Well, our first adventure has taken place for this year...and we survived!  Call us crazy!  Call us nuts!  Call us whatever name comes to mind (don't be too harsh).  I can guarantee whatever you come up with, we have called ourselves the same thing.  So, what is this adventure?  Us two knuckleheads took a lovely drive to and from Fredericton today.  Not very exciting on a regular day, but add a couple inches of freezing rain and then throw in a continuous amount of rain (rainfall warning amount), wind and fog and you've got yourself a wet and wild ride.

We needed to pick up my brother that flew in to begin his second semester at NBBI.  We really had no idea that we had as much freezing rain as we did, so we thought we would try the roads.  Well, I blew the first stop sign and then the second, however, we are a side street and that won't deter us.  Roads through town were not the greatest, but we figured the highway would be better as there is generally more traffic and the plows would be out.  WRRRRROOOOOONG...as we glided out onto the the two lane sheet of ice.  Too late to turn back, we forged ahead.  Slow.  Steady.  Now, I took Young Drivers while obtaining my license and I took my in-car sessions during the winter.  One thing that they neglected to teach me was how to drive on roads completed covered in ice while it is raining.  Apparently, they think it's just better to stay off the roads.  So today I had my first lesson in ice-road truckin'.  Brakes - bad, shifting - good!  We reached a truck stop after 30 minutes of driving (normally a 15 minute drive) so Steve and I could switch.  When the van went into park, I began to get the chills and I also found out that too much nervous tension and my bladder don't get along.  The plows were starting  to appear with their salt and sand and some sections were getting a little slushy so Steve decided to press on.  Slow.  Steady.  He drove.  I prayed.  Hartland to Fredericton is 1 hour and 15 minutes...2 hours in we were stopped.  Two tractor trailers decided to combine forces and blocked off the highway.  We were getting so close.  We then back-tracked 15-20 minutes so we could take a secondary road.  It wasn't as good, but better than we expected.  Slow.  Steady.  After a quick stop for gas and a prescription at Costco, we arrived at the airport around 5:00pm...did I mention we left home at 1:30pm.  We had a quick bite to eat and then proceeded to make our way home.  Not far into the return trip, we were stopped again.  Another tractor trail had jack-knifed ahead (right by the scales).  Once that was cleared up we continued on our way.  The roads were a little better this time, but the rain was coming down pretty good.  I wasn't as tense either, however, I lost my temper at a few trucks.  What makes them think they are invincible in this weather?  Anyway, I must not get into that rant.  Because of these said trucks, I envisioned many accidents - thankfully, they did not occur.  I found myself singing the chorus to Chris Tomlin's song "Whom Shall I Fear" over and over: "I know Who goes before me.  I know Who stands behind.  The God of angel armies is always by my side."  It allowed me to envision that our van was hedged about...protection on all sides.  As moronic as we may have been, the Lord granted us safe travels.  We were ever so glad to see the sign for our cut-off and when the tires rested in the garage we let out a sigh of relief.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, we take adventures seriously.  Go BIG or go home - we did both today! This one is for the books!  We have decided we won't rush out to do that again, but realize the memories of this event will be enough for quite some time.

***Disclaimer:  We do not in any way promote driving in such treacherous conditions just to get your kicks.  You may not experience the same excitement we did.  Just because we did it doesn't mean you have to.  If we jumped off a bridge would you do it too?