Oh wait! Picture uploaded from my cell phone....
This was outside of our hotel on Wednesday the 10th. YIKES. Behind Ryan's car, that white lump in the background is a completely burried car! And it was snowing still so hard when I took that.
I took the train down on Tuesday, I left at like 6:30am with my Dad as he went to work. I was on the train by 7:20am and then in DC by 11:45am, only an hour late or so. Not bad compared to what would come....
So I get to Union Station and the metro is running for the first time in days. I manage to metro to Eastern Market and I found Ryan shoveling snow on 8th St. It was soooooooo good seeing him. He was still working so I went back to his room (and cleaned it, I am nuts that way) and waited for him to get off work. We grabbed some food and went to the hotel in Alexandria, about 10 minutes or so away. The snow started that night as we celebrated Valentine's Day. I gave him a red coffee thermos that's awesome (but he lost it in the snow the next morning) and we had some red wine in the glass I bought since the second glass shattered in my suitcase.
We went out around 8pm or so and cleaned off the car and went and got Ryan a snow scraper since he didn't have one. Boys. We meant to do a quick trip but with the snow we got turned around and shuttled to Route 66 and it took us nearly an hour to get back. Which was stupid as neither of us had our phones, I didn't have my purse or ID or money, and it was just stupid. But we got back ok.
Cleaning the car off the next day was torture. Some guys staying at the hotel helped us and we helped them with their car. We borrowed shovels from the front desk and somehow got out of our spot from over a foot of snow into the blizzard. Did I mention it was a blizzard??? So somehow I end up in the backseat sitting on Ryan's laundry between two tvs (that I gave him over a month ago and are still there) praying we don't crash as I can't buckle. Oh, and we had Dave in the front seat. Dave from Chicago who helped us dig out the car and needed a ride to the metro or Connecticut Ave. He got the metro. As you can guess I was not thrilled with the arrangement but Ryan said we needed him if we got stuck. Luckily nothing happened. His wife was glad we got him to the metro to go find her in the end. But it took us 2 and a half hours to do what would be a 15 minute drive!!!! No side roads or even minor highways were plowed so we had to stick to the still terrible main roads. We were the only car driving, everyone else (and there were not many) were in trucks and jeeps with 4 wheel drive. We had 2 wheel drive and slid around a bit. At times the wind was so bad it was literally white in front of us. Driving on the beltway during a whiteout is not fun. At all. But we made it. Finally.
So we grabbed lunch and I got a phone call that my train was cancelled. Crap. My parents were leaving Thursday to go to their new house in North Carolina for the long weekend and I had to get home. I got on a train for the next morning, but I had to pay $320 for a hotel room to stay over night! This was in walking distance of the barracks and metro, we couldn't drive anywhere and trains weren't running so I had no choice. It was that or the street. Ugh. It was worth having another night with Ryan but that was too much for a room for one night. I think they took advantage of me.
And of course that night I had cramps so bad I literally had to take half a percocet to not be in agony. Ryan kept soaking wash cloths in hot water and putting them on my stomach for me but I was so uncomfortable. Uggh.
The next day I get on what seems to be the only train leaving DC. Sold out of course. And all the trains after it are cancelled. So we get as far as Baltimore and almost to Wilmington (after leaving DC half an hour late) and we stop. Apparently we hit a snowbank and the air supply to a car was cut off... so we sat there two hours. Then an acela came and we got on that by crossing on a bridge between the two trains. I got a seat but some people didn't. Naturally the girl on the floor next to me was coughing her brains out, luckily I haven't gotten sick yet. Then we get to Phili and all of us not originally on the acela had to get off onto ANOTHER train that was already half full so people were on the floor again. We get out of the station in Phili, literally like going ten feet and stopping due to an electrical problem. More waiting. My three hour train ride became a seven hour train ride (with three different trains!). I got home by 6pm and my parents and Stefan left.
Saturday I went to the Anointing of the Sick mass. It was beautiful and very emotional. When Father Tom did the laying of the hands and blessed me with oil I can't lie, I got very teary. I even read at the mass which I hadn't done since Easter. I can only hope it helps. After I went to mass and Jill, my cousin met me there.
Ryan had 24 hour duty Sunday so no Valentine's Day for us. He did send me red tulips and blue irises (our wedding colors!) and chocolate covered strawberries. I love that man! But Jill came over Saturday night and we hung out, watched chick flicks, and drank Chocolate Lab (a chocolate sort of wine. GET IT!)
That's about it for now. Just working at the pharmacy, planning the wedding (invites are in! we went back to the Marine invites as homemade just wasn't in our budget or time frame), and just missing being with Ryan. Sorry for the longwindedness!
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