How NOT to cap off a very good weekend.

Late yesterday I posted about the snow, the good neighbour we have, and the fact that I was going to my in-laws for dinner. Not just any dinner, but homemade Donairs, a personal family favourite. The purpose of the trip was to A. Eat, B. Drop-off our gifts for Christmas as we are heading North this year.

PC was coming from Ottawa at the same time I was heading to Max-vegas. As I set out on the backroads, the roads conditions went from poor to bad to very bad. As I was half way to the main highway... I thought about turning around, but given that I was already in the bad conditions, I thought manoeuvring a turn around would be just as difficult as plowing forward to meet PC.

I decided to continue plowing... and did so straight into a ditch.

Visibility at the time was extremely poor... and on the backroads I was between two farmers fields, completely covered in snow, and on a road, completely covered in snow - with absolutely no markers, except a sign 30 meters back that indicated an S curve. I did my best to navigate the S curve for memory... but as bad luck would have it, apparently I was a little too far to the left.

Luckily, my entrance into the ditch was performed in rather stylish fashion... as my left tire left the road, pulling the entire Escape ever-so graciously to the left with it. I screamed, said a few favourable words, and as the snow shot up over the windshield, I was sitting pretty with Keith Urban's 'I Told You So' playing on the ipod.

I sat in the truck for about a minute before plotting my next move. I was okay, the truck was okay, and the boat load of gifts going to the in-laws were exactly were I had originally set them in the back set. Everything was OK.

I tried to backout of the ditch a few times, but nothing would budge. I was still a little flustered ... with my hands shaking rather rapidly - I reached for the cell phone.

First call: PC.

PC: What's wrong.
Me: I'm in the ditch (in tears).

PC: Are you okay?
Me: Yes (in tears).

PC: Are you sure?
Me: Yes (in tears).

PC: Where are you?
Me: In the ditch.

PC: WHERE in the ditch?
Me: (laughing but crying) Route 300 and St. Thomas, near the curve.

PC: Okay... call CAA, and we will be there shortly.
Me: You won't be able to get down the road in the car, its bad.

PC: It's okay, just call CAA.
Me: Okay.

So... I call CAA, I am sure with 40 cms of snow in Ottawa and the surrounding area they probably haven't had a call all day!

CAA is busy, busy, busy - not even a 'Thank you for calling, your call is important to us' - nope, just a busy signal. PC calls back shortly to tell me that our friend/neighbour Pat (not the snow-blower neighbour), is on his way to get me.

And he was... in 15 minutes I was sitting pretty in his Escape... and we were on our way to get PC at the 417. Pat got us back to the house safely... and a half hour later we got through to CAA, and got the call out for a tow truck in the area.

At 8:55 pm, two and half hours after we placed the call, the tow-truck called to say he was at our vehicle. PC and Pat headed back out and by 9:30 pm, the Escape was back in the drive-way, safe and sound.

What a night! I should have never been on the roads in the first place. I talked to my Mother-in-law before going out, who suggested that we didn't come at all due to the weather, but given that she was making donairs, and it was the only night that both PC and I had to deliver our Christmas gifts to them - I really wanted to go.

I know... STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. And I feel just that, STUPID. But in all the stupidity, I am thankful for a few things:

1. I was not hurt - a little shook up, but not physically hurt.
2. That I have a great husband in a situation that isn't so great.
3. For our neighbour Pat, LIFESAVER.
4. That there was no damage to anyone or anything.
5. Donairs can be refrigerated and reheated!

This post has gotten to be very long, I will have to bail on the update of my productive weekend. But I promise to divulge that info in another post, soon to come.