Chicago Snowmaggedon 2011

I began to experience Snowmaggedon 2011 at 2:00pm on Tuesday. Walking down North Ave near Dearborn, I was nearly blinded by icy snow as I headed east down the street. Later, I made it to the South Loop only to be dismisssed from my job early. I tried hopping in a cab, but the cab's back wheel drive didn't allow us to make it more than 1 block before almost slamming into 2 buses and an SUV. Fearing for my life I kindly told the driver to let me out. I jumped on the Red line train, a much safer choice, to meet my co-worker at a the Grand stop armed with a Jeep with 4 wheel drive.

Hungry, we wondered what establishment downtown would be open. We passed many places with small signs in the window stating they closed early due to weather. We tried our luck at one of our usual spots--Timothy O'Tools. O'Tools was open for business and extremely busy. We enjoyed Nachos and beers waiting for rush hour traffic to die down before heading back out into the blizzard.

Driving west to my apartment in Ukrainian Village was quite the trip. Although we faired much better than people driving on Lakeshore Drive or heading out to the "burbs"-- we saw many struggling motorists and pedestrians as we flew by in the Jeep. Even a Chicago Police SUV was fish tailing down the street!

Finally cozy in my apartment away from the elements, lightening flashed through the sky accompanied by little rumbles of thunder. What odd weather!! Wednesday morning I woke up to the sounds of people digging out their cars and clearing sidewalks. The photo above is the mess people have been contending with post-snowmaggedon. Being carless in the city has never felt so good!

Despite having to head to work for a short while on Wednesday evening, I was happy to spend the majority of the day nestled in my bed, eating snacks, responding to my parent's voicemails with concerns of my survival, and catching up on some reading. I hope Snowmaggedon 2011 brought everyone exciting stories and a nice lazy day off!!!

Also check out this small news clip: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/03/us-weather-chicago-idUSTRE71180W20110203