Snow Driving

Yesterday, my kids had a snow day. When the school's automated call came in saying school was canceled, I turned off my alarm clock and went back to sleep. I figured both kids would sleep in, but no. The Boy was up, talking on the phone, quietly hovering around my bedroom, waiting for me to wake up. As soon as I stirred, he pounced.

"Can you drive me to View Ridge Park?" he asked. 

Um, no, I thought. They canceled school because of bad driving conditions, not because the snow is pretty and people should spend the day making snowpeople and drinking hot chocolate. Plus, I'd have to drive up and down a few steep hills to get there. I have never driven in Seattle in the snow, mainly because I have been too afraid to drive my car off of my hill with a 15% grade. I've seen all-wheel drive cars speed up our hill, and then slide back down. Pemco Insurance has a Northwest Profile for "First Snowflake Freakout Lady." That is me.

"Maybe," I said. "Let's see how the roads are. Maybe you can take a bus." The Boy then decided to put on his shoes, walk to the coffee shop around the corner, and get breakfast. I went upstairs and looked out his window to get a better view of the giant hill on NE 55th Street. In five minutes, I saw one car drive down, and no cars drive up. Forget it.

When he can back, his plans had been updated. He wanted me to drive him to a friend's house in Meadowbrook, a few miles away.

"You can take Ravenna Blvd to 15th to Lake City, and then you'll be fine," he said. "Ravenna Blvd. looks good. Lake City will be better." The day before, the rest of my family went skiing at Snoqualmie where the pass was closed in the morning for too much snow. As soon as the pass opened, they left. The Boy was thinking if our all wheel drive car can manage driving on the highway with snow and ice, surely it can handle the side streets.

The Boy was kind and sweet and batting his puppy dog eyes at me. "Okay," I said, "but you might have to walk the last three blocks if the side streets are bad."

"Sure," he said.

We got in the car and drove up the hill--no problem. We got on Ravenna Blvd--no problem. We got on 15th--no problem. We got on Lake City Way--no problem. We got to the Meadowbrook side streets--no problem. We were one of a handful of cars on the bare and wet roads.

The drive home was equally uneventful. I was worried that the hardest part would be finding a place to park. Parallel parking on a hill is hard enough without snow and slush, but I made it to the top of the hill and parked--no problem. It was almost as if the snow in Seattle was part of a conspiracy to give everyone a day off of work and school.

For the past twelve years I've lived in Seattle, I haven't driven in the snow. Some of those years, I didn't have an all-wheel drive car, but still. While there is something homey and cozy about staying home when it snows, I can't believe how much I missed.