We left the SD zoo at about 6 last night headed up 405 to I5 to 101, to get back to San Luis Obispo area. We instantly ran into one of the worst storms I've ever driven through. Rain coming at us literally sideways, water pooling on the freeway, wind knocking us around, hydroplaning over puddles, crazies driving around well above safe speeds, etc. I drove no faster than 55 most of the way home, sometimes going as slow as 35 on the freeway just to maintain visibility and traction. I was having trouble seeing with good wipers and a Rain-X'd windshield, so I have no idea how anyone else could see. After a while we decided to get out of the carpool lane to get way from the pooling water that was causing us to hydroplane every minute or so, at which point an SUV passed us in the carpool lane and hit a large puddle, throwing a ton of water at our windshield and completely blinding me for several seconds. My gf broke down crying (4yr old was with us, asleep in the back) and we got off the freeway in Long Beach so we could both calm down for a minute. Except half of Long Beach had no power when we got off, including stop lights, several of which had accidents and emergency crew all over the place. Took us 10min to find a 7-11 with power and a bathroom.
The weather didn't clear significantly until north of Santa Barbara, and we made it home at roughly 1:30, on a trip that took us 5 hours on the way down.
Meanwhile, my mom and her new husband (they got married Saturday) were stuck on the grapevine under several inches of snow, in two different vehicles, waiting for emergency crews to clear traffic accidents, tow a bus out of a snow bank, and lead people down the hill. They got to Harris Ranch around 2:30 and got a room, too tired to make it the extra 2 and a half hours to Stockton.
My brother was waiting at the SD airport when they announced his flight was being delayed due to severe wind conditions, and then lightning hit the airport and the power went out. Fortunately they restored power quickly, and he actually got out on a plane before our mom got off the grapevine.
On the upside, I had already planned on taking today off to recuperate from the weekend, so I'm not missing out on work. But UGH. I'm still exhausting from driving white knuckled on caffeine and adrenaline for so long.
The weather didn't clear significantly until north of Santa Barbara, and we made it home at roughly 1:30, on a trip that took us 5 hours on the way down.
Meanwhile, my mom and her new husband (they got married Saturday) were stuck on the grapevine under several inches of snow, in two different vehicles, waiting for emergency crews to clear traffic accidents, tow a bus out of a snow bank, and lead people down the hill. They got to Harris Ranch around 2:30 and got a room, too tired to make it the extra 2 and a half hours to Stockton.
My brother was waiting at the SD airport when they announced his flight was being delayed due to severe wind conditions, and then lightning hit the airport and the power went out. Fortunately they restored power quickly, and he actually got out on a plane before our mom got off the grapevine.
On the upside, I had already planned on taking today off to recuperate from the weekend, so I'm not missing out on work. But UGH. I'm still exhausting from driving white knuckled on caffeine and adrenaline for so long.
