Great times at Sam and Jenn's and with Dick's parents; Scary, snowy road trip

I'm very glad to be sitting in my warm house on this record-breaking night.  It is zero degrees right now, and they say it could go down to -10 tonight, which would break the -8 temp set on this date in the early 1900's.  I feel truly sorry for anyone that needs to be outside for any reason or does not have enough heat in their house.

On Friday evening we got to Sam and Jenn's a little before 8 pm, and even though it was freezing cold, Sammy did what he always does - came running out to the carport, without a coat on, to give us his enthusiastic welcome.  I couldn't get myself out of the car fast enough!  He was squealing, "Get out of the car, Mahna!!"

When we got inside Sam came to greet us, carrying Bianca.  Of course I could hardly wait to hold her, so he gave her to me.  She took one look at me and started to CRY!!  Dick decided to try his charm and took her from me.  And THIS is what she did!

Little stinker!  She loves men, haha!  And she is CRAZY over her daddy, which is so precious.   Dick sat down on the recliner with her, and in no time at all she was sleeping!

Sam and Jenn left then for a date night.  Bianca slept for a long time in Grandpa's arms, then later in her crib.  I had a lot of fun with Sammy, as usual, until he went to bed.

We had a slow, lazy morning.  I wanted to make pancakes, but there were no blueberries or chocolate chips in the house.  Jenn said they had fresh strawberries, and I found chocolate syrup, so I made a somewhat pathetic attempt at making Valentines pancakes.  They tasted better than they looked!

Sam and Dick went to Reading to pick up Destiny.  

As I was doing my hair in the bathroom, Sammy was having fun filling the sink to the very top.  I showed him the overflow drain, which fascinated him thoroughly.  He filled that sink over and over and over.  Before I knew what he was doing, he began scrubbing the sink with his toothbrush!  But that's not the worst of it.  Before I knew what he was doing, he was brushing his teeth with that toothbrush!!!!  Oh dear!!

Then I made cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  The guys were back with Destiny by that time.  Here are pics we took throughout the morning.

Sammy was sacked out on the chair when we left to visit Dick's parents.

On the way to Grandpa's house we stopped at a grocery store to get a brownie mix and some pans.  Destiny and I had intended to make brownies together for her to take home, if she had come to my house as planned.  So this was our plan B.  At Dick's parents' house Grandma Arlene and Destiny had fun mixing up the brownies.   Then Destiny wanted to play a game.  So we pulled out the card game Waterworks and had a good time with that.

Of course we invited Dick and his dad to play too, but they were happy to just sit and talk.

I had to take the above shot twice, because after I took the first one Grandpa asked if I saw what he did.  No, I had not.  When Dick saw the picture he said, "And you wonder where we got it?"  He might be almost 90, but he still has his sense of humor!

We sampled the brownies, looked through some old photo albums, and then around 4:00 or so, said our goodbyes.  It had been a really fun afternoon together.

After we got back to Sam and Jenn's, Dick took a short nap.  Sam blessed us by agreeing to take Destiny home for us.  I snapped this picture before they left - both of them checking something on their phones.

Sammy and Jenn were snuggling on the recliner together.

We didn't get to see Bianca before we left - she was napping in her crib.   Dick woke up, we loaded our stuff, said our goodbyes, and were on our way by 6:15.

All day long I had kept checking the weather - for Manheim, for Lebanon, for Reading, for Harrisburg, for State College.  Despite mention of snow, there had been none all day long.  There was mention of the possibility of white-outs and high winds, but it seemed like nothing they were saying was actually happening.   But that was about to change.

After we got around Harrisburg it began snowing lightly, and then, in an INSTANT we were in the midst of nothing but white.  Snow was flying fast and furious right toward our headlights, and we could see nothing else.  We were at a place where there were two lanes going in the same direction with concrete walls on either side - NO WHERE to pull off!  Dick felt safer in the passing lane because he could see the wall better on his side as a guide.  At one point we passed a jack-knifed truck with several other vehicles stopped as a result.  I was breathing prayers, sometimes praying aloud.  My insides were shaking.  My whole body was shaking.  We think we must have driven about eight miles like that.  Gradually it eased up a bit, then we crossed the river at the Clarks Ferry Bridge, and stopped at our favorite Sheetz immediately afterward to gather our wits and get some food.

This is a map of the area we were in.  I will never drive that stretch again without remembering this and thanking the Lord that we got through it safely.

While at Sheetz we started getting text messages from church friends, cautioning us about trying to get home.  The white out was over as we headed in the direction toward home, but the road was snowy and it was windy.  Traffic was going about 35 miles per hour.  

We kept in touch with our friends as we drove, finding out that church services for the morning were cancelled.  Great big sigh!!  How we wished we could somehow have known that and stayed at Sam and Jenn's.   We were told that the roads near our home were drifted quite badly, so we knew we would not try to get home.  At one point we were told that Seven Mountains, which must be crossed to get to State College, was closed.  

We have friends in the countryside of Milroy (just before crossing the mountain) that were extending a very warm welcome for us to stay at their place for the night.  We thought we would do that, although we wondered what the country roads to their place might be like.  When we got off at the Milroy exit and started driving toward the little town, we were suddenly blinded by a straight wind blowing snow all around our car and we couldn't see a thing.  I tried calling them, but my call did not go through.   That was enough.  There was NO WAY I wanted to be on country roads we are not familiar with in swirling snow without phone service.  

We turned around and went to the hotel near the exit.  It was the GREATEST relief to get inside and know we were safe and sound and warm.  

This morning we took our good old time getting ready, enjoying the continental breakfast.  Our drive home was uneventful.  It was a beautiful, sunny, very cold day.

We met up with Anthony and Austin for lunch at Hoss's, then came home for naps.  Later, after Anthony came to pick up Austin, Dick and I finally unloaded the car.  It was absolutely BITTER out there!  

And right now, as I finish up this post, it is -4.  Again, I am so very thankful for our warm little house with good, tight windows and doors.  And I'm thankful our plan A did not work out.  As much as I would have loved to have Destiny here, I'm so thankful I do not have to take her home tomorrow.  God knew best.  

Have a good week!