Cruise Bruise Blog
January 27, 2009
January 27, 2009
The Ice Storm Cometh  . . . Again

Once again fear gripped the city as the beast approached by night, then lingered by day. Once again, we were on the edge of the storm, not be pounded relentlessly by the frozen beast that threatened life and limb, according to the locals.

The difference this time was I was not willing to wait patiently to see if NOAA and the Weather channel were right, and we would get the promised half inch to inch of ice, topped by several inches of snow. By noon, with twelve hours having past without drama, we sought the beast out. Hover your mouse on the images below to see hidden images.
Only one mile to the north we found the boundary, where the beast seemed to retreat, as he always does. As we braved the salt etched, damp roads, they evolved into flooding, it was clear that those to the north of us were at ground zero. An hour away, where the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore was hunkered down broadcasting live reports throughout the night and into the next day residents were getting Mother Nature's Featured Winter Performance.

No real Canadian worth his salt would miss this show, for all the tea in England, and my Canadian was hot on the trail of the beast, willing to follow him to the ends of the earth, for just a glimpse.
We caught our glimpse, and I decided the day on the road marveling at Mother Nature's magnificent display, was much better spent that typing at this keyboard. When you view the photographs, I think you might agree.

Of course, what made it extra special, as always, was the fact that we pretty much had the roads to ourselves. Others, sure that death lurked around every corner, missed the show, opting to sit by their version of the fire, until the beast was long gone.

As you see in the second photograph, though the roads were damp, they were not icy. The view, was spectacular.

Not so delightful were the many trees broken apart, some toppled by the weight of the ice. The power lines heaving under the frozen weight, too found their breaking point, with mile after mile of homes and business without power. Traffic lights were not working for dozens of miles, though luckily, few were out other than us, creating no real problem at intersections.