civilized ku # 2466-67 ~ driving to NYC, 200 meters at a time
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 10:20AM ;)
East 4th St. - NYC, NY / Prudential Center - Newark, NJ • click to embiggenWinter Storm Nemo hit Au Sable Forks / Lake Placid in earnest just after dawn on Friday AM. It continued with a steady heavy snowfall right up until 6:30PM (and well after) when the wife, Hugo, and I piled into the car and headed out for NYC.
The secondary road from The Forks to the interstate was in pretty bad condition, snow covered and blizzard-like conditions wise. We were less than a mile or so from the house when the wife chimed in with the notion that we didn't have to drive to NYC through a serious winter storm just because we had tickets to a Penguins hockey game at 1PM on Saturday. I must admit that she had a point but my point was that we did have tickets and, come hell or high water snow, the show must go on.
The interstate was in slightly better condition, albeit snow covered with heavy falling snow, allowing for a reasonably steady 50MPH, 40MPH in the really bad stretches. The speed was determined not only by road conditions but also by the fact that way too much snow was falling, making the use of high beams impossible. Visibility was limited to the reach of low beams + fog lights (200 meters?) and even that was hindered by the dense falling snow. The only thing that made driving possible was the fact that, other than me, there were very few other idiots on the highway.
Upon reaching Albany - the halfway point - we did encounter some traffic. However, about 20 miles south of Albany we did not see another southbound vehicle for approximately 120 miles. It was during that part of the drive that we were informed that vehicle travel, on any and all roads, in nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut had been banned. NY State had declared a State of Emergency and advised against any unnecessary travel.
Fortunately, since we were the only one on the road, I wasn't stopped and asked about the necessity of my travels. I am not certain that "we have tickets to a hockey game" would have qualified as "necessary".
In any event, we made it to NYC safe and sound, albeit in 7.5-8 hours for what is normally a 4.5 hour trip. And the hockey game? The Penguins lost.
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