PSM kicked me out of the house…to Colorado to go ski! He’s so harsh! Ha Ha! He knows what it means to me and with my new job, I can do it, serious work/life balance. Besides, sometime in the next few months, he’s going to do the same to me, take off work and disappear to parts unknown. Works for me.

I packed up the car with my ski gear, it all fits in the car! and cleared out the fridge and freezer of al the things I knew PSM wouldn’t eat, I didn’t want it to go bad, besides, this helps me not eat out every meal, win-win. Even had the leftover ovo-vegan lasagna from Thanksgiving, it’s been in the freezer, and it’s still good! Here we go!

It was 59 degrees out, you know what that means! Yup, sweatshirt on, butt warmers on, drop the top! It was gorgeous! Eventually the top had to go up as the temperature dropped, which was alright, I could hear people on phone if they called and eventually it would be too cold for the top down. It was a good thing too, NM told me there was a snowstorm coming to Denver, it wasn’t predicted earlier in the week, I checked the weather. Ok… we could do it. I don’t know if you remember me telling you that we, Annie II and I, drove through the a bit of a snowstorm a few weeks ago coming back from Denver. Now…we’re getting on going to Denver, oh joy!

Annie II is a beast! I had her when I lived in Colorado years ago and she drove through the snow all the time, she even had to do some snow and ice driving in Atlanta when I lived there. So the snow started somewhere in Kansas, it is a very big state! I know it was after Topeka, but I couldn’t tell you where I was, only that it was Kansas.

It started as just snow coming at the car, then it progressively got stronger, slicker, and started to build up on the ground. I was able to keep driving in my Chucks for a long time, there was cover at the gas stations, and I would have to start kicking some of the snow from the wheel wells. Eventually, as I was driving through Denver, people were starting to skid out, the work trucks and snow plows were out in force. I had a few moments of “don’t use the break”, “go with the skid” nothing major, but I remembered my experiences while I was growing up in New York, driving, even learning to rock a car out of a snow bank, driving in Western New York, learning what to do when you start to skid. The skid warning light or traction control indicator came on a few times, but we were fine, just go with it.

One of the last time I stopped to get gas, I had to put on my wonderful, furry, winter boots, love them! I got out and got A LOT of snow from the wheel wells, that’s the only thing I worry about, it builds up so quickly and can mess with your driving abilities. As I was getting back on the highway, we spun a little, slowly, but we spun, not sure if it was lucky, but the snow was thick and soft, we righted and got back on the highway.

By now, the roads had cleared and it was just me, Annie II and the work trucks and snow plows, that was kind of interesting. Eventually, we got to Dillon, we made it to the house and into the garage, safe and sound. The trip took a little longer than it should, 13 hours turned into 15, but…

My car, my little beetle bug convertible, a car that is not known for driving in the snow, conquering the skids, mounds of snow, and slippery roads, but…Annie II is a champ and seems to love it, so…don’t tell her she doesn’t have 4-wheel drive, why crush her dreams!

Ok, so….I have to correct myself…sort of…I just looked up Beetles driving in the snow, and I had forgotten all about this and now I la la la love my car even more and know why she is a champ! She has front-wheel-drive, this gives her a natural advantage for dealing with snow and ice, it’s the weight distribution. Go Annie II! Oh yeah! Could I love this car any more?!