“Blizzard? What blizzard? It’s 70 degrees outside!” That’s Sheila talking as she looks over my shoulder.
I’ll have you know that there has been snow falling in the northwestern part of the USA already. In 2018, the northwest received over 400 inches of the white stuff, with the midwest getting pounded often enough that there were cars and trucks stuck on the roads for a while.
I never think about being prepared to get stuck for hours because I live in one of the most densely populated areas of the country. If traffic stops for any length of time, people have been known to get out of their cars, leave them on the highway and walk to the houses close by. That can cause a LOT of headaches when snow plows come through during the blizzards.
But, it’s not an option to leave the car in the middle of no place during a blizzard when you might be miles away from help. It’s usually warmer inside the car, plus it’s a shelter until help does arrive.
What do you do when you get caught traveling to a vacation spot or a storm moves in more quickly than the weatherman predicted? It is possible to die if help is a long time coming or your car gets buried in snow, so how do you avoid that?
To borrow a phrase from the Boy Scouts, Be Prepared.
If the weatherman isn’t sure about the path of the storm and you need to get somewhere a couple of hours away, follow these tips:
Make sure you have a full gas tank.
Let someone at your destination know your predicted arrival time.
Charge your cell phone.
Travel with snacks and several bottles of water for each passenger.
Toss a couple of blankets in the car, just in case.
Always travel with flashlights, but before the trip, check the battery power.
Keep kitty litter in the trunk, in case you get stuck and need traction to get out of the slick spot.
Buy a short shovel (available in auto supply stores) and leave it in the trunk. (thanks, Sue Harrison)
If the storm hits unexpectedly while you are on the road and you can no longer see to drive (or the roads are hazardous) stop the car and pull over if you can.
Stay inside the car.
Run the motor for ten minutes every hour.
Open the windows just a crack to avoid carbon monoxide buildup inside the car.
Make sure the exhaust pipe is not blocked
Tie a colorful scarf to the door. During a white-out, this will help the road crews find you more quickly.
Make sure to stay hydrated.
Exercise to keep warm – swing arms and legs as much as possible for a few minutes out of every 30.
Be smart about it and travel safely this winter. Better yet – stay off the roads until they are clear.
Travel abroad is more affordable during September and October. The airlines drop their high season prices, and package deals abound. Everybody loves a bargain and if you have a sense of adventure, travel to a foreign country might just fit into your budget at this time of year.
However, traveler beware: you might get less than you paid for and be faced with more challenges than you ever expected. Or, you might have great fun exploring new worlds.
Here are some truths about travel myths that might put that foreign trip into perspective:
Myth: everybody all over the world speaks English.
Reality: That’s not even remotely true. It is likely that more English speaking people can be found in major cities in Europe (some servers in restaurants, some taxi drivers at the airports, some bank managers, some bookstore cashiers, some grocery cashiers) but be ready to do a lot of pointing to your chosen purchase when outside the tourist areas.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
Myth: language apps will get you through the communication gaps
Reality: Your cellphone plan may not cover other countries, in which case you will pay roaming charges as soon as you turn on the phone in any foreign country. 24 hours a day of roaming charges. Call your phone company before you travel to see what plans are available. They are not one-size-fits-all. PLUS, even if you have an in-country plan, there are dead zones everywhere, just like in the States. So, when you have to translate what you need for the train station ticket guy, the app may not work. Or, the guy in front of you in line may not have the app at all. During our latest trip, we missed our train connection (true story) because a guy in front of us in line could not make himself understood. The line grew longer and longer behind us.
BUT, you sputter, the ticket guys are supposed to speak English! Nope, there might be one person per shift and you might not be in the right line. Allow LOTS of extra time, because most of the countries we have visited have excellent, exactly on-time, public transportation. The train leaves the station on time, whether you are on the train or not, even if you have paid for the ticket. No refunds.
AND, the Post Office – for mailing great finds back – might not have any English-speaking employees. There are forms to fill out, so communicating about that is important. If you’re nervous about sending items back, see if your hotel (or the business itself) will handle it for you.
Of course, you can take English-only tours, or hire a translator, and these should be booked well in advance.
Myth: There are taxis everywhere
Reality: Not when the taxi drivers are on strike. Yup. Happened to us on an earlier trip. The news showed pix of tourists walking with luggage long distances (a mile or more) to get from the airports to their hotels or to other transport. TAKE UBER? Not when Uber is barred from the airports and is the target of the taxi strikers. Be flexible in your travel arrangements.
Sidewalk, Ponta Delgado, Sao Miguel, Azores
Myth: You are gonna love the food!
Reality: Years ago, a stumbling block for our possible trip to Greece was whether or not we would like Greek food. We attended a local Greek festival, loved the food, and booked the trip the next day. The country’s food might be new to you, but go ahead, order menu items even if you don’t know what they are. No dead bodies lying on the ground around the tables means it’s probably safe to eat at that location.
I ordered codfish, salad, egg, and fried potatoes in Europe. I envisioned a piece of cod, a tossed green salad, a fried egg, and French fries. What I got was a famous local dish: mashed cod mixed in with straw potatoes and the egg. The salad was on the side. The straw potatoes are crunchy fries the size of those skinny, crunchy, chow mein noodles. The mashed cod was seasoned with a mustard flavored sauce. The straw potatoes were fried in olive oil. The plate had about two cups of the cod/potato/egg mixture piled in the middle. It was not at all what I had pictured in my mind and I questioned the waiter as to whether he had delivered somebody else’s order. We figured out with my limited Portuguese and his limited English that it was the correct dish. It was delicious. Truly. I would eat it again, but othertravelers seated near us were horrified and left 90% of the food on the plate.
Vegetarian dishes are tough to find on the menus. Gluten-free is a challenge in most places. Be creative in your dining choices and be willing to experiment.
Metal Sculpture, Braga, Portugal
Myth: A resort hotel is the only way to go
Reality: If you want to travel less expensively, remember that ‘all-inclusive’ does not mean the same thing everywhere. In fact, the hotel may supply cheap liquor, badly prepared food, and no off-site excursions in the ‘all-inclusive’ price. Ask the travel agent lots of questions.
Renting an apartment or staying at a B&B are other options, especially if you have dietary restrictions and need to have some control over your food. We’ve done all three, and had wonderful in experiences in each, without tripping over any bodies anywhere. Promise.
Myth: You can travel with your prescription medication as long as you keep the meds in the original container and have a paper copy of the prescription with you.
Reality: We followed all the rules and an over-the-counter cold medicine (sold in their country) packed in the suitcase, was confiscated by the foreign country officials. No idea why.
Travel outside the country is an adventure. You learn astonishing things about the rest of the planet – culture, language, religion, incredible food, politics – and can witness some of the most majestic sights on Earth.
Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal, Canada
Book that trip! Be surprised. Be flexible. Fall in love with the world. 🙂
We are a military family and in honor of those who served, Sheila and I have visited several battlefields/military cemeteries in recent years. The 2016 destination? Antietam – a Civil War battlefield in Maryland named after the creek in Sharpsburg.
The night before the Battle of Antietam was to begin in the farming town, soldiers gathered in the woods behind Dunker Church. On September 17, 1862, Generals Robert E. Lee (Confederate) and George McClellan (Union) made their stands, determined to break (or hold) the Union front.
Antietam is remembered not only for its political importance, but also for being the bloodiest single day in American military history. About 23,000 souls (out of combined forces of about 100,000) were either killed, wounded or lost – a quarter of the area soldiers were out of commission, a devastating toll.
A film shown at the Antietam Visitor’s Center revealed that the battle itself was the result of accidentally acquired information about Lee’s plans, but some say that the incredible losses were the result of poorly formed battle strategy on both sides. Communication between the generals was spotty and at times, the enlisted men took things into their own hands after their officers were cut down.
The Sunken Road was the center of intense fighting for several hours and when the outnumbered Confederate forces were finally surrounded and killed, hundreds of bodies lay piled high throughout the length of what came to be called Bloody Lane.
The Sunken Road
Burnside Bridge changed hands several times during the day. Whoever held the high ground was able to see the enemy approach and could easily pick the soldiers off, one by one.
Burnside Bridge
Eye witness accounts in letters reveal that often, single lines of men walked straight into the fire of the opposition, with little or no cover. Small groups continued to be picked off and there were so many bullets flying that it was hard to keep out of the way.
Nestled in a rolling valley in Maryland, today’s landscape is peaceful, beautiful – devoid of any signs of war except for the occasional statue or monument to the sacrifices of the brave men that lost their lives almost 154 years ago. Those rolling hills created several areas of high ground for the 500 cannons employed effectively by both sides.
Cannon with New York Monument in background
That restful view belies the actual aftermath of the Battle. So many men were wounded
Maryland Monument
that every building for miles around – school, home, business, barn – was used as a hospital. Never before had battlefield medicine been so severely tested. While the U.S. Sanitary Commission had been established the year before to help with distribution of supplies to hospitals, the aide was stretched beyond its limits.
The Sharpsburg region was devastated by the battle, racked by death and disease, stripped of food and supplies by both armies, and transformed forever by the impact of the fighting. Many local civilians lost their homes and farms to the combat and were never compensated by either side for that loss and destruction, despite their loyalty to the cause.
Clara Barton, who would later form the Red Cross, gave aid to soldiers from both sides and eventually organized the practice of giving assistance to civilians after natural disasters.
Neither side was a clear winner at the end of the day, but when the out manned and under supplied Confederates retreated back into Virginia, the Union counted it as a victory and Lincoln was able to use that as a bargaining chip to push the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation forward.
September 18, 1862 was a day that both sides gathered and tried to bury the dead, but
Antietam National Cemetery
it took days to bury the 3,500 bodies. Union soldiers were re-buried in the area now known as Antietam National Cemetery, while Confederate soldiers were ultimately buried in local graveyards.
For more information about Antietam, the battlefield, and the museum, please visit:
Our visit to Antietam was a sobering experience; the exhibits pointing out so clearly the terrible price that both soldiers and civilians pay for the freedoms we enjoy. If you truly want to understand the importance of what transpired at Antietam on September 17, 1862, read up on it. Better yet, take time to visit the area.
