The one year I decide to drive to Seattle for Christmas, Seattle gets the worst snowstorm ever.

I have spent most of my life on the West Coast, at first sandwiched between Puget Sound and the Cascades, and now between San Francisco Bay and the hills. Everywhere in California, it seems, is near the hills. Though, these are most certainly not the hills of MTV fame. Occasionally, I feel a surreal sense of exposure, as if I am at the edge of the world, with nothing beyond and barely a defense keeping me from fading into the endless depths.

But I have never felt like the weather was a threat. Yes, it snowed every other winter or so in Seattle, but it was a few inches at the most, and it melted within a day or so. When I was in elementary school, or perhaps junior high, a storm hit and we missed three or four days of school because of the snow. We lost power for at least that many days. That was the storm people talked about for years, assuming it would never recur.

A few weeks ago, I decided to spend Christmas at home this year, and I decided I would drive up to Seattle. I like driving, and had canceled the road trip I was planning for July because of high gas prices. Gas costs less than half what it did in July, but Seattle is in the midst of the worst snowstorm it has seen in at least thirty years, perhaps ever.

Considering how Seattle responds to three inches of snow (the city essentially shuts down), I feel more than a bit apprehensive about how it will handle several inches of snow falling over several days. But I suppose that is what chains, AAA, and a Volvo (with new tires, an alignment, and new suspension) are for: chains to prevent an accident, AAA in case I get stuck, and a Volvo to protect me from those dangerous bits like medians and hills and such. I just really really really wish I could go on a road trip without worrying about whether it's going to snow in Seaside, Oregon. Yes, that's right, Seaside got snow.