WATCH TALK FORUMS banner

A Different Kind of Trip Report>>>>>>>>>

3K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  Sea-Dweller 
#1 ·
Friday I drove from Dayton Ohio to Grand Rapids Michigan to spend the weekend with my son. Normally when I do this I leave Grand Rapids on Sunday around 3pm and I'm back hom around 7 or so as it's about a 4 hour drive. Knowing the weather was in question this weekend, I drove my wife's Acura TL as it is front wheel drive and is truly impressive on ice and snow...for less dangerous than my rear wheel drive Bimmer. :laugh:

When my son and I walked outside on Sunday morning, I was extremely pleased I brough the TL. The temperature had dropped to 0 degrees F., and about -25 degrees with the wind chill, and Grand Rapids got hit with lake effect snow that was to continue throughout the day. So unfortunately, I had to cut my visit short as more snow was coming.

I started heading East on I-96 and here's what the roads looked like:



I was the only car on the road for many miles:



It was bitter, bitter cold...worse than I can ever remember feeling:



I saw several cars that were in the ditch:



The further East I went, the better the conditions got (as I got further from Lake Michigan and the "lake effect" snow. Eventually I caught up with a few other drivers:



It even began warming up a little....heat wave!



Soon I actually found some black top road underneath the ice and snow:



It wasn't until I'd been driving for a good two hours that I hit Lansing and clean roads:



The closer I got to Ohio, the better the conditions got:



By the time I got back to the Dayton area, it was sunny and no snow...but still only 20 degrees F. with a nasty wind chill. I called my son to let him know I made it back safely and my ex-wife told me she'd been quite worried the last several hours...there had been an 8-car pile up on I96 not long after I left.....



I had to snap this wrist shot in my wife's car - the Acura TL is absolutely amazing on snow and ice! It never baubled once, and I passed every other car on the road.

 
See less See more
11
#8 ·
You can actually have a bit of fun driving in conditions like that if you know your car and your own abilities, obviously here in the UK we are NO stranger to weather like that!
If i had the choice of cars i would least like to drive in such conditions it would unquestionably be a BMW! If you don't have all-wheel-drive, front-wheel-drive is best.
I live in the city now so i no longer drive to work i get the bus, but years ago i used to live 30 or so miles away so i used to drive to work all year round. It's amazing how fast you get used to driving in conditions like that when you do it for 3 months a year!
Glad you made your trip safe john.
:wink:
 
#14 ·
A fellow Bull!! I went to USF!!!! I can only assume that you've eaten at CDB's pizza on Fowler Avenue?? It's still some of the best I've ever had! :biggrin: I grew up in Seffner but when I got married I made the big move a WHOLE FIVE MINUTES away to Brandon :lol: Do you still know anyone in the area??
 
#15 ·
Hmmm....CDB Pizza....can't remember that one... :confused1: I lived in Carlton Arms North appartments when I lived in Tampa on Fletcher. We used to have friends that lived in Brandon, but they moved away. I still have some friends over in St. Pete. And my father lives on the other side of the state in the Orlando area.
 
#16 ·
So what was your old stomping ground? Any favorite restaurants in Brandon/Tampa? I'll tell you what a small world it is John...when I was at USF, I actually dated a girl for a short while that was living at the Carlton Arms!! Not only that, but having lived in Youngstown, I've made my way over to Dayton more than once, especially since I had an aunt that was living in Miamisburg. Quite possible we've seen each other in passing once or twice and simply had no idea!! :laugh:

Dan
 
#17 ·
Wow...very scary....where does your aunt live in Miamisburg....I'll bet she lives no more than 5 miles from me. :eek:

Favorite stomping ground? Well....a buddy of mine who was in electrical engineering and I used to go to this little hole in the wall dive of a bar on Fowler called Casey's Cove....we went there for the hot wings....the drummies specifically which were the largest I've ever seen before or since. :drool:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top