As hard as it must be for you Aussies to believe, Team Thomas has just experienced their first blizzard. As we left the apartment on Saturday for a shopping expedition to Ikea in New Jersey, Joey the trusty doorman cautioned us to be home by 3pm “cause it’s gonna get nasty out there”. Without pausing to ask precisely what that meant we journeyed on. Sure, it was a bit overcast, but what could happen?
The strange public announcements at Ikea were our first signs of trouble – “the last bus will now run at 3:30pm, NOT 6pm as previously scheduled”, and “the staff party has been cancelled due to inclement weather”. Inclement weather? We’d better get a wriggle on.
We hurried to the checkouts and finally stepped outside into thick snow, with more of it blowing into our faces, and temperatures well below zero. It wasn’t looking good – but at least we were still inside the “last bus” timeframe. Unfortunately, so were the other 80 or so people who had already lined up in front of us. We took up the offer to stand in the aisle instead of sitting, figuring “it’s only 20 minutes!”, and fearing that if we waited for a seat then we’d be stranded for sure.
Sad for us – the 20 minute trip took almost an hour due to dangerous roads and a cautious driver. At least we weren’t amongst the many single-car accidents where people had simply lost control in the slippery conditions. Still, it wasn’t long before we disembarked, took a short subway ride home and faced our final 3 block walk – in the now ankle deep snow (and still falling). Add to that the labour of carrying our goods (including 2 doonas, a dinner-set, and cookware) – well, suffice to say it wasn’t pleasant.
So, for all you lovely folk who are planning a visit to the Thomas’ of New York – be sure to remember just what we went through to get you that warm doona!
Click here for some more photos of the snow.
7 comments
Brrr….i’m cold just reading about it! Shall we send over your ugh boots?!
Well, they <i>are</i> all the rage over here… they even have "Ugg Australia" written all over them! But they’re not the $20 variety you get from <a href="http://www.target.com.au/" target="_blank">Target</a> – more like $70, waterproof, snowproof, and knee-high!
Gerrod…<br><br>Even though it is freezing, I hope you are enjoying it!<br>We’ve seen the pictures in the news and can’t even imagine what it must be like!
You are the talk of sunny Queensland.With much concern from all around us. But we know you guys are having a blast!!!
Yeah I admit that we are enjoying it, though we’ve both fallen sick from the cold
. Just coughs and minor aches and pains, hopefully nothing that won’t pass…
Eek! You poor things…Start eating more so you have some fat reserves to keep you warm. Sorry for the late response..catching up on the last month of news while I have a moment. Can’t believe I missed out on the art comp too..damn!
Hehehee… oh well, maybe we’ll have to run another one later in the year – or some other competition. We’ll send you a personal invitiation