Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Too Wet To Be Dry

Rain!  It sure was wet today.  The cars were wet, the streets were wet, the sidewalks were wet, the people walking on the sidewalks were wet after the wet cars riding on wet roads splashed them.... It was just an all-around wet wet day.

So my drive home from work was an adventure.  My daughter had an after-school activity and didn't need to be picked up until 4:50, so I left at around 3:30, and headed up Colesville Road.  Traffic was moving pretty well, and despite the rain, I figured that I was in for a quick drive home.  I even thought I might have some time to stop off at the store and pick up some dinner before picking up my daughter.

As I approached the Beltway, traffic came to a halt.  I turned on WTOP just in time to hear about the traffic issues around the area.  Colesville Road was underwater just past Four Corners, so that wasn't an option for me.  There was an accident on I-95 north at Rt. 212, so I didn't want to go that way.  I decided US 1 was the best option, so that's where I headed.  The Beltway east crawled all the way past New Hampshire Ave.  Traffic going west wasn't even moving.  It broke loose just past NH Ave., but the traffic headed north on the I-95 ramp was moving very slowly.  I moved along at a good pace to the exit for US 1 north, but US 1 was a parking lot.  Then I heard the next traffic report, and heard that US 1 north was underwater just past Beltsville!  We crawled to Montgomery Ave. and I turned left and went up to Powder Mill Road.  I could see I-95 north and it was moving at speed.  That was the break I needed.  But I was stopped through multiple red lights and a lot of bailout traffic from Route 1 before I could get there.

Once on I-95, I hauled.  Traffic was surprisingly light.  I don't know why.  Then I got the next traffic report:  there was another accident on I-95 north at Rt. 216, my exit!  I jumped off of I-95 at Rt. 198 and went east.  I looked at the clock.  After all of the detours and heavy traffic, it was already 4:50.  I was going to be late picking up my daughter.  I sent her a text via my Jeep's blue tooth system to let her know I was running late, and I continued on up to 7th Street.  Seventh turns into Rt. 216.  Traffic was light, but it was still raining pretty hard.  I finally got to Stephens Road....almost there!  But the road was closed!!! There was water covering the road ahead.  How was I going to get around THIS obstacle???

I stopped and watched a couple of cars inch through the water streaming over the road.  The made it without any difficulty.  I decided, with my Jeep, I could easily traverse the overflowing creek, so I took the chance.  I don't advocate doing this.  I've heard of too many drivers over confidently driving through obstacles like this one and getting washed away.  Fortunately, I made it across without incident.  An on-coming car wasn't quite as lucky.  It stalled out trying to drive through the water, and several people stopped to help the guy push his car back out.  I was able to pick up my daughter without any problems.  I apologized to the volunteer parent who helped watch the kids who hadn't been picked up yet.  She said not to worry, that they were aware of the road closures and that some parents might be late.  I thanked her and we came home.

Faithful Pup Scout did not want to go out in the rain.  I forced her.  She wasn't happy about it.  Now Scout was wet.  She matches me, the cars, the sidewalks, the roads, our house, and just about everything else outside that's wet.  Did I mention it's wet?

Have a great evening, everyone!  Stay dry!

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