Ok, so I should have driven the day before, or watched the news, or rented an suv. I collided with the snow somewhere in Connecticut and it was slow moving from there. The annoying part isn't the snow itself but driving alongside people who can't drive in the snow, or not at all. New Yorkers are worse. I gave up on I684 and decided to take my chances on NY117 through Bedford. Good call.

Outside Chappaqua an SUV was heading toward me and spun out into a snow pile off the road. A 4WD doesn't mean you can't slide, it just means that power is delivered to all 4 wheels. Therefore the hint in getting out of spin has something to do with the other pedal. Anyway my turn would be next in my Hertz extortion front wheel drive Mazda.

My mom lives above Warren in Hawthorne. For those not suburb aware it's all up hill, no matter which way you go. I'm tired. Impatient. There's several inches of snow on the ground. I missed dinner. The right thing to do was stash the car and walk. But when in Rome. I try each hill and go as fast as I can until I get half way up and slide back down. I was pleased with my car-ramming ability (after all, it's a rental) until I missed the road on a backward slide. I was stuck and feeling stupid. Lo and behold while I'm sitting there another car executes the same procedure (we must learn this in NY driving school) and winds up in the snow pile just in front of me. I informed him that he was stuck in case he didn't know.

What service though. A snow plow (not yet plowing any snow) stops by and we dig both vehicles out. One would say ditch the car at this point. But I wasn't done yet. With renewed determination I back up as far as I can for the climb up Liberty. I won't be defeated. Pumping the gas the car rotates left and right. The steering wheel is no longer a factor. It isn't catching so I'm pumping the gas hard to get some points for being stubborn. Burning rubber in the air. I make it! Then there's the next hill. I'm defeated.

A lot more driving around to find just the right climb without losing any precious altitude (and a bit of pushing near the end) gets me there. 7 hours for a 3 hour drive. Merry Christmas.

I should have gone skiing the next day but I decided to stay in New York since I arrived so late the day before. What to do. Go down to the city. Better yet, ignore the train station and drive down to the city while everyone is digging out. I had just finished shovelling the driveway and I don't get to do that very often where I live.

Many people had abandoned their cars on the parkways. The snow got to a point where traffic just stopped so I guess they walked home. Other than these obstacles on the side of the road traffic was light. Uh oh. Where does one get gas in Manhattan? 181st is an answer.

New York has more snowmen per capita than anyplace I've ever seen. Seems most people who blew off work went to Central Park, and built a snowman or two. The Great Lawn was almost comical.

And I discovered a new sport. Plenty of kids were riding down hills on these round little sleds. On my way in I saw a few people carrying skateboards with no wheels. How odd. Until I saw even more skateboarding down the snowy hills. I guess there isn't much call to buy snowboards in the city so when it does snow they make due.

And, of course, the obligatory viewing of the tree.