Stormy Weather
The fierce arctic storm that pounded California on Friday (1/4) could not deter me from driving to Southern California to help celebrate my youngest sister’s 48th birthday. Mary is also my lesbian sister so we hold a special bond in that regard.
With the aid of the California Transportation storm tracker and road conditions web sites, I calculated the normal 6 hour drive would extend to 8 hours. I managed to arrive in Los Angeles a couple of hours before the torrential rains flooded the area during the rush hour commute. Rush hour on L.A. freeways is bad enough but to experience it during torrential rains is downright ugly and frightening.
It’s not often I have the opportunity to enjoy a special evening out on the town with my sisters. The distance between our homes and the conditions of our lives make it difficult to do anything spontaneous. It takes a lot of planning and coordination for us to get together. For this reason I was determined to make the trip, however, brief. My sisters where sympathetic when I informed them I’d have to shorten our planned weekend in order to return to the bay area before the next storm system hit the state.
Early Saturday morning I mapped out a route that took me through picturesque Ojai Valley in Ventura County and along Highway 101. The dry roads and moderate to high visibility for approximately the first 200 miles made for a pleasant drive. Still, I didn’t want to take a chance of getting caught in the storm so I resolved not to make any detours for sightseeing—I’d only stop for fuel.