December travel to the eastern seaboard
With winter starting to creep it's head around the corner, the patio chairs safely stored in the shed, the salt and shovel ready by the door, I am reminded of the last couple of December trips I took to the states.
Last year, the second week in December, I hosted my husband's company holiday party and then woke up at 4AM to head down to Boston for one night to visit my best friend. The whole trip seemed crazy from the start. I was leaving the house in complete disarray after literally no sleep to fly to Boston for just one night. However, it was the only chance I had to meet her newborn daughter and I wasn't going to miss it. The snow was falling as I got into the cab in Toronto and was storming by the time I arrived in Boston. To make a very long story short, I was stuck in Boston at a crappy little hotel in the middle of nowhere for three days as the airport was basically shut down and Boston got hit with record breaking snow. The worst of it - I still only got to visit with my friend once since she was stuck on the other end of the city.
A couple of years ago, again the second week in December, I went to an SEM conference in Chicago. I never really think of December as a stormy, cold month but boy was I wrong. I travelled to Chicago with nothing but a light leather jacket. The weather was -15C (5F) on the warmest day! One day it got as low as -20C (-4F). The temperature wasn't a big deal since we were in sessions all day until the day of departure. Again, to make a long story short - I spent 9 hours on the O'Hare runway (with my client) watching the snowstorm. The airline wouldn't let us off the plane nor could the plane take off. Nine hours and five deicing attempts later, we finally took off.
I remember as a child travelling from Tokyo to Vancouver for Christmas every year. With our 6 giant suitcases, long lines and busy crowds, we would boldly attempt stand-by and it never seemed to phase me. Maybe I should just avoid the eastern seaboard of the US from Nov - April. And they say Canada is cold.
