It's funny how the snow is selective in our area. When leaving my house on Saturday, it looked like we were living in a snow globe. White puffs swirled around our car. "Mom, is it safe for us to drive in this?", asked my oldest son. Does he not remember that we lived in NH for a year. Driving in WA will be a piece of cake (or maybe not with the lack of preparation, but that's another story). "Momma, look....snow! Santa's coming.", chimed in my 3 years old. If only that's how things worked.
Normally I would appreciate the snow from my personal globe...under the warm covers, cat snuggled in, book in hand, with a fire going. Not today, today was my play day. My mom and I venture into Seattle each month for a musical or two....and possibly a symphony every now and then. Today we were going to see "West Side Story." One of my favorite classic movies. As we got closer to my mom's house (30 minutes away), the snow began to disappear. Not a trace of white painted the sides of the freeway. This isn't strange.....in our area, you can go city to city and get different weather in each spot. The saying is, "If you don't like the weather, drive a little farther."
My boys were bundled up in anticipation of sledding down grandpa's hill...only to find that no snow existed. Oh well, maybe next time. Grandpa had plenty planned anyway: gingerbread trains to make, Twister to play, and rough housing to wear them out.
My mom and I got on the ferry and began to chat. Out of the corner of our eyes, we noticed big tuffs of snow swirling outside our window. They were dancing to get our attention. I couldn't help but stare out the window. The white blotches against the dark Puget Sound was breathtaking. The ferry began to slow and my focus began to broaden. It was so foggy, plus the snow made visibility difficult. Well, this was going to be a fun day.
As we carefully exited the ferry, we decided that walking up the hills to the theatre was probably not a safe bet. We began to look for a taxi. The orange/yellow cabs were nowhere to be found. My mom finally spotted one, but was told that the roads were too slick to drive up the hills. He was going home. Are you kidding me? There was maybe 3 inches of snow, and that's being generous. OK, we started to walk but kept our eyes open for another taxi. Snowflakes clung to everything that was available. My coat, hat, hair, eyelashes...were all covered in individual flakes.
We spotted another taxi...yeah! My boots with heals and no tread were not gripping well (WA doesn't know how to salt their roads or sidewalks.). We quickly got into the taxi, only to discover that he was only driving us a few blocks. He was afraid to drive up the hills as well. Now being a Jersey girl, this blew me away. The taxi's I know would be doing donuts in the roads...not going home because there was a dusting on the ground. We were thankful for the short break from the icy sidewalks though.
After we were dropped off, the comedic events continued. We saw store owners blowing the snow with their leaf blowers. Yes, no shoveling but leaf blowing. People had cameras out taking pictures...it was a sight to behold.
Once we arrived at the theatre, we entered , took our seats, and was then taken away to another time for a few hours. Afterwards, the snow had stopped and the roads were puddles of murky water. The white that decorated the city was quickly fading away. It was beautiful while it lasted but I'm sure the taxi drivers were thankful for the reprieve.
"If you don't like the weather, drive a little farther."
ReplyDeleteI wish this worked where I live. It seems that when it's gray in my town, it's gray and yucky all over. (Like today, for instance. It's going to be terrible all over the Susquehanna Valley!)
I love that you go out & spend that planned, quality time with your mom! How wonderful!!! I love your description of the day! I felt like I was with your experiencing the slippery roads and wet hair!
ReplyDeleteThis has been a strange winter in northeast Iowa. We haven't had much snow. Finally got a coating last week--and we have several chances this week. Normally by now we have had many snow days. None this year. And like Stacey said--if it's gray and snowy here, driving to the next town won't do us any good.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to get out with your mom anyway and enjoy a special day. Thanks for sharing.
Your descriptions put me there and made me glad I wasn't fighting my way through the elements. My favorite image was your own personal snow globe. Snow is lovely when you don't have to battle it. My husband has been a leaf blower of snow too. Now we have a real snow blower, but no snow (yet).
ReplyDeleteLove that snow globe image too. That is what I feel like when it snows and I am stuck in a snow globe at the top of our hill while most of the people I talk to are in the lowlands with nothing but green grass.
ReplyDeleteThat is so Seattle in the snow! (Which is like Jeddah in the rain.) I've been seeing pictures of home and sighing that it has actually stuck around long enough to enjoy. Glad you got a laugh out of it and a day out with your mom as well.
ReplyDeleteThe taxis wouldn't go up the hill?? I was blown away right along with you in that moment. I am glad you didn't let the weather stop you! It sounds like a lovely outing with your mom.
ReplyDeleteIt's ever different here in Colorado too. This year we in Denver have almost had more snow than the mountains, although there's a big storm up there right now. I liked your description of your day with your mom, but it was funny about the cabbies, so different from here too. Guess it's what you're used to. Happy you had a good, & memorable, day.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a perfect slice - I loved your descriptions of the changing scene, and the sense of family bonds between three generations. Thanks you for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to read about your day with snow and mom and West Side Story (which is my all-time favourite movie!). I couldn't help but chuckle at the taxi driver who wouldn't drive up the hill and using leaf blowers to move snow. Here, in Canada, we have the opposite problem sometimes. We're so used to snow and freezing rain and sleet that some people forget to slow down and think about the road conditions.
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