One of the reasons that we moved to the Crystal Coast was to get away from snow and ice. We have shoveled plenty over the years including some serious storms last year at our place in Roanoke, Virginia.
On top of that ten years in Canada gave us enough snow for a lifetime so I was a little disappointed when a snowstorm where we supposedly had a 50% chance for an inch or so turned into a real storm giving our area four to seven inches.
Upfront, I will say that when we lived on the farm in Fredericton, New Brunswick, they did not even plow the roads until there was over six inches of snow on the ground. Anything less was considered just a way for the Royal Road to be a little smoother for a while.
Our Saturday storm here on the coast came down pretty quick, and while I am certain that I could have gotten anywhere that I really needed to go, I chose to stay inside and avoid any icy spots and drivers who probably don't have a lot of experience driving on snow and ice.
In fact I let the "cuddle up in a blizzard" instinct take over. We used to get some really serious storms in Canada. We heated with wood, had kerosene lamps, and spring fed water, and plenty of food in the freezer, so we just settled back and watched it snow. Normally anything that broke on the farm, you fixed yourself anyway.
While I always had to go out at least once a day to feed our cattle, I had the equipment to do it, and even in storms as big as 38" in a day, I managed to get that done.
Once you give in to the weather, and enjoy what you can do and quit worrying about what you cannot do, the stress of a situation that is beyond your power tochange is gone.
It turned out that I did not mind being "snowed in at the beach" nearly as much as I thought I would. It was a nice break in the routine of a cold winter.
I got to take lots of pictures, and we had some great meals and fun just messing around the house.
The good news is that the driveway did not require shoveling. While some of the roads over on Emerald Isle got icy because they had more snow, ours were fine the next day.
Today, most of the rest of the snow disappeared. So if the new world order is that we end up with one snow a year which melts off the driveway by noon the next day, I think that I can handle it.
What I cannot handle is snow on the ground from late October until early May. That was Canada, and it was fine when I was young, but it is more than my sixty plus year old body wants to face.
I will take the normally warm North Carolina coast and know in my heart that in all likelihood this snow at the coast nonsense will not last long.
These are some pictures from our January 22, 2011 snowstorm.
