From the Inside Out

At first it was beautiful, a delightful treat. It was something very rare. Everyone was talking about it, expecting it, hoping for it. When it came, its beauty transformed everything it touched into a winter wonderland. Children were amazed, and adults relived their youthful days by going outside and playing in it.

Yes, those lovely white flakes called snow finally fell from the Dallas sky. Facebook lit up instantly with status updates, along with pictures of the scenery and kids playing. Schools were shut down. Snow men (and women) were built. Snow angels were created. Snow ball fights ensued. Yes, it was a fantastic gift — much preferred over the normal winter blast of ice and sleet. I loved it. Even though I didn’t get a “snow day” (the unfortunate consequence of being able to work from home), it was grand.

That was then.

This is now.

Okay, I don’t want to be labeled the “snow” grinch, but…enough already…seriously! I live in North Texas for a reason. I like warm winters. Snow once during the season is cool, but again and again and again….and again. That’s not cool. So far, we’ve recorded 15.7 inches of snowfall this winter. The second highest recorded in the history of North Texas. We’re only 2 inches away from breaking the all time record snowfall for a winter season — and that may happen tomorrow!

Breaking records is cool, but I’m sick of the cold. I’m SO ready for Spring…actually, I’m ready for Summer, but I’ll settle for Spring. After all, March is next week. It’s not supposed to be this cold, and we don’t need more snow…so much for global warming.

Okay, maybe I am the snow grinch…bah humbug!

I went to sleep in Texas last night, and when I woke up, I thought I’d been transported to Colorado! Everything was blanketed underneath a heavy coating of snow — a treat for those of us who live in North Texas. We normally get ice and sleet, and on those rare occasions when we do get snow, it’s only a light dusting. But not today! By mid-morning, we had three inches of snow on the ground. It was a pretty sight to behold.

Tonight, we broke the all-time record for snowfall in North Texas! It’s astounding. The previous record was 7.8 inches. We easily surpassed that record by early evening, and the snow is STILL falling. It really does feel like I’m in Colorado, not Texas — it’s fantastically bizarre! So much for global warming, huh?

Now if only there were some mountains nearby, I’d strap on my skis and go for a run!

A unique thing happened in Dallas today.  It snowed!  Some of the surrounding cities had as much as 8 inches of snow.  It’s amazing.  We usually get freezing rain or sleet, but not snow.  I feel like I’m in Breckenridge again.  I guess the snow must’ve decided to follow us home. 

Even though I don’t get “snow days” anymore (one of the down sides of working from home), I still managed to take a few breaks during the day to enjoy it.  The view was beautiful. 

For those of you who have to trek out into the snow tomorrow, be careful. 

Oh yeah….and have a great Friday. 

Today began at 5:00 am, an hour in which no one in their right mind should be awake.  Typically, I avoid “red eye” flights like the plague, but since we had to be back at work today, it was a necessary evil. 

Dallas was blanketed in snow last night.  I was afraid it might cause problems in the form of further delays and cancellations.  My worries were unfounded, though.  We hopped on our flight and made it home safely by mid-morning. 

After picking up the dogs, it was time to get to work.  I had to skip a couple of meetings in the morning, but other than that, the cancelled flight didn’t affect me too much.  I simply worked late and still put in an eight hour day. 

I’m a little sleep deprived, but that’s typical when I travel.  I’m sure I’ll get caught up over the weekend.  All in all, it was worth it.  We had a great trip.  I was delighted to get my skis back on the mountain; there’s nothing that can compare.

At work, I was reminded that the situation could have been much worse.  A colleague traveling home from Glasgow on American Airlines yesterday had a frightening experience.  The captain told passengers there might be a fire somewhere in the back of the plane.  Immediately, the plane turned around and headed back to Glasgow.  They were told to prepare for an emergency landing — in the water or on the ground.  Passengers were furiously texting and calling their loved ones.  My colleague was taking pictures (leave it to the marketing person to document the event; I’m sure it’ll make a great blog).  When it came time to land, they dumped fuel from the wings.  Everyone was silent as they assumed the position for an emergency landing.  Thankfully, the plane landed without incident, and everyone was safe.   

Yikes!  I travel a lot, but that would have freaked me out.   Compared to that experience, a cancellation and an unexpected night in Denver doesn’t sound so bad. :) 

We awoke this morning to a beautiful day in Breckenridge.  Once again, it was sunny and the skies were blue.  Freshly groomed snow awaited our arrival on the mountain.  We got up early, checked out of the condo, and hit the slopes.  My legs were really tired today, but the conditions on the mountain were perfect so I couldn’t let myself quit early.  We found some great blue trails on Peak 8 and rode those for most of the day.

Our skiing ended around 2 pm since we had a 7:30 flight out of Denver.  We had a few things to do before heading out of town and wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to make it to the airport.  Our plan was moving along perfectly.  We were on time.  Actually, I think we were running a little ahead of schedule when we stopped by the property office to drop off the keys and change back into our “civilian” clothes.  While I was waiting for Gary, I noticed that there were couple of voice messages waiting for me.  One of the messages was a notification from American Airlines that our flight had been cancelled.  Since it was the last flight of the day, they had already rebooked us on a Tuesday morning flight to DFW.  Argh. 

Both Gary and I were planning to be back at work on Tuesday morning so I quickly called the airline to see what other options were available.  There was only one flight making it out tonight — the 5:25 pm flight.  We’d be pushing it to make it to the airport in time, but after a great weekend, we were feeling lucky. 

Traveling at a very safe speed (coughs), we were making great time.  We were really starting to think that we could pull it off.  Sure, it would be close, but…wait, what did that sign say?  Expect 20 minute stops in Georgetown.  What?  That’s strange.  Surely, it meant some simple traffic delays, nothing else.  A few minutes later, the announcer on the radio chimes in with “expect 20 minute stops in Georgetown”.  Okay, now we were starting to get worried.  You have to go through Georgetown to get back to Denver.  There’s no other way (that we know) to get out of the mountains.  Sure enough, when we hit Georgetown, all traffic came to a halt.  The entire Interstate highway was standing still.  No one moved an inch — for 20 minutes (maybe more). 

Apparently, they were shearing the rock walls that run along the highway so that the rocks don’t fall on cars and kill people.  Now, I’m a fan of not having a rock fall on my car as much as the next guy, but seriously, isn’t there a better time to do this than on a busy weekday?  How about closing the Interstate highway on the weekend or maybe later at night?  Anyway, to make a long story short, we didn’t make it to the airport in time.  We’re stuck in Denver for the night.

After making the necessary arrangements, we decided to make the best of it and enjoy our evening.  We found a great little hotel by the airport, the Hyatt Place.  It’s a smaller property, but it’s got style.  It’s sort of like a mini “W”, which is my favorite hotel chain.

We’ll be getting up early to catch the 7 am flight.  Hopefully, it won’t be cancelled also.  I hear it’s snowing in Dallas tonight.  They are enjoying the same storm system that dumped snow on Breckenridge yesterday.  For anyone who lives in Dallas, you know that snow wreaks havoc at the airport.   So, wish us luck…we’ll need it.