My Vacation...

Yes, I went home to Detroit (outside the city actually) for a wondrous Christmas!

We left Monday, Dec. 22nd, early.

The first notable thing of the trip was the DC NPR station fading from my car radio's reception and I started scanning around the dial for a local NPR or C-Span station...

We were just north of Hagerstown MD and all of the radio stations are Country/Western or Religious, with a few hard rock stations blasting AC/DC sprinkled in for the kids. When I heard a commercial for a Cain saw sale, I knew I was back in the Northern Bible Belt. The "hicks" that reside north of the Mason Dixon line.

I heard another AD for a "Miss Morning Glory" calendar, but I can't find any information or details, if-n ye am in the PA/OH parts, let me know what that's all about. Please!

We made it to Detroit with only one snag, terrible weather in the Pennsylvania hills. It was 2 deg. F. in one part of the trip through there. When we got to our Hotel, it was snowing as it continued to do for the next two days. There was over a foot of snow on the ground.

My Car;

The first day (22nd), part of the family came to visit us at the Hotel, and all was well.

The second day, the 23rd, we went and visited that same family that had come to us the night before. My plan was to get everyone else together at a central location for a dinner - On ME. Old Man Winter screwed me and no one wanted to come out, so the ones we had went out and all was well.

After dinner, my son and I retired to our Hotel and the following ensued;

11:35PM - The fire alarm goes off, I ignore it (My son sleeps through it).
11:40PM - Some panicked lady knocks on the door and says we have to leave the building, there is flooding (My son sleeps through it).
11:45PM - We get a call in the room to evacuate (My son sleeps through it). I wake up my son.
11:50PM - We grab the minimal we need and head up the long hallway and through the Lobby, it's raining from every light fixture and down a few walls too, there is a huge puddle on the floor and the carpets are soaked.
11:52PM - We head outside and a dude tells me that he heard a loud crash and then the water, seems part of the roof had collapsed (I found out the next day that a Fire Sprinkler Main pipe had burst because it was exposed to the cold and not insulated, I wonder what the crash was?). The Fire Department arrives.
11:54PM - My son went to the car and I went around to the back of the building and back inside to grab my camera.
11:58PM - I scoot through the lobby again and the flooding is worse, I snap a pic and some Video (Note the lady asking if there is a Fire?? Who cares, get out!)

before I am wooshed out with everyone else. The Fire dudes were using 4 foot wide squeegees to push the water down the stairs and out the front door, where it was freezing. We sat in the car and wait a bit, until I see people going back inside (did I mention it had stopped snowing for the first time since we arrived Monday? Now it's sleet).
12:07AM - (Now Christmas Eve) I go back inside and find they are moving us to another Hotel. I go outside and tell my Son to move the car around to the back of the building where our room is. We are the only ones there. We go inside and hurriedly pack up everything and load it in the car. By now five other cars are parked outside the door and we are nearly trapped. I drive us out and over to the new Hotel, a few blocks away.
12:20AM - Check in at the new Hotel. I ask the clerk if they had gotten a call from the other one and he says he has not. I explain what had happened while he gets my info and we check in.
12:30AM - We get to the room and settle in, I had to unwind for a while before I even tried to sleep. I didn't sleep well.

Merry Christmas Eve! Later that day (after another night of little sleep) we all met up at my Sister's place for dinner. The snow has turned to rain and the roads were often flooded. The food and company were great, nice to see everyone. Back to the Hotel..

Christmas Day; We get up and go to my Brother's place. We watched a few movies and other shows, opened presents and ate too much food. Back to the Hotel, where a "family" has moved in next door and the kids are bouncing off OUR WALL. Very annoying.

On 26 Dec. 2008 we headed home early. I drove all the way. The same spot in PA where it had been 2Deg. F was 44Deg. now and sunny, a beautiful drive! I steered the whole way and we made great time. Back in PA, I ran into a Radio Station, "Froggy 98" (no kidding, click it), which was a laugh for about 10 seconds.

I am very glad to be back in my own home with my own bed. No little kids bouncing off the walls and pets of any kind. No Froggy FM either, I have NPR on.