Will I ever make it home!

So where I left off was after a nice Sunday in Dublin. We caught our bus back to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Once through security and near our gate, we heard the weather was a little bad in London and saw we would be delayed. Well the delay kept getting worse, and was eventually pushed back to 1 1/2 hours delayed. Another flight into London had been cancelled, so we began to get awfully worried we would be stranded in Dublin. We had heard from people in London that there was tons of snow falling and didn't seem like it would lighten up. Around 9 they began to board our flight and we were in the air close to 10. We felt good as the plane safely landed and we were on the ground, but were now worried we wouldn't make all our tube connections in order to get home.

We caught the 2nd to last tube from Heathrow on the Picadilly line and discovered quickly that the weather was awful. Our tube struggled to make it down the tracks as it was covered in snow. The electricity plus snow didn't mix well and as we were in the last car, we saw a fireworks like display of sparks on the majority of the trip. It was extremely scary at first because we didn't know if the car would catch fire, we'd get electrocuted or if the train would be able to carry on. About 5 stops from our final destination, the train began to coast and then came to a halt. The driver came on the loudspeaker and informed us we would be holding there for a little bit as the train in front of us wasn't going...and oh yeah, we had lost the electrical current and would be there "for a long time." So now we're on a full tube, in the middle of nowhere, above ground, thankfully, watching the snow fall and the scared expressions on the majority of peoples' faces. We feared he wouldn't be able to get things started again and we'd have to walk in the dark and snow to find help. Thankfully, after an hour, things came back on and we began the slow scary trek again. With more sparks than ever, it looked like a strobe light outside the car as he began to accelerate. One of the craziest, funniest, scariest things I have ever experienced. Approximately 2 hours after leaving Heathrow we made it to the Earl's Court stop and knew we had missed our connection onto the District line to return to Putney.

As no more tubes were going that evening, all public bus service had been cancelled, and taxis couldn't be found or called to come, panic struck us again. We thought we would wait things out until the morning in the station and catch the earliest train. The snow was really coming down and about 15 people were hovering inside the station until the worst thing could happen...the station had to close. They literally threw us out into the cold, snowy darkness with no remorse. People looked stunned and we were at a loss for what to do. Too far to walk, no public/private transport available...thankfully Jenna sparked the idea of us having to get a hotel. The lightbulb went off and I remembered the hotel I stayed in while Mom and Dad were hear was only 2 streets away from the tube station. By the grace of God, we walked through the snow to the hotel and a nice man was sitting at the front desk. He understood our crazy story and gave us 2 rooms for the evening, even at a discounted rate! We got into the room around 1:30 am and wanted to crash, but watched about 30 minutes of the Super Bowl. Go Steelers!!

The next morning we realized we weren't going to be able to get into work on time and tried to call the hospital. As no one answered in the PT department, Speech Dept (where Laura works) or Pharmacy (where Georgia works), we knew things couldn't be good. We left messages at each place, and headed downstairs for a nice breakfast. After that, Jenna and I walked to the station and found out our line, District to Wimbledon, had just been opened. We hurried back, checked out of the hotel, got the girls and caught the tube. As we approached our stop, East Putney, the driver slowed the tube some, but then carried on. After a minute he informed us that stop and the next one was closed. We were again in a bind. With no other public transportation working (no buses, few overground trains, no taxis), we were lost for what to do. We took the tube into Wimbledon, jumped on the next train back towards our station and stopped at one past, which is on the otherside of the River Thames. From there, we got out and prepared for the longest worst walk ever. We crossed the bridge, which was covered in ice and snow. Thankfully my great luggage from REI has straps and can be carried like a backpack, but everyone else had to drag their luggage through the snow. After 1 1/2 hours of walking with a quick stop into a coffee shop, we showed up at the hospital with luggage in hand. Things were crazy there as most people did not show up at work and the physios, dieticians, etc were acting like nurses to ensure all patients got bathed, fed, and changed for the day. They allowed us to go home and take the day off. Once in the nurses home, I relaxed for a bit, did some laundry, then took a nap.

Today, things were nearly back to normal, but I was so exhausted from the day before I had to return to the nurses home from 9-11 and take a nap. My mentor wasn't there and I could hardly keep my eyes open so they allowed me to go home. I returned for the afternoon and felt much better. Now I'm hear to fill you all in and then will go home and crash. Hopefully you heard about the drama here in London with the snow and now you've heard our real life experiences too. The area we're in had about 6-8 inches of snow and it kept coming down all day yesterday. No more snow today, but things are slowly getting back to normal. Most of the streets are cleared as people are driving now, but many of the sidewalks are covered with frozen, icy slush. The forecast is calling for more snow Thursday and Friday, so we're unsure about our trip to Barcelona this weekend. We'll keep our fingers crossed! Hope to blog again soon!