Saturday, February 27, 2010

Driving Through The Eye Of The Storm


Today's post was going to be about a visit to a magnificent flower show at the Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut .

For photos, I had visions of spring beauties such daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips in all the colors of the rainbow and absolutely couldn't wait to share them with you, my dear blogger friends.

Yesterday morning it was easy to jump out of bed very early, anticipating the drive to Hartford and subsequent show. Of course, outside there were blizzard conditions. My husband reminded me the weather people predicted more heavy snowfall and difficult driving conditions.


"Oh, it's New England," I said. "Who cares about the weather? The weather doesn't stop New Englanders. We are hardy people! Besides, the weather people might be dead wrong. The storm will probably ease up soon and pass right over us. They are forever calling wolf."




So off we went. Another prediction I made, of the driving getting better as we got closer to Connecticut, was way off the mark. As a matter of fact, we were driving right smack into the eye of the storm.

"Oh my goodness," I said, as snow fell fast and furious and visibility became extremely difficult. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." My poor husband, who knows my determined ways and spontaneous decisions, quietly reminded me he had warned me about the storm. The gigantic bite of humble pie stuck in my throat like a golf ball.

Trailer trucks sped behind us like charging monsters, their headlights looking like white eyeballs in the fog and snow. I flicked on the car's flashing lights to let the monsters know I was not going to speed up. It was impossible to convey that I was scared whit less! Would we survive this trip to the flower show? Would our car get bumped off the highway and land on top of some icy lake or in it?


Thoughts of being home by the crackling fire in the living room fireplace came to mind as we inched our way to Hartford. The experience turned out to be quite petrifying, to say the least.

To add insult to injury, the printed directions had our exit in the city going to the left. Barely able to see two feet in front of me on a four lane highway, filled with trucks and cars with their lights on, my husband told me the exit was to the right. It was virtually impossible to navigate across four lanes so the car went right by the exit. We had to get off way ahead, turn around, and come back to downtown Hartford. Honestly, I wanted to bawl my head off.

When we finally got to the Convention Center, we parked in the multi-story garage, and made our way inside. Down one elevator and up a second, we finally found the Exhibit Hall. All the signs indicated a Fishing and Hunting Show.

"Excuse me," I said to a very unfriendly lady behind a desk. "We are looking for the flower show."

"That was last weekend," she said. Her words struck like hammers in my ears. I looked at my poor, dear husband who survived driving the last two hours through the blizzard with me.

"I'm sorry honey," I managed to say. "I must have read the dates wrong."



All was not lost. We drove to an Olive Garden to have a nice lunch and then made the long, snowy way home. Thankfully, the roads had improved since the morning but driving was still not smooth sailing. When we finally drove into our snow-filled driveway, I heaved a huge sigh of relief. It felt so good to be alive, in one piece, and blessedly home!

So, instead of photos of the flower show in Hartford, I'm sharing shots of a past visit to the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens in New York. At least there are flowers to look at instead of snowbanks! ha!



Every time huge mistakes are made in life, I ask myself, "What did I learn from this?" In the case of the long gone flower show, what I learned was to always call ahead of time to double check that an event is taking place. Secondly, I learned to stay put inside when there's a blizzard outside. (Duh)

So, dear blogger friends and visitors, I hope you enjoy the photos of the Botanical Gardens. Maybe next time I'll get to take and share photos of the Hartford flower show.

But if there is a blizzard again, will I still go? Not on your life, or mine. A valuable lesson has been learned. If I miss the flower show again, we'll just have to be patient and wait for spring!

Have you ever gone on a botched day trip?

12 comments:

VKT said...

Bless your heart! I have been in that position before! I love your positive attitude though and how you didn't let it get you down! I must tell you though, the pictures you shared are absolutely gorgeous! Have a blessed week-end!

Susan said...

Hi VKT! How nice you came to visit and left such a sweet comment. Thanks. Bless YOU, too, and thanks for the compliments. Come back often! Sincerely, Susan

diane stetson said...

Does driving through the freeway in stop and go traffic for three hours count when it should have taken an hour an a half ? Glad we are both safe Susan. xo

La Tea Dah said...

I'm so sorry you missed the flower show. What a driving experience! We've been in conditions like that when driving the length of Nevada. Snow storms can be so blinding, can't they!

I'm glad the Olive Garden was there for you, so you could enjoy some part of the day.

LaTeaDah

Susan said...

Hi Di...Yeah, I'd say freeway traffic on the way to your destination counts! Hope you have a fun day today. Always, Susan

Susan said...

Hi La Tea Dah....Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I love the Olive Garden's salad! So happy you came to visit and comment! Take good care today. Sincerely, Susan

Martha's Favorites said...

Susan: What a scaring experience. I am so glad you are ok. I saw pictures on the news about the weather you are having. Please be careful. Remember tomorrow is another day. I would love to open a store, just now sure if I can make it work right now. Blessings, Martha

Susan said...

Hi Martha! Yeah, it was foolish to go out in the inclement weather but I was so dying to see pretty flowers instead of more white snow! YUK Was so happy to see your post. I missed you, little chickadee! Sincerely, Susan

Chatty Crone said...

This is such a cute story the way you wrote it - filled with both seriousness and humor.

We are never to old to learn lessons are we?

The funny thing for me was the fact you got the wrong weekend! I do stuff like that too! Glad to know I'm not alone!

The flowers were fabulous!
sandie

Susan said...

Hi Sandie...Thanks for the compliment. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. True, too! You are right. We are never too old to learn lessons. Hope you are having a good Sunday. Sincerely, Susan

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Oh dear, Susan! What a terrible day, well up to the Olive Garden part. Very nice pictures you have posted although I thought I would see some Fishing and Hunting Show pics :)

Nice visiting with you!
Kindly, ldh

Susan said...

Dear ldh...ha ha ha You are funny. I don't like hunting OR fishing. Beat it fast out of there when I realized what the exhibition was. ha ha ha Thanks so much for your visit and comment. Always love having you stop by. Sincerely, Susan

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