. Kevin's car got stuck twice in a Safeway parking lot that we were going to get directions. We had a hard time getting back out on the street and made an illegal left turn and ran some stop lights just because we were afraid to stop. (Not great example to our eager young drivers, especially Cameron!)
When we got to the hotel, the restaurant was not open due to no employees to man it. The staff was really nice, however and found a banquet room for us to use to play cards, visit, or whatever. There was a pool and the girls had fun swimming. We had brought our swimsuits, after all!
We cooled our heels most of the day, reading, playing games or napping. Just like we would have on the cruise! The only difference being the steady falling snow, the 20 degree temperature and lack of food.
We found a pizza place where two courageous employees had braved the storm and had nothing to do but cook pizzas for stranded travelers. We dined in high style! The food and company was great!
The next morning we (Brett's family) traveled back to Vancouver (to get a forgotten back pack in the first hotel). Then we traveled on the Washington state side of the river until Hood River where we crossed over into Oregon and finished traveling home. Again, it took us about 6 hours to make a 3 1/2 hour trip. Kevin's family and parents traveled on the Oregon side, but only ended up 1/2 hour ahead of us due to the crazy number of trucks back on the roads again.
We have never seen so much snow fall so quickly where people are not used to it. We just watched it with amazement. The situation was so surreal, odd, unbelieveable we didn't know what to think! Our goals for this trip were to spend some time together and not have to do much cooking or catering. Mission accomplished in a way we would never have imagined! Our kids were pleasant under the circumstances, and we laughed alot together. We watched a DVD on our laptap one night and Darci caught up to where we were as a family on a season of "24" while we drove.
We are so grateful to our kids for their patience, to our family for their love and kindness and to our Heavenly Father for his safe guidance.
We have had a GREAT Christmas and are so happy we are all home, safe and sound!
The "Sweet Story to tell" as Braden puts it began Sunday morning when there was a snowstorm in Richland. Church was cancelled and we thought we were getting an early start on our trip to Portland. We were to fly out Sunday night to San Diego and get on a cruise to Mexico Monday with Brett's parents, sister, and brother and family. We had planned this trip for several months and were really looking forward to some time as a family without the stress of meal planning, etc. The we thought we could get out of the Tri-Cities and into Portland where it usually was just rain. About partway to The Dalles, Oregon, we got a voice message that our flight had been cancelled. The message didn't say we were changed to another flight, just cancelled. Then the road was closed on the Oregon side to Portland. We found a bridge to the Washington side and continued, albeit at a slower pace, toward Portland. The snow just kept coming down and as we came to the outskirts of Vancouver, two police cars closed the road behind us. No going back now! But we weren't planning on going back for another week, after some sun and fun!
We got to the airport 2 hours before the originally scheduled flight and 6 1/2 hours after leaving Richland. While some of us waited in the "no waiting zone", Brett and Jack went into the airport to see what could be arranged. There was still 20 hours before the cruise left San Diego. The Portland airport was all but shut down. Very few flights were leaving and nothing that all 13, or even some of us, could get on to get to California. So we got a hotel in Vancouver for the night and set to work on the internet and phones to try to find a flight that would get us into San Diego by 1:30. The options were few. We decided to get up early (most of us were sleeping in our clothes anyway because we didn't want to repack and shuffle the luggage) and head to the airport to see what could be done.
After a restless night and a quick Holiday Inn Express breakfast, we headed down the snowy roads back to the airport. Yes, it was STILL snowing. Again, we waited in the departure and arrival lanes while Brett and Jack went in to wait in lines. The lines were so long, that by the time they would have gotten to the front to talk to someone, it would be too late to make it to San Diego on time. There were hardly any flights leaving Portland and Brett's sister Judy was not able to get her plane out oof Spokand with it's connecting flight through Seattle. We were dead in the snow.
So onto the deserted Portland streets we went. There was an IKEA and a shopping mall nearby and we thought we could pass some time there waiting for the roads back home to open. Unfortunately, they didn't open for another hour and it was questionable whether any employees would be able to make it into work. The radio reports said the in the Metro Portland area you should have chains on if you were going anywhere. Our two vehicles (Kevin's family and Jack and Valerie, and our family) both had four wheel drive and fairly new tires on. There was about 3-4 inches of packed snow with 1 inch of ice underneath it on the freeways. The side roads were much worse: they are not used to this kind of snowfall in Portland. We headed for where the freeway home was closed to find a hotel and wait it out. We ended up in Gresham at a full-service Holiday Inn. Kevin's car got stuck twice in a Safeway parking lot that we were going to get directions. We had a hard time getting back out on the street and made an illegal left turn and ran some stop lights just because we were afraid to stop. (Not great example to our eager young drivers, especially Cameron!)
When we got to the hotel, the restaurant was not open due to no employees to man it. The staff was really nice, however and found a banquet room for us to use to play cards, visit, or whatever. There was a pool and the girls had fun swimming. We had brought our swimsuits, after all!
We cooled our heels most of the day, reading, playing games or napping. Just like we would have on the cruise! The only difference being the steady falling snow, the 20 degree temperature and lack of food.
We found a pizza place where two courageous employees had braved the storm and had nothing to do but cook pizzas for stranded travelers. We dined in high style! The food and company was great!
The next morning we (Brett's family) traveled back to Vancouver (to get a forgotten back pack in the first hotel). Then we traveled on the Washington state side of the river until Hood River where we crossed over into Oregon and finished traveling home. Again, it took us about 6 hours to make a 3 1/2 hour trip. Kevin's family and parents traveled on the Oregon side, but only ended up 1/2 hour ahead of us due to the crazy number of trucks back on the roads again.
We have never seen so much snow fall so quickly where people are not used to it. We just watched it with amazement. The situation was so surreal, odd, unbelieveable we didn't know what to think! Our goals for this trip were to spend some time together and not have to do much cooking or catering. Mission accomplished in a way we would never have imagined! Our kids were pleasant under the circumstances, and we laughed alot together. We watched a DVD on our laptap one night and Darci caught up to where we were as a family on a season of "24" while we drove.
We are so grateful to our kids for their patience, to our family for their love and kindness and to our Heavenly Father for his safe guidance.
We have had a GREAT Christmas and are so happy we are all home, safe and sound!
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