About a week ago, the Wife told me she was going back this weekend to KC, to see the grandkids, and the family. I immediatly put the trip planning disc in the 'puter, and started checking out driving distances to this or that far destination. I kinda wanted to run up to DC to see the Wall again, and leave something there from long ago. But then Thur we had the biggest snow since 1902, and being SC, it completely shut down the city. For two days, i couldn't even get out of the driveway, but yest, just on a hunch, i dug out a path thru the 20 inches to the street.
Slept in, then got up, cooked up a package of bacon, watched Dream Car Garage, our SPF is in it, then about 11 AM, noted it was warming up, so went out in Lynne's Jag (it is the AWD X series), and reconn'ed the roads, and found that outside the neighborhood, they were just wet. So came back, and pondered the stupidity of driving 400+ miles to Charleston (and back), just for the fun of it. It took about 45 minutes to just tell myself that i had planned on some trip a week, and i should not let snow and ice keep me away from my need to drive. Dressed up, put on the G 1, gave Abby, my Weimerainer, a Frag Order to watch the homestead, and jumped into the Great Stroker's cockpit, Latched up the 5 point Simpson, brought the
oil pressure up with the A'sump, and fired up the motor. Then, backed out, and got about 3 feet, and that was as far as i could go. Stuck.
Tried rocking it back and forth, but then climbed out, and got the spade, and dug out some ice, and went for it again. Again, another few feet, and then just spinning on the wet snow and Ice. Again and again i would chop out more frozen slush, move a few feet, finding it strange that a car with 450 hp could not pull the front wheels over a chunk of ice the size of a biscuit. But eventually, spinning and throwing slush all over the by now sizzling sidepipes, got it aimed down the driveway, but promptly it slid into a bank i had not cleared. The car kept wanting to slide to the left. But eventually, got it turned around, and traveled to the end of the driveway, where i got out the shovel again, and cleared out the snow where it would possibly crunch my
oil cooler shroud, and then went down the street, to the corner, heaving snow right and left, clearning a safe path. Finally, about 30 minutes later, tossed the shovel aside, carefully planned my driveway exit to avoid the hillocks of snow in the road, lit it off, and pulled out of the driveway, and immediatley it slid, and plopped the front wheels over a hard 4 inch snow ridge, leaving me stranded in the middle of the road.
Retrieved the shovel, and again chopped and hacked, and cleared enough to protect my front cooler, and let me continue on down the street, and then, i was away at last. The sun was warm, the roads were full of water, but i blasted out, and in about 15 minutes, hit I-77, and accelerated hard up the ramp, finding the interstate dry. Mostly dry, at least. I tached it up to about 70 then 80, and the big Olthoff motor just seemed to settle into a rythm, as i passed cars and trucks, warm enough under the SC sun. It felt good to be on the road.
part one ends here.
http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d..._Snow_home.jpg