I oftentimes say stupid stuff (about once an hour) and sometimes those unfiltered thoughts come out on the blog. In the throes of telling a tale, I may not realize I'm being offensive, but I am. I sincerely don't mean to offend and so I apologize. The offending thought was removed from the story and an email has been sent.
Sometimes I am an idiot. Well, actually a lot of times I'm an idiot. I'm sorry, dear pally.
And now, on with our latest adventure:
We were in Vanilla's neck of the woods on Saturday for a graduation party. He's been writing about the weather there and the volatility of the storms lately. And while the weather was all hot and humid for the party, the weather for the ride home decided to change it up a bit--like 30 degrees.
And if you know the midwest, you know that a sudden temperature drop of 30 degrees brings along some wind, and rain, and hail, and some more wind--some really, really strong wind.Which is not really cool if you are in your car....on the highway...in a town you aren't familiar with.
Fortunately, just as the winds were whipping the trees sideways, we were approaching an exit and Joe decided to get off the road. Which led us to an EconoLodge for safe haven. And so, this was us for the next hour--hanging in the lovely lobby of the EconoLodge:
With Joe watching all of the weather reports on local stations and The Weather Channel for updates.
My hero.
While the four of us sat there waiting patiently for the storms to pass.
Two older women joined us soon enough and we were all trying to figure out how we were all gonna fit into the little bathroom should the tornado sirens go off. Since there was no basement in this hotel, we were left with one tiny interior room (the restroom) should the weather turn really dangerous. I'm glad that didn't happen because that would have been really interesting with 3 teens.
We played "Alphabet I Spy" and texted each other until that wasn't funny anymore. We joked with the ladies and consoled one when she found out a tree had just fallen on her house. (I'm still worried about that) We dreaded the prospect of having to stay there much longer and hoped they had enough Fruit Loops in the cereal dispenser on the counter to feed us all. It was funny for about 3 minutes, then it got really old, really fast.
We finally ditched the EconoLodge after about an hour, but we were thankful that we had stopped. The storms were extremely dangerous and there were trees down everywhere. We were lucky to have that exit and the motel so darn close.
It's never dull with us.
24 comments:
Any attempt at entertainment while waiting out a storm gets really old, really fast as you said. I am so glad all y'all are okay and safely home.
Sure glad you got off the road even if it was boring in the motel lobby. At least you were safe. Hope you have a super week.
I know your story all to well these days! You know how I ended the last week of the school year? In the duck and cover position in the basement with 800 plus kids--buses on hold. Then repeated that emergency procedure two more times (minus kids) before finally getting to go home-- safely. I have had enough storms to last me a life time this year of 2011!! I am glad you made it home safe.
Who would have thought that an Econo Lodge would be such a welcoming sight! Glad you all survived the storm, and that it did not get any worse. There have been some terrible tonados down in the States lately!
This is why I always have a book with me.
Glad you survived the ordeal.
Being the kind of person I am I think I would have just pretended to need the bathroom and then just stay in there. Yeah. That's right.
Happy Family Memories!
Better safe than sorry - good time to catch a nap tho...
Goodness gracious...I do hope all was well when you arrived home? Yes, weather can be so wicked and unpredictable. Glad you stopped but I wouldn't have even thought to stop some place like that; good for you!
super happy you never had to figure out how to fit in the bathroom :)
take good care and thanks for the smile!
Vanilla--It was hard to be light-hearted when you were worried about the storm and there were two ladies there who were getting news that they had damage at home. It was just weird. But we are safe and that is all that matters.
Marg--I thought about going to McDonald's because they usually have basements. Joe just turned into the first drive and headed towards the hotel. There was no messin' around. Whew!
Jodi--The weather is so weird this year! It's like this: 90 degrees, tornadoes/warnings, 65 degrees. Rain and repeat. Over and over again.
Hot Rocks--It was funny because there was only one tiny couch and a couple of chairs. We filled that lobby pretty quickly! Good thing there was a TV and a computer to track the storm. Whew!
Pricilla--Yeah, but you would have missed out on the "Alphabet I spy" game! :)
Chuck--Yeah, me too. Never had that happen on the road before.
Betty--It was funny because there was a big sign on the bathroom door that it was NOT a public restroom. Every time one of us went in there, someone would yell "It's NOT for public use!". Then the older lady yelled it at me when I went in--it was pretty hilarious. I'm glad we didn't have to go sit on the floor in there. Now THAT would have been scary!
Grace--We were scared, so we didn't really relax. I was just settling in for my nap in the car when we drove into the storm. Bummer. (I fixed my grammar error--thanks for cluing me in.)
Tracy-- I wanted to stop at the McDonald's because they usually have basements for storage. That's all I was worried about when I saw the wind and the temps dropping. Sheesh, it was SCARY!!
Glad you all were safe but you sure looked pretty bored with the whole situation! The only one who looks cheerful is the girl by Em.
Eep. That sounds really scary. Glad you guys were bored instead of in danger though! Yikes!
the look on your face is priceless
Quite a dilemma, BUD BUGS vs STORM! Glad youz didn't have to spend the night! Fran's Dad
I'm so glad you stopped and stayed safe, and it makes me completely giggle how you all managed to stay entertained.
Well wasn't that nice of Econo Lodge to host a storm party for you. You do look a little less than thrilled in the picture. Guess that was after the fun wore off the texting thing huh?
Ha, you don't LOOK like you're waiting patiently.. Glad you came through the storm in one piece, sounds like you had fun waiting.
Wow- sounds like you made a good choice. Storms in Indiana can be bad.
Glad everyone is safe. I think I would've snuck in the bathroom and locked the door too.
Beaded Tail--Yeah, that's Caroline--Em's friend. She's a ton of fun. We always take her on adventures with us--can you see why?
Nancy--Yeah, I'll take bored too. Especially considering they did not have a basement at that motel.
Tracy--I know! Isn't that funny??! Says it all, doesn't it?
Fran's Dad--Oh, I don't think even bedbugs would have stayed at this place. But you should have seen the people checking in!! WOW. Surprised me.
Violet--Never fails. We find fun in every adventure, Violet. Have to--otherwise we'd all be crying all the time. ;)
Ann--I think everyone but Caroline looks like they want to kill someone in that photo.
Casey--We were all a little punchy after an hour, I'll tell ya. And not in a good way.
Sharkey--We were really lucky to be right at an exit when we drove into the storm. The wind was incredibly scary.
Chocolate--I went to check out the digs should we all have to cram into the bathroom for safety. Fortunately, it was pretty large so the group of us would have fit. It would have been a scary fit, but we would have if we had to. I'm glad we didn't!
The look on your face is priceless...hee hee:)
Mary Ann--It was a long hour....I have to admit.
Lin, get this...yesterday morning we had a 4.2 earthquake here in STL. I slept through it (being it was at 3am)... but, yet, another strange strike of Mother Nature.
Jodi--I've been awaken by an earthquake and it is frightening! I'm surprised you slept through it!!! I guess we are all getting used the wackiness, eh?
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