Stopping by Traffic on a Snowy Day

Stopping by Traffic on a Snowy Day

(with apologies to Robert Frost) 

Whose cars these are, I have no clue

I could have stopped right next to you.

You would not see me stopping though

As the road filled up with snow.

The crazies drove without a thought,

Of possible mayhem they could have wrought.

While speeding on their icy way

This slippery cold December day.

I gave the horn a little toot

To let them know their speed's not cute.

They did not pause, they did not linger

So I waved goodby with my middle finger.

The snow was lovely, but there's a rub

I've joined the Snow-stopped Traffic Club,
With miles to go to to my hot tub

    With miles to go to my hot hot tub
 

          We drove up from the beach on Sunday with Jill's sister Jane and her husband Mike. What should have taken us an hour and forty-five minutes turned into a four hour ride.  It was a fitting ending to a weekend of unfortunate events.  Between the snow that quickly covered the highway, the crazy drivers who drove with wild abandon, and the overly cautious drivers that were barely driving, we were constantly entertained on this long ride home. The only good thing was Mike was driving, and I was not.

         A few weeks ago as we were closing up the beach houses for the winter, Jill and I saw an advertisement for the Lewes Christmas House Tour sponsored by The Lewes Historical Society.  We thought that it would be a lot of fun to come down and see some of the fine old houses of Lewes all decorated to the teeth. It would be a great way to fill us with Christmas Spirit and Holiday joy. We asked Jane and Mike, our constant traveling companions, if they wanted to go, and they said they were in. We made reservations at the Rehoboth Boardwalk Plaza, bought tickets for the tour, and let the anticipation build.

         We left early Saturday morning and decided to just take one car. Mike volunteered to be chauffeur.  With coffees in hand we made it from Unionville to the beach in what seemed like record time. Since the tour didn't start until 10:00, I asked Mike to stop by the houses so I could check to see if the plumber had gotten the water turned off and the pipes winterized. He was supposed to have taken care of it on November 11th.  We pulled up to the house, and all looked well. I unlocked the front door and saw that the check I had left for the plumber was still on the table. Moving quickly to the kitchen, I turned on the faucet and water came out. This was not good.  I immediately put in a call to the plumber and asked him to get back to me as soon as he got my message. With temps in the low 40s and a stiff breeze blowing, thoughts of frozen pipes danced through my head.

         Not being able to do any more, we left, me with a slight feeling of unease, to start our Christmas House Tour. Picking up the tickets, we found a parking spot and noticed long lines forming outside some of the houses on the tour.  People were bundled up against the cold wind that was sweeping down the street. We hustled over to the Historical Society's complex at Shipcarpenter Square and thought that we would start out tours in their collection of historical buildings and homes, which were all open and staffed for the day. As we walked down the street, the plumber called and apologetically let me know he dropped the ball, but would take care of the houses that afternoon.

        We chose the Doctor's office first, and we were greeted by a very knowledgeable gentleman who told us more than we would ever want to know about amputations in the 18th century. Other than saws, scalpels, and other implements of destruction, there were no decorations in the doctor's office.  We braced ourselves against the cold and moved to the next building and, you guessed it. No decorations. Hmmmmmm........ is this a Christmas House Tour, or a house tour at Christmas?

         Our next stop was a few blocks away. The line wrapped around a relatively new home. As you approached the front porch, you had to put booties on over your shoes. As we approached the Booty Box, they ran out. The smiling docent told us our other option was to take our shoes off.  The home had some Christmas decorations, but it was not decorated in an Over the Top /In Your Face way that we were expecting. It was however an interior decorator's dream. With architectural accents and furnishings that screamed of form and function combining seamlessly. It was beautiful, artistic, but not real Christmasy. 

          
          With our shoes back on we bundled up and headed back into the cold. Long lines greeted us at every house. Some longer than others. Most of the houses were more than a few blocks apart so we did get a good amount of exercise in. They were close enough to walk to and not worth the effort of trying to find parking each time. By 11:45 we were ready to find some lunch and warmth. A Touch of Italy, on the corner of Savannah Road and 2nd Street became our haven from the cold.

         Lunch was very good. Jill and I shared a Caesar Salad, bowl of Escarole/Bean soup, and an Eggplant Tower. They were all delicious and none had any shellfish or cilantro. We asked. But.... there was parsley, which is in the cilantro family. Jill noticed that the roof of her mouth was a bit itchy. She could feel some swelling in her throat, so she popped a Benedryl, and that took care of things. We need to be more complete when asking about ingredients. 

         We finished the tour and found it to be consistent. High on interior decorations, light on Christmas. Stopping by the beach house to see if the plumber had stopped by, I saw that his check was gone, but the water was still on....... Oy. We headed for the hotel and had a great dinner, and stay. The evening ended without incident. 

       Sunday morning greeted us with some cloud cover and the promise of a dusting of

The view from our room at The Rehoboth Boardwalk Plaza

snow.  Could there be a better way to get us in the Christmas Spirit? We did Cracker Barrel for breakfast and watched the flakes begin to lightly fall. It was beautiful.  We left at 11 and headed for home. The snow began to worsen around Dover and we slowed to a crawl. Although, there were some crazies that felt they could travel at 40 mph and weave in and out of traffic. We passed no less than 3 BMWs that were just stuck in their lane spinning their wheels. Once made it to Limestone Road, traffic was almost at a stop. With some clever navigating we wound our way through neighborhoods and back roads avoiding the heavily traveled routes. 

         For those of you familiar with the Kennett Square area, Kaolin Road presented the greatest challenge with cars stuck coming both up and down the hills. This caused people to go around into the oncoming lane of traffic and then try to get back to the correct  side all while their wheels were spinning merrily and the back end of their cars were weaving from side to side. It was the stereotypical snowy windy back country road. 

      We finally pulled into our drive shortly after 3:00.  Mike was slightly frazzled after such a long and stressful drive, and still had to drive home another 12 miles to East Fallowfield along more snowy and windy back country roads, but he did a masterful job of piloting us safely home. We sent them off with grateful goodbyes, and I set out to put the plow on my tractor and remove the 7 inches of snow that were in the driveway.... and since I didn't have to drive through it, I was okay with that.

For those of you not familiar with Robert Frost's stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, here it is reprinted below.
        

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.    - By Robert Frost