It was a weak moment I'll admit. But plane tickets were expensive and leaving the dog behind for Christmas seemed like an unforgivable offense. So the decision was made to drive to Iowa for Christmas. Yes, DRIVE to Iowa. Nevermind that in my 20+ Christmases living in that state I witnessed countless news reports of hazardous driving conditions, travelers stranded in the hubs of various transportation modalities, deaths by hypothermia, and snow blinded adventurers found wandering in the cornfields. Clearly, I need my head examined.
But on the evening of December 19, we loaded the car with presents, luggage, and the dog. The idea was to use time spent "wasted" at home to get a jump on the weather system heading for Iowa. I'm glad we did because as we approached Iowa City we saw the first of 23 instances of travelers whose Christmas would be spent in the local body shop waiting for repair estimates for their automobiles. Life is good between the ditches.
We were seriously tired upon our arrival and went to bed early. Little did we know what Mother Nature had in store for us. We woke to temperatures preceded by a minus sign and wind that pushed the wind chill factor even lower. Even the normally-adventurous dog didn't venture beyond the deck necessitating a cleanup "scoop" a bit later in the day. Welcome back to the froze
n tundra.Outside of the weather, the visit was spent having a terrific time with family and friends. The mood was only dampened by the thought of a Christmas Day departure for yet another 16 hours spent in the car. But as we crossed into Georgia the thermometer in the car read 60 degrees. Ah! Life is good!
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