Thanksgiving 2010. Bainbridge Island. (Post 1 0f 6)

These pics of Logan and Ellie are how they looked and felt during a six hour car ride in Seattle. The drive from the airport to the ferry terminal should have taken us 15 minutes. It took us SIX HOURS!!!!! Absolutely in sane!!! I know folks here in Utah thought they got a big storm....but people....you do not know big storm until you've lived in it the Seattle area. It is unbelievable....very few, if any salt and sand trucks. The moisture and humidity there turn everything to ICE. There were thousands of cars on the freeway that couldn't move. You could see the thickness of the ice on the freeway. There were abandoned cars everywhere---right in the middle of freeways!!! Cars with no people in them. Cars parked on the hilly roads in Seattle, SLID down the hills. PARKED CARS!!!

The kids did amazingly well in the car that long. I almost cried I had to use the bathroom so bad. There was nowhere to go....all industrial area off the freeway. When we were finally at the ferry terminal after SIX HOURS in the car, we couldn't wait to brave the blizzard and go into the ferry terminal McDonald's for hot chocolate. We should have known--it was closed due to weather. So we braved the blizzard back to the car and waited in the car for the ferry. I talked to one of Shari's ward members on the ferry and she told us not to get off on Bainbridge Island, but to stay on the ferry and head back to Seattle. She said we'd never make it to Shari's house on the island. Too remote, no emergency vehicles or cleared roads. Uhm....what to do??? There was no way we'd get anywhere in Seattle with all the hills. We were in a rental car...not a 4-wheel drive!!!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. (Shari's house on the island).....the power went out hours before we arrived. And stayed out for two DAYS!! We DID get off the ferry on the island and attempt to make it to the house. The normal five minute drive took us over an hour. The heaviness of the ice on the trees had knocked trees down over many of the roads and we had to figure out a back way to get there. Twisty, frozen, hilly roads....I was finally nervous. Abandoned cars were off the roads everywhere. We arrived late, to a pitch black house with no people home. Why was nobody home, you ask? Well....you have only read half the story.

Hours earlier, we got a call from Shari saying that they were on their way to the hospital. Larry had passed out, looked like heart trouble. Because of the storm and trees down, it took the ambulance 30 minutes to get to their house. Luckily Jeff has been an EMT and knew what to do. In the candlelight, with no electricity, mind you. Ironically, as we were FINALLY in line waiting for the ferry.....off comes an ambulance with Larry in it!!! We watched them all drive past us, and then we drove on to the ferry to head the other direction!!! Turns out Larry did have a serious heart attack. A series of small and not-so-small miracles kept him alive that night. He was in the hospital for two days, and came home just in time for the power to come back on.

The day Larry came home we "heart-attacked" a wall for him. He was in a bit of denial about the massiveness of his heart-attack. So we made it funny, letting him know he had officially been heart attacked!! A little light-heartedness for a very serious heart ATTACK!! We are so grateful that he is now OK. In fact, his heart suffered no long-term damage, he has a stint in the collapsed artery, and is now breathing better than he has in years. Heart problems are hereditary for him, but we are sure he will beat the odds and live to be a very old man. Darin even mentioned looking at this picture, that Larry looks young for his age. I agree!!!

So.....between the six hour car ride on icy roads, the power out for two days, and the heart-attack.....the first couple of days of the trip were quite an adventure!!!