Post Christmas Post

 Christmas in Huntsville ended up being an adventure. It was the coldest temps we have ever experienced in the trailer.  We were at Monte Sano State Park, which is on top of Monte Sano Mountain. When we woke up the first morning we were there, the temp was two below zero at 9:30 a.m.  We knew it would get cold, but didn't really expect that.  We had filled fresh water tank, expecting that we would be OK since we have a four-season trailer with heat ducts next to the pipes.  Apparently, the Lance company didn't expect us to be out in below zero weather.  The pipes were frozen.  We were fine, though.   We had emergency water on board, and there was a nice heated bathhouse across the road from our site-just a few steps away.  Our propane central heating system worked great, and we stayed warm.  

The time isn't right. It was 9:30.
It says interior temp was 49,
but thermometer was right next to a window.

Susie and Ed had rented a cabin at Monte Sano State Park, so they were in similar conditions.  Their cabin couldn't deal with the cold, either.  After the pipes to the shower and then the toilet froze, they wisely moved out to stay at Charlotte and Harry's the last couple of days.

The extreme cold caused a break in a water line going to Charlotte and Harry's upstairs guest bathroom sinks.  They came downstairs to water streaming out of a light fixture in their kitchen!  They were able to shut off the line to that sink, so all other water things in the house worked.  Harry and Ed spent the better part of a day trying to track down the problem, cutting a large hole in the kitchen ceiling in their endeavors. 

Alan, Ed, and Harry had a rather scary adventure right before Christmas.  They set off in Harry's truck to get propane and to check out the Duluth Trading Post in Madison, on the other side of Monte Sano Mountain from where Charlotte and Harry live.  The weather called for light flurries, with less than an inch accumulation--no problems predicted.  That changed dramatically while they were gone.  As they started back up Govenor's Blvd over the side of Monte Sano Mountain, the traffic came to a stop due to black ice on the road.  There were multiple wrecks and stranded cars on the downside of the mountain, so the police closed the road until the highway crews could treat several miles of highway and clear the wrecks.  They ended up spending eight hours waiting in the truck, inching forward every now and then. Luckily, Harry's truck had a full tank of gas, and they found the CD's in his glove compartment for entertainment after listening to NPR for hours. We were able to talk to them occasionally, so knew they were fine.  Glad for cell phones!  They got back to Charlotte and Harry's at 11:30 p.m., tired and hungry.  We couldn't get back up the mountain to the trailer, so spent the night at Charlotte and Harry's, too.  When I realized we couldn't get back to the trailer, I called the state park and gave the door code to our trailer to a kind person working there. She checked on Shelby and gave her some food.  When we got back the next afternoon, Shelby was fine, didn't even seem pissed off about it.

Brian, Amy, Logan, and Brooke were in Louisville to spend Christmas with Amy's mom.  Unfortunately, Brian got sick with a sore throat, maybe strep, so they stayed longer than expected.  We weren't able to see them as a consequence.  We were able to see Andy, Sarah, and baby John twice, but I failed to take pictures.  Trust me, John is adorable.

Despite all of this, we still had a really nice Christmas.  It was wonderful to spend time with everyone, even under the weird circumstances.  We even made a few batches of cookies, but not very many.

I took very few pix:

Ed putting confectioner's sugar on pecan sandies.

Shelby liked the down comforter on the bed.

Shelby next to our little tree in the trailer

Sunset view looking down on Huntsville from our site

The pipes on the trailer thawed out the day before we left when the temp finally got above freezing.  We had an uneventful trip back.

Shelby is OK in the truck if she can get in
 Alan's lap at the beginning of the trip.
After that, she goes to a cubby hole between the back seat
and the door to sleep most of the way.