Ok, it's time for somebody in DC to take a page from the MN playbook, let's put the power lines under the ground! Our power went out during the storm, it was restored the following evening, the next day (yesterday) it went out during the day and then was restored at 10pm, and this morning it went out again. I never remember this happening in MN, was it because the power lines are below ground and therefore protected from falling tree limbs under the weight of the snow? Either way, in the future we are considering sticking our milk jug in a snowbank next time it snows here - it gets expensive replacing spoiled groceries!
Hope everyone else is staying warm....
-Laurie
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Snowed in again!
Well, it happened again. The DC area was blasted with snow last night. This time we received about 10 inches of that fluffy powder. I know what you Minnesotans are saying. 10 inches is nothing! However, most east coasters are inept when it comes to handling the snow so 10 inches is a big deal. Another problem is that the snow is much heavier because of the higher temps. The lows last night only dipped in the mid-20's. The end result many damaged power lines and mass power outages.
Here are some pics from our neighborhood. You can see how heavy the snow was.
Laurie and I both made it through the storm without any major problems. The commute home for me was no problem, thanks to the Metro (that is definitely the first time I have ever thanked DC public transportation). On the other hand, Laurie had more of an adventure. She ended up staying at the Hilton right next door to her office because traffic was so bad. The best part about it was that she had to share a room with her boss and ended up wearing the same clothes to work the next day. Laurie also mentioned that there were many people sleeping in the hotel lobby overnight who had abandoned their cars on the interstate. Ouch...
Jimmy and I were at home preparing for the Gophers/Northwestern basketball game when it happened. Yes, it happened again...we lost power. In fact, we still don't have power as of 4:00 pm today. Luckily I had my trusty iPad and my new phone to follow the Gopher basketball game. Jimmy and I also had some heart-to-heart discussions and were able to stay pretty warm, as evident in the photo below.
Here are some pics from our neighborhood. You can see how heavy the snow was.
Laurie and I both made it through the storm without any major problems. The commute home for me was no problem, thanks to the Metro (that is definitely the first time I have ever thanked DC public transportation). On the other hand, Laurie had more of an adventure. She ended up staying at the Hilton right next door to her office because traffic was so bad. The best part about it was that she had to share a room with her boss and ended up wearing the same clothes to work the next day. Laurie also mentioned that there were many people sleeping in the hotel lobby overnight who had abandoned their cars on the interstate. Ouch...
Jimmy and I were at home preparing for the Gophers/Northwestern basketball game when it happened. Yes, it happened again...we lost power. In fact, we still don't have power as of 4:00 pm today. Luckily I had my trusty iPad and my new phone to follow the Gopher basketball game. Jimmy and I also had some heart-to-heart discussions and were able to stay pretty warm, as evident in the photo below.
Here are some other fun nuggets of information from the most recent storm:
* 422,000 households were without power for much of the storm.
* All schools were closed for Thursday and some have already closed for Friday.
* The Government closed early on Wednesday and opened on Thursday on a two-hour delay.
* Many people slept in their cars last night as a result of the poor traffic conditions during rush hour.
* Average time for a 20 mile commute home last night: 4 hours and 20 minutes. WOW!
Overall, I am still very shocked at how people handle the snow out here. I was watching the local news last night (before we lost power) and was amazed at what people were saying. The news anchors kept stressing the importance of being prepared, including always carrying an umbrella. Are you kidding me?
- Bobby
PS - Update: As of 7:30pm tonight we have power again and can sleep in relative heat! Yipee!
PS - Update: As of 7:30pm tonight we have power again and can sleep in relative heat! Yipee!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Christmas 2010
Well, as usual, we are a little behind on the blogging. But, nevertheless, here is some information regarding our most recent trip to the frozen tundra. As most of you know, Laurie and I made the trip back to lovely, warm Minnesota for the Holidays. We ended up freezing for ten days in Minnesota and returned to DC (and 50 degrees) on New Years.
PART I
Our first stop on our whirlwind tour of Minnesota was Mankato. We spent several days in Mankato to see Laurie's family. The Sellners are a blast, especially with little Max running at full speed. Everyone in Laurie's family made the trip to Mankato including Scott, Lana, Hannah, Emily, Keri, Dave, and Max. We also spent some time with Laurie's aunt Deanna and her Grandma. We had a blast! It was a full house at Bonnie and Gene's, which made for some fun entertainment. One can only imagine...
The days at the Sellner "Homestead" were primarily spent playing games with the kids, building snow forts, watching movies (Despicable Me gets 4 stars), eating tons of great food, and watching our youngest nephew Max run, and run, and run, and then run some more. I needed at least two cans of Mountain Dew a day to keep up. This little guy is destined to be a track star. The snow fort that Scott, Dave and I built ended up turning into a small city, with a couple of hills for sledding and several tunnels. Hannah and Emily, the supervisors of the construction, were pretty impressed.
Our next encounter with the Sellners will be in March, when Laurie and I meet Bonnie and Gene in Fort Myers to watch a few Twins Spring Training games. Only 22 days until pitchers and catchers report! I will be sure to let all you Minnesotans know how warm it is in Florida...
Next on our whirlwind tour was a stop in lovely Perham, MN. The short five hour drive from Mankato to Perham was much better this year than in the last two years, given we didn't run into any snow. The highlights of our Perham visit included lots of sledding, playing games with the kids, watching a lot of hockey and swim meets, and of course, eating at number of fine establishments such as Mrs. B's, Pizza Ranch, Zorbaz, and Taco John's. My entire family made it back to Perham as well. We had a blast...it was really hard leaving. That list includes Tammy, Paul, Zach, Hayden, Ana, Brenda, Tony, Faith, Bryce and Ty. As you can see in the photo below, there are no barbers within a 20 mile radius of Perham. Zach and Hayden...that was directed at you...
We were also able to watch our nephew Hayden play a few hockey games. Nothing beats watching hockey, except watching basketball, unless your nephew, who loves checking people, is playing, then I guess hockey is pretty fun. All kidding aside, Hayden played great and it was a blast watching him spend several minutes in the penalty box.
We also made it to Brainerd to watch our nephew Zach swim. Zach did great in all of the events he raced in. He has already qualified for sections in the 200 individual medley, the 200 butterfly, the 200 breaststroke, and the 400 relay. I can hardly wait to see how he does at Sections and see if he can make it to State. Oh, and ladies...grab a number...look at those pipes!
PART I
Our first stop on our whirlwind tour of Minnesota was Mankato. We spent several days in Mankato to see Laurie's family. The Sellners are a blast, especially with little Max running at full speed. Everyone in Laurie's family made the trip to Mankato including Scott, Lana, Hannah, Emily, Keri, Dave, and Max. We also spent some time with Laurie's aunt Deanna and her Grandma. We had a blast! It was a full house at Bonnie and Gene's, which made for some fun entertainment. One can only imagine...
The days at the Sellner "Homestead" were primarily spent playing games with the kids, building snow forts, watching movies (Despicable Me gets 4 stars), eating tons of great food, and watching our youngest nephew Max run, and run, and run, and then run some more. I needed at least two cans of Mountain Dew a day to keep up. This little guy is destined to be a track star. The snow fort that Scott, Dave and I built ended up turning into a small city, with a couple of hills for sledding and several tunnels. Hannah and Emily, the supervisors of the construction, were pretty impressed.
Our next encounter with the Sellners will be in March, when Laurie and I meet Bonnie and Gene in Fort Myers to watch a few Twins Spring Training games. Only 22 days until pitchers and catchers report! I will be sure to let all you Minnesotans know how warm it is in Florida...
PART II
Next on our whirlwind tour was a stop in lovely Perham, MN. The short five hour drive from Mankato to Perham was much better this year than in the last two years, given we didn't run into any snow. The highlights of our Perham visit included lots of sledding, playing games with the kids, watching a lot of hockey and swim meets, and of course, eating at number of fine establishments such as Mrs. B's, Pizza Ranch, Zorbaz, and Taco John's. My entire family made it back to Perham as well. We had a blast...it was really hard leaving. That list includes Tammy, Paul, Zach, Hayden, Ana, Brenda, Tony, Faith, Bryce and Ty. As you can see in the photo below, there are no barbers within a 20 mile radius of Perham. Zach and Hayden...that was directed at you...
Here are some pics from the day spent at Perham Hill...
We were also able to watch our nephew Hayden play a few hockey games. Nothing beats watching hockey, except watching basketball, unless your nephew, who loves checking people, is playing, then I guess hockey is pretty fun. All kidding aside, Hayden played great and it was a blast watching him spend several minutes in the penalty box.
We also made it to Brainerd to watch our nephew Zach swim. Zach did great in all of the events he raced in. He has already qualified for sections in the 200 individual medley, the 200 butterfly, the 200 breaststroke, and the 400 relay. I can hardly wait to see how he does at Sections and see if he can make it to State. Oh, and ladies...grab a number...look at those pipes!
PART III
After a few days in Perham, Laurie and I made the trip back to Minneapolis and Saint Paul to visit with friends. I met a bunch of buddies at Joe Senser's in Bloomington for some beer, food, and sports, while Laurie met up with some of her old high school friends for another Chirstmas party. The next day was spent preping for the night ahead...New Years. We went with a bunch of friends to the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin and it was a blast! Here are some pics from the night...
I still don't know why Laurie was laughing so hard...I look good!
And, as a finale, this was our buddy Brian the next day at lunch. Priceless.
That's it for now. Stay tuned! You never know when another posting could pop up out of nowhere!
- Bobby
After a few days in Perham, Laurie and I made the trip back to Minneapolis and Saint Paul to visit with friends. I met a bunch of buddies at Joe Senser's in Bloomington for some beer, food, and sports, while Laurie met up with some of her old high school friends for another Chirstmas party. The next day was spent preping for the night ahead...New Years. We went with a bunch of friends to the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin and it was a blast! Here are some pics from the night...
I still don't know why Laurie was laughing so hard...I look good!
And, as a finale, this was our buddy Brian the next day at lunch. Priceless.
That's it for now. Stay tuned! You never know when another posting could pop up out of nowhere!
- Bobby
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