Lesson 1: Expect the unexpected and deal with it.

Snow! Snow!

Chick fil A to the left, Ruby Tuesdays to the right
About 1 1/2 hrs from sketch hotel.
It only got worse...

As you all know, I plan for everything and I like it to work out exactly as I planned. And I also plan multiple scenarios. So, I usually expect that I've got it all covered.

Well, apparently I picked the WORST day ALL WINTER to make my 8 hour trip up to DC/Sterling area to move for my new job.

Let me preface by saying I started checking the weather for the trip from Charleston to Sterling, VA a month ago. Not kidding, monthly averages, worst case scenarios. Then 10 day forecasts, 5 days, 36 hour, hourly. I'm serious people. (I love Weather Underground)!!

I left Charleston at 9am, saying goodbye to Mom, Dad, Jim, Linn, Cameron and even Miss Betty. And off I went, with my fully loaded Toyota 4Runner. Off to my new job, new start, new city. (whoa!)

I was making GREAT time, like really great time. I didn't have any rain until I hit North Carolina, and then it was only drizzling. It finally started raining, but it was all fine. It was steady 40-45 degrees most of the way, until I hit Virginia.

Oh, Virginia.

Country roads, take me home to the place I belong. West Virginia, mountain momma. Take me home, country roads. (John Denver)

In Virginia, on I-95, I hit the weather. Rainy, slushy, icy roads. It wasn't too bad, but then all of the sudden, when I was about an hour to Sterling:
 THUNDERSTORM 2011 ARRIVED.

And I thought I was making good time. I didn't stop for lunch, because I thought I'd grab dinner when I got there (big mistake). Only stopped a total of 3 times in 10 hours.

That's right, it took me 10 HOURS for an 8 hour drive (and I didn't even make it the whole way)

I had expected to arrive in Sterling at 4:45pm, worst case scenario: 6pm

Neither happened.

Snow everywhere. Slow traffic. 10-30 miles per hour on I-95

then I was so delayed, I started hitting rush hour traffic....

It took me 2 hours to go 15 miles. At one point, I went 0.3 miles in 45 minutes. 

At that point, complete dead stop, cars spinning out, plowers stuck in traffic, half a bag of rice cakes and 8-ish Milano cookies later.... I called my wonderful friend Taylor to research for me if that tiny looking building in the distance was indeed a hotel and if they had availability. Thank the Lord they did.

After 10 hours, dead stop traffic, I slid into a Days Inn and took a room for $82.50 (Thanks Mom for the cash to pay for that because their servers/computers were down!)

Some friends think I'm crazy. Some friend's parents think I'm crazy.

I was moving up to DC, alone, an 8-10 hour drive, in a snowstorm, then staying in a random hotel alone for a night, knowing no one.

And I did it.

Despite my best intentions to plan, it went awry, but I still made it work. 

I didn't have any accidents, run out of gas, spin out of control, or lose my mind. I booked a room at a random hotel last minute and cancelled the other hotel in Sterling (you are welcome random person that is now sleeping in my bed, probably stuck due to cancelled flights at Dulles)

It all worked out just fine. I think I passed my first lesson.
My parents sure raised me to be able to handle lots of situations, especially when it comes to travel. 

Deal with what ya got.

I heard a few pretty cool stories (that make me like DC, despite my rough first night):

--Flash mob snowball fight in DuPont Circle

--Toyota Tacoma rear-ending (on purpose) a van to help move it up the hill.

--3 men, from 3 different vehicles get out of their cars to push a Mustang.

--News woman sat in the same spot for 3 straight hours and reported people coming out of their houses with candy bars and waters to give to the drivers sitting in the snow traffic.

--Another woman went into labor while in traffic. (Gridlock was 7 hours old) on American Legion Bridge (beltway)--eventually making it to the hospital with her newborn.

Other notes:

--about 145,000 power outages in Northern Virginia alone.

--complete gridlock.

-- 3-5 inches in DC area (I think it's more)

Well there you have it folks.

You can't always plan.

Expect the unexpected and deal with it.