There are two types of people in this world- those who love to drive and those who don’t. If you are a person of the former persuasion, you remember the very first time you were in a moving car by yourself as one of the most amazingly liberating experiences of your life. That first weekend you got your license you drove everywhere just for the sake of driving. That was when you realized that a car was so much more than a car. It could take you anywhere on the continent. A car is freedom.
For me, that essential love for driving has not changed. Nothing beats a summer day behind the wheel with the windows rolled down and the long road ahead of me. I do however, have mild heart palpitations thinking about making trips to Vermont in the middle of winter, and this is because of a seven hour panic attack I like to call my trip back from Mt. Snow two years ago. The weather report had predicted one inch of snow in Boston. We actually got eight inches, so by hour five of what should have been a two hour drive I was threatening to pull over and camp out for the night. Fortunately, I was not alone. I had my friend Molly to calm me down every five minutes, and every time we saw another car crashed on the side of the Mass Pike. It went something like this: “I’m starting to panic again! Talk me down Molly! TALK ME DOWN!”
Oh, but I forgot the first leg of the trip, on our way to Vermont, when it was also snowing and we were skidding on ice every few miles. This was before I had a GPS and our online directions took us down an unlit, snow-covered, one lane road with a 90 foot drop to one side of it. I think I drove about an inch a minute on that one. All I could think about was how we were going to skid and go careening off that cliff and Molly’s parents would never forgive me for killing their daughter. Of course there were no houses to be seen anywhere in case of an emergency. Have I mentioned yet that I now refuse to drive in Vermont in winter? (See also: Maine, New Hampshire and parts of Western Massachusetts.) I am a very bad New Englander.
For me, like many people, being in an untouched, deserted, natural spot has great appeal. I just prefer that it be an untouched, deserted spot with no threat of blizzards, high winds, or ice of any kind. In those cases, I want there to be people around, preferably in droves. Given my experiences in the last few years, I let Brendan drive on our trip to Stowe this past weekend. I can’t even say that the trip was uneventful. I was all but hyperventilating from the passenger’s seat the last hour of our journey up there in the snow. Another night, our friend Dana found herself and her 4 wheel drive vehicle lodged in a snow bank after hitting a patch of ice on the road where we were staying, which most likely has still not seen a plough since. Fortunately no one was hurt and with a little help from AAA, the car was rescued.
As far as events on the mountain this weekend, there were some pretty spectacular tumbles and nosedives amidst our group of twelve, or as I should call it, “Opera Singers on Skis 2012”. But again, no one was hurt there either and a great time was had by all.
I am sad to say that being chauffeured may be the only way I will willingly venture to the great state of Vermont from January through March. And with my current schedule, next season will probably be the nearest chance I have of going anyway. Curse those Vermonters taunting me with their beautiful mountains and delicious cheese! Let me know if you want to go skiing sometime next year. Drivers welcome.
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