Damn this Smarch Weather
I was supposed to be home last night, but due to the horrible weather, I'm stuck for the second night in a hotel. At least this one is in North Dakota.
A bit ahead of myself here, because I don't know how long I have on the courtesy computer in the hotel. Bur I need to bitch and no one here needs to hear it after two days of travel.
So we left Cancun yesterday around eleven in the morning, and we made it fine to Detroit, and from there to Minneapolis. However, the flight was cancelled from Minneapolis to Bismarck because we have this insane blizzard going on. While we were gone, it got up to 60 degrees, and all the snow melted all at once. Thus, there is massive flooding all over the state. I'm worried a bit, as my house is like five blocks from a river.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there's been this huge winter storm blowing through. It's crazy - if you have time, go to Weather.com and check out the middle of the contry. The storm is seriously hurricane-shaped, you can see the rotation on the radar. My sister's taken several meteorology courses and apparently it's called a midcontinent cyclone.
Needless to say, with the flight cancelled the six of us who got stranded - my mom, myself, my sister, her husband and his parents - stayed in a very comfy hotel next to the Mall of America last night. Pillow-top mattresses and honest-to-god down conforters were a much welcome change from the blocks of concrete masquerading as beds at the resort.
We just barely made it into Bismarck as it was. The visibility was so low that we were in a holding pattern above the airport for half an hour before they finally could land the damn thing. And you know, I'm not particularly frightened of flying, but turbulence is not cool. It reminds you that you're seven miles up in a tin can with a couple boards nailed to the side, and if that engine goes you're pretty much guaranteed to not survive. It's unnerving to say the least.
So my sister's husband's parents are home - they live in town here - and the newlyweds are staying there. My mom used her mad connections to get us a sweet deal at a decent hotel, and that's where we are now. Unfortunately, there are about seven million high school kids stuck here with us, because they were here for the All-State Music competition thingy. They're seriously obnoxious and remind me of why I probably would make a terrible teacher.
The bottom line is, my hometown got anywhere from 15 to 22 inches of snow in a day, all the roads are closed, everything is snowed shut. I've heard through the grapevine that even Walmart back home was closed, and that takes an act of god in and of itself. At least I don't need to worry about calling in tomorrow. I did anyway just to cover all the bases.
Luckily, it sounds like it's stopped snowing that far west, and with a little more luck the interstate will open up tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath.
Man, I'm tired of travel and hotels and my entire family just sniping and bickering at each other all day long. You couldn't say two words to my sister today without her getting uppity and biting your head off, and now mi madre is all pissy and crabby, and I'm kinda really fucking sick of having to put up with it.
Anyway. I'm going to go hose the saltwater out of my swimsuit and elbow the sophomores out of the hottub for a nice long sulk soak.
A bit ahead of myself here, because I don't know how long I have on the courtesy computer in the hotel. Bur I need to bitch and no one here needs to hear it after two days of travel.
So we left Cancun yesterday around eleven in the morning, and we made it fine to Detroit, and from there to Minneapolis. However, the flight was cancelled from Minneapolis to Bismarck because we have this insane blizzard going on. While we were gone, it got up to 60 degrees, and all the snow melted all at once. Thus, there is massive flooding all over the state. I'm worried a bit, as my house is like five blocks from a river.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there's been this huge winter storm blowing through. It's crazy - if you have time, go to Weather.com and check out the middle of the contry. The storm is seriously hurricane-shaped, you can see the rotation on the radar. My sister's taken several meteorology courses and apparently it's called a midcontinent cyclone.
Needless to say, with the flight cancelled the six of us who got stranded - my mom, myself, my sister, her husband and his parents - stayed in a very comfy hotel next to the Mall of America last night. Pillow-top mattresses and honest-to-god down conforters were a much welcome change from the blocks of concrete masquerading as beds at the resort.
We just barely made it into Bismarck as it was. The visibility was so low that we were in a holding pattern above the airport for half an hour before they finally could land the damn thing. And you know, I'm not particularly frightened of flying, but turbulence is not cool. It reminds you that you're seven miles up in a tin can with a couple boards nailed to the side, and if that engine goes you're pretty much guaranteed to not survive. It's unnerving to say the least.
So my sister's husband's parents are home - they live in town here - and the newlyweds are staying there. My mom used her mad connections to get us a sweet deal at a decent hotel, and that's where we are now. Unfortunately, there are about seven million high school kids stuck here with us, because they were here for the All-State Music competition thingy. They're seriously obnoxious and remind me of why I probably would make a terrible teacher.
The bottom line is, my hometown got anywhere from 15 to 22 inches of snow in a day, all the roads are closed, everything is snowed shut. I've heard through the grapevine that even Walmart back home was closed, and that takes an act of god in and of itself. At least I don't need to worry about calling in tomorrow. I did anyway just to cover all the bases.
Luckily, it sounds like it's stopped snowing that far west, and with a little more luck the interstate will open up tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath.
Man, I'm tired of travel and hotels and my entire family just sniping and bickering at each other all day long. You couldn't say two words to my sister today without her getting uppity and biting your head off, and now mi madre is all pissy and crabby, and I'm kinda really fucking sick of having to put up with it.
Anyway. I'm going to go hose the saltwater out of my swimsuit and elbow the sophomores out of the hottub for a nice long sulk soak.