Day 2 – The Ice Storm

We woke up at 6am and had the continental breakfast at the Best Western. It was pretty good. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, danish, bagels, etc. They boys ate a ton of food. We hit the road around 7am and made it to Huber Heights, Ohio around noon where we stopped at a fast food chain called Steak n’ Shake known for burgers and shakes. Jack liked it a lot. I thought the shake was really good.

We stopped at Greenfield Rest Stop in Indiana, just outside Indianapolis, to give Lauren her first shift at driving. It was cold outside and the skies were grey but other than that the weather seemed fine. As we approached Indianapolis it started to snow, just flurries at first, but eventually heavier snow started to fall and the wind picked. Soon it started to accumulate on the streets and the snow was joined by freezing rain. We learned that Indiana doesn’t really know how to deal with snow and freezing rain as well as we do in the northeast and within an hour the roads were treacherous.

We talked briefly about switching drivers again but instead passed a rest stop and kept going. Lauren was doing great, but she was nervous. We were going pretty slow and I thought we would be fine, but we came up over a hill and you could feel the back end begin to fishtail. Lauren tried to correct it but it was impossible with the snow and ice underneath and it became clear that we were going to crash. Luckily there were no cars or tractor trailers around us as we did a 180 in the middle of I70 before sliding off the highway and coming to a stop in the sunken median between the eastbound and westbound lanes.

We had been heading west but were now facing east. Lauren jumped quickly into the backseat and I moved into the driver’s seat to see if I could get us out of the ditch, but it was obviously pointless. We were stuck. Lauren called AAA while I simultaneously called 911. Luckily due to our upgrade we had the navigation system which helped us to pinpoint our location for the police and AAA.

Then we waited, sitting ducks in the middle of the highway. The storm was worsening and the visibility was near zero. Tractor trailers were driving by far faster than conditions allowed and if they hit the same spot as us at the top of the hill it might propel them into us and then my sister’s prophecy that either she or I was going to die during my vacation would have come true. After about half an hour, while we were on our second call with 911, a state police cruiser pulled up in the eastbound lane with his lights flashing.

A Indiana State Police Officer got out of his car and walked down the median to talk with us. He was awesome. He got into the backseat to see if there was anything I could do to get the Expedition moving but agreed that we were hopelessly stuck. He volunteered to bring us to the rest center up the road in two trips. I had Lauren, Michael and AJ go with him on the first trip while I waited behind with Jack and David. Lauren texted me a few minutes later that they had arrived safely and that he would be back for us in about 20 minutes.

While we waited a tow truck pulled up that was not AAA associated but they offered to pull us out for $85 bucks. I told him I’d give him $100 to pull us out. I’m a terrible negotiator. As he pulled us out the state trooper again came up behind me. I then followed the tow truck back to the rest stop where Lauren waited and the police officer followed behind me. When I got back to the rest stop I shook hands with the police officer and the two truck driver. They both advised me to go east and find a hotel and wait out the storm. I grabbed Lauren and the younger boys from inside the rest stop and we slid carefully back onto the eastbound side of the highway.

We had reservations in Springfield, Illinois that night and plans to visit Lincoln’s house the next morning. If we stayed outside of Indianapolis that part of our trip was over. We talked briefly about getting a room versus taking our chances and heading back into the storm and we all agreed to go for it. It felt like a bad idea almost instantly, as we had to exit the eastbound side and then get back on the westbound side. We had to pass the same area where we had crashed. By now the highway had just one passable lane. I was able to get back on – the onramps were almost impassable – and made a commitment to stay in that one lane and go as slow as possible even if I caused a major traffic jam, but for the most part everyone was doing the same thing and kept their distance.

We had a few scary moments when going downhill where I had to tap the breaks and feared going into another slide, but luckily most of Indiana is flat. We counted dozens of cars that were stuck including a box truck on its side and a tractor trailer that had jackknifed off the highway, but we pushed forward carefully. As we approached Springfield many hours later the temperature increased above freezing and the rain was just rain.

We checked in to our hotel at around 8:30 pm (we had expected to be there by 4:30). We walked in cold and windy weather to a brew pub where we ate dinner and toasted our success (me with a bourbon). Hell of a day.

Number of States: 4

Total Miles Driven: 684