WHITE CHRISTMAS

Not really . . . how about "White Christmas Travel," or "White Day-After Christmas"?

Christmas service was subdued; come to think of it, so was Christmas Eve. We had our lowest turnout yet for that service. That, of course, led this never-overly optimistic priest to ask, "What have I been doing wrong for the last three years that I can't even get people to come for Christmas Eve?"

Oh well . . . such is life.

So after the Christmas Day service, opening a few gifts, and packing the car, we headed west to see the Ref Parents. We drove to Cd'A the first day because Mrs. Ref found a "two-star hotel for only $44."

Let me just say here that that was the best two-star hotel I've ever spent the night at. The rooms were great. The shower was great. The pool was open 24 hours (the kids were happy). They had a nice office center for guests. And the continental breakfast was very good (Mrs. Ref would have preferred fresh waffles to the selection of Eggo's, as well as wishing they had offered more than just apples). It was worth spending the night there and breaking up the trip.

Tuesday brought snow to the area, and it snowed pretty much from Coeur d'Alene (Core duh Lane) all the way to Snoqualmie Pass. Two things about that drive.

First . . . Pay attention. If you happen to be driving in snow and slush, please don't ever forget that slush can be very dangerous. I personally find changing lanes and passing trucks to be some of the scariest things I do during winter driving.

Second . . . I heard somewhere once that when Nascar drivers are faced with an accident immediately in front of them they drive directly into and then through the smoke. That is, apparently, because the spinning car in front of them that causes the smoke won't be there when you go through.

Folks . . . this really works. Or at least it did for me yesterday. And the smoke in question wasn't smoke but a generous portion of slush sprayed up and across my windshield by the car spinning out of control in front of me because the driver apparently forgot Rule #1 up there.

Hoping that there weren't any bends in the freeway at that particular time, I drove straight into and through the slush. Mrs. Ref looked up from her book in time to see headlights coming at us. I was having visions of having the Volvo logo stamped to my forhead. Luckily that didn't happen. And as the slush cleared off my window,I was able to see that the road did not bend at that point. Which was good. And then I was able to look back through my rearview mirror and see that the driver of the vehicle had managed to a) not hit anybody else on the road, and b) regain control of his car without ditching it. I'm not sure what he did after that, but I'm guessing that he had quite the adrenaline rush.

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, if tiring. We stopped for gas and food in Ellensburg and spent 40 minutes standing in line at Wendys because every traveller in Washington was in town and the management had only seen fit to staff the place with four people that day (or maybe the other help couldn't get in because of the snowstorm). But we finally ate and headed on our way. We arrived just in time for dinner at the Ref Parents house.

I could bore you with other details of my vacation, but why? I'll just say that I'm glad I'm undamaged.