...then snow again.

Ok, I have officially had it.   I am done with snow, I am ready for spring.  Seriously....haven't we had enough for one year?  This is today:

I didn't post about my terrible drive home last Friday, because it made me so mad.....  The snow came up quickly, the winds blew and the roads iced over right at the same I was leaving work.   The car I have been driving for the last several years has always been great in the snow and I love the ABS brakes and the TCS (traction control system) but for some reason, it all failed me on Friday's drive home.   On the downhill approach to a main drag near work, I literally stood up on my brakes, feeling the ABS vibrating through my whole body, but it was not enough to stop my car (which had been going about 1 mile an hour with plenty of distance in front of me) from sliding into and "bumping" the SUV in front of me.  Fortunately it didn't even scratch the other car, and my only damage was a bent up license plate and a couple of scratches on the bumper (think about the word bumper: isn't that what it is for????)  I exchanged info with the other driver, but it was so minor, that I tried to forget about it right away. (Sorry, Mom, I didn't tell you because you would worry)

After clearing the intersection, with the jelly knees that I get from this kind of stress, traffic was traveling so slowly that I came to a stop, but now I was heading UP an incline and the car refused to gain traction and make any forward progress when traffic cleared in front of me.   I kept putting it in gear, tried 2nd gear and all I could do was spin my wheels.    On came the emergency flashers again, and the emergency brake. And I sat there a couple of minutes watching other cars scoot around me giving me dirty looks, and I waited.   Of course, rush hour was just starting, so I didn't think I could wait it out completely, so off came the emergency brake, and into 1st gear I went again, but I was only able to go inches....  I had about 50 yards to get to the crest of the hill (I didn't even realized it was a hill till I was stuck on it!)

This went on for about 25 minutes cycling through trying to make it up the hill and sitting there, hoping no one would hit me.  I nearly called 911 to warn them that I was a hazard on the road, and I didn't want to cause an accident, but I didn't.    Finally, I was able to get up this small hill, and the rest of the ride home was slow but uneventful.   Except for my ABS light and the TCS light which were stuck on.   Did I mention that I only live 3 miles from work and the ride which normally takes 12 minutes, lasted an hour on this evening.

The next day, everything melted, the roads were dry, and sun shone.   Off to the dealer I went, because the lights were still on, and then they suddenly turned off, but the bottom line was that the car now has 4 new tires and a new front end alignment.  

Just in time for today's snowstorm.    Luckily, I was home safe and sound before it started this time.