Whitecapped! 2: Double Dose
Yep. You knew there had to be a sequel to the first one! And this one is an even better story!
Okay, so this morning it was doing practically nothing. Just a little patch of black ice on the roads. It was slippery enough that the Vixen couldn't go up the hill, so I had to roll her down the hill in reverse to get away from the house. Since I live on side streets, most of them were a little messy, but not as slippery for her to handle. The highway was in good shape, despite what I thought. I was able to make near full speed on both I-64 and I-170, and I got into work earlier than I thought, even though I left the house about ten minutes late. Around 09:00, though, the fun started! The first wave of snow hit the area, but it didn't do much initially at first, and we could still get around the lot. Unfortunately, within the span of an hour, we got hit even harder! The flakes got bigger, the wind blew stronger, and the snow was sticking to everything! By about 10:00, it was near impossible to get around the lot. Not only was the snow really deep, making traction so bad for 90% of the vehicles, visibility was at it's lowest, and all of us Transporters were having trouble seeing around the lot and backing vehicles in the stalls. It was that horrible! Here's the funny thing, though. Around 09:30, the supervisor on duty, Art, ordered about 15 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts for the Transporters. There was a reason for that. He feared that the bad weather would cause dismay and cause us to want to leave early, and because of the storm he knew the afternoon crew would be calling off left from right, so he bribed us with untold amounts of sugar to keep us here as long as he could. It worked for some people, though (including myself). I pretty much decided to brave the weather and stick around until the end of my shift. By that time, the snow was eight inches deep, and I had to scurry to the Vixen to get her warmed up so I could go. Before that, though, I was listening to NewsTalk 1120AM KMOX to check up on the road conditions, and I was hearing all sorts of accidents and traffic hazards around the area. Cars were stuck on the streets and highways, and tractor-trailers were jackknifed just about everywhere. I even heard that one car had caught fire on the I-270 to I-64 ramp. That surprised me. Then came 13:00, and the Vixen was warmed up enough for me to head back home.
The drive was not easy...AT ALL! At one point at the intersection of MO-115 (Natural Bridge Rd.) and Brown Rd./McDonnell Blvd,, I got stuck and was barely making traction. It was so bad I had to be pushed from behind in order to get out. I'm glad my girl is so resilient, or else we would've never made it out. The road was practically bare on the way to I-170. All the traffic was stuck at the one intersection. I nearly slid out getting on the I-170 on ramp, but if playing a crap ton of racing games has taught me anything, it's how to keep a vehicle under control when that happens, so lucky for me, I kept control. On the highway, though, there lines were not visible, so I had to do my best to maintain a proper lane. I'm glad by the time I reached Brentwood that there was some road visibility. By the time I reached the City, the precipitation had let up a little, and traction increased slightly. Because I live on side roads, getting around those were a pain in the neck, but I remembered to take it slow since my girl doesn't have good traction. And this time, instead of going uphill to park, I parked downhill. I was just so glad to make it back to the house in one piece, and I was very impressed and amazed at how well the Vixen was able to handle the situation...so much in fact when I got out of her, I patted her on the hood and said, "good girl."
Now for pictures.
Scene one, taken on the Hertz lot from the shuttle bus the transporters ride on. It was about maybe 10:25 I took this, and that was the point where It started to get worse.
Scene 2. At this point, I'm driving a Chevy TrailBlazer trying to find a parking spot for it. I'm glad this particular one had 4WD in it. It would've been really hard to get around without it.
Scene 3, still in the TrailBlazer.
Scene 4, stil lin the TrailBlazer.
Scene 5, taken on east MO-115 (Natural Bridge Rd.) on the way to I-170. The westbound side had two tractor-trailers jackknifed and completely blocking the road. Further on down the road, a MetroBus was also sideways!
Scene 6 taken on south I-170 near the Page Ave. exit. It was pretty slow going down this way, and I think I only got up to about 20-25 MPH. Slippery, but still manageable, if you know how to control a vehicle right.
Lastly, scene 7, taken on south I-170 in Brentwood coming upon the I-64 and Eagar Rd junction. Visibility increases slightly and I can see the road lines here, though they're barely noticeable in the photo.
Well, no school tonight, and no work tomorrow, so I can relax a bit tonight. I so needed it. See you all later, eh?
Okay, so this morning it was doing practically nothing. Just a little patch of black ice on the roads. It was slippery enough that the Vixen couldn't go up the hill, so I had to roll her down the hill in reverse to get away from the house. Since I live on side streets, most of them were a little messy, but not as slippery for her to handle. The highway was in good shape, despite what I thought. I was able to make near full speed on both I-64 and I-170, and I got into work earlier than I thought, even though I left the house about ten minutes late. Around 09:00, though, the fun started! The first wave of snow hit the area, but it didn't do much initially at first, and we could still get around the lot. Unfortunately, within the span of an hour, we got hit even harder! The flakes got bigger, the wind blew stronger, and the snow was sticking to everything! By about 10:00, it was near impossible to get around the lot. Not only was the snow really deep, making traction so bad for 90% of the vehicles, visibility was at it's lowest, and all of us Transporters were having trouble seeing around the lot and backing vehicles in the stalls. It was that horrible! Here's the funny thing, though. Around 09:30, the supervisor on duty, Art, ordered about 15 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts for the Transporters. There was a reason for that. He feared that the bad weather would cause dismay and cause us to want to leave early, and because of the storm he knew the afternoon crew would be calling off left from right, so he bribed us with untold amounts of sugar to keep us here as long as he could. It worked for some people, though (including myself). I pretty much decided to brave the weather and stick around until the end of my shift. By that time, the snow was eight inches deep, and I had to scurry to the Vixen to get her warmed up so I could go. Before that, though, I was listening to NewsTalk 1120AM KMOX to check up on the road conditions, and I was hearing all sorts of accidents and traffic hazards around the area. Cars were stuck on the streets and highways, and tractor-trailers were jackknifed just about everywhere. I even heard that one car had caught fire on the I-270 to I-64 ramp. That surprised me. Then came 13:00, and the Vixen was warmed up enough for me to head back home.
The drive was not easy...AT ALL! At one point at the intersection of MO-115 (Natural Bridge Rd.) and Brown Rd./McDonnell Blvd,, I got stuck and was barely making traction. It was so bad I had to be pushed from behind in order to get out. I'm glad my girl is so resilient, or else we would've never made it out. The road was practically bare on the way to I-170. All the traffic was stuck at the one intersection. I nearly slid out getting on the I-170 on ramp, but if playing a crap ton of racing games has taught me anything, it's how to keep a vehicle under control when that happens, so lucky for me, I kept control. On the highway, though, there lines were not visible, so I had to do my best to maintain a proper lane. I'm glad by the time I reached Brentwood that there was some road visibility. By the time I reached the City, the precipitation had let up a little, and traction increased slightly. Because I live on side roads, getting around those were a pain in the neck, but I remembered to take it slow since my girl doesn't have good traction. And this time, instead of going uphill to park, I parked downhill. I was just so glad to make it back to the house in one piece, and I was very impressed and amazed at how well the Vixen was able to handle the situation...so much in fact when I got out of her, I patted her on the hood and said, "good girl."
Now for pictures.
Scene one, taken on the Hertz lot from the shuttle bus the transporters ride on. It was about maybe 10:25 I took this, and that was the point where It started to get worse.
Scene 2. At this point, I'm driving a Chevy TrailBlazer trying to find a parking spot for it. I'm glad this particular one had 4WD in it. It would've been really hard to get around without it.
Scene 3, still in the TrailBlazer.
Scene 4, stil lin the TrailBlazer.
Scene 5, taken on east MO-115 (Natural Bridge Rd.) on the way to I-170. The westbound side had two tractor-trailers jackknifed and completely blocking the road. Further on down the road, a MetroBus was also sideways!
Scene 6 taken on south I-170 near the Page Ave. exit. It was pretty slow going down this way, and I think I only got up to about 20-25 MPH. Slippery, but still manageable, if you know how to control a vehicle right.
Lastly, scene 7, taken on south I-170 in Brentwood coming upon the I-64 and Eagar Rd junction. Visibility increases slightly and I can see the road lines here, though they're barely noticeable in the photo.
Well, no school tonight, and no work tomorrow, so I can relax a bit tonight. I so needed it. See you all later, eh?