March 14, 2017 - Snow Storm Hits East Coast

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 29 DAYS

Snowed in

Hey Guys!

I'm actually writing this at 6:20AM today.  Why?  I have been up for the past hour, unable to sleep.

Of course, this is totally annoying since today is a snow day and I don't have to get up with the kids to cook breakfast and make lunch...figures!

However, I will say, it's rather peaceful.  Everything is so quiet and the snow is gently falling outside, the wind is blowing and we are in the midst of what I hope will be the last and final snow of the Winter of 2017.

Hard to believe that yesterday, while chilly (low 30's) was sunny and lovely and today, we are in the midst of a snow storm hitting the entire east coast.

Originally, a Blizzard was being predicted, but as of 4am today, the storm was downgraded from a blizzard to a "Major Winter Storm."
 

According to the National Weather Service:​

Major Winter Storm Into This Evening...

WINTER Storm Warning IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...

BLIZZARD WARNING IS CANCELLED... The National Weather Service in Upton has issued a Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow and sleet, which is in effect until midnight EDT tonight. The Blizzard Warning has been cancelled.

• Snow and Sleet Accumulations...Snow and sleet accumulation of 6 to 10 inches.
• Locations: Southern Nassau and Southwestern Suffolk counties.
• Hazard types: Heavy Snow and sleet, with near blizzard conditions at times this morning.
• Snow accumulations: 6 to 10 inches.
• Snowfall Rates...2 to 4 inches per hour at times this morning.
• Timing: The precipitation is expected to mix with or change to sleet and rain this morning and then possibly change to all rain this afternoon. The change over to all rain is most likely along the coast. The precipitation will change back to all snow before ending this evening.
• Impacts: Dangerous travel today. Damaging wind gusts possible. late tonight and Tuesday
• Winds: Northeast winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, becoming northwest in the afternoon. Isolated gusts of 55 to 60 mph are possible.
• Temperatures: In the lower 30s.
• Visibilities: One quarter mile or less at times.

I have to admit, I'm glad that we are not expecting the previously predicted 2 feet of snow.  Ugh - was not looking forward to digging out and paying for snow removal!

What I'm most concerned about is that we do not lose power.  With the winds expected to be so high, it worries me that power lines and trees can fall.

And considering that Long Island power grids are held together with spit and bubble gum, the chances are relatively high that we can experience some power interruptions.  Keeping my fingers crossed. 

In any case, I stocked up on the important stuff for the day...
* Brownie Mix
* Cupcake mix and frosting

LOL - yup - we'll be baking lots of stuff that is not particularly healthy.  But, not to worry - I'll be making a huge pot of vegetable soup as well.

My plan is to organize all day.

First, I need to FINALLY pack up the kids' playroom. - the things they want to keep (i.e.: American Girl Dolls and accessories) and the toys they are ready to say goodbye to and give to the Veterans.

I must, REPEAT, MUST, get this done today.

Jubilee Bridge, London (c)travelincousins.com

Next, I'll be doing some travel organization today for our London Trip, which is now, less than a month away!!  Most of my travel documents, tickets and confirmation emails are all together.  

But, I want to be sure I have the full up-to-date itinerary printed and ready to go.  

At present, I'm just about 100% with all of our plans.  This week, I managed to make a few more bookings for meals.

* Lunch is now booked for our theatre day in London, prior to seeing Mamma Mia.

* Dinner is now booked for our one and only night in Paris.

* Added to our Day 2 itinerary, a visit to the Churchill War Rooms Museum.

* Added to our Day 9 (last day), a full day of Shopping at some of the coolest shops for Gianna and Kelsey to enjoy.

I have a few "to do's" left for this trip:

* Book  lunch/Afternoon Tea reservations for our last day.  Easy peasy - will do that today.

* Finalize my budget based on our restaurant reservations and scheduled tours.

My kids hate it, but I really try NOT to take too many taxis when traveling as it can get expensive, so we generally hoof it or ride public transportation.  The only exception will be to and from the airport and train stations since we'll be lugging bags.

I'll figure all that out today as I fine-tune my itinerary.  As you have figured out, Tanya and I like to have our plans pretty tight in terms of time during our trips, as not to waste any and see and do as much as we can during our travels.  

Since our London accommodations have a fitness center, that will be our down time after bustling around all day, either before or after dinner in our apartment.

There is one other thing I'm considering doing and slugging into the itinerary.  My girlfriend, who lived in London for several years, suggested that we go on a "Jack the Ripper" tour!

​According to the site jacktherippertour.com:

"The gruesome tale of Jack the ripper remains the greatest mystery in the history of crime.

Our Jack the ripper tour is the only tour to use RIPPER-VISION, the latest hand held projectors with the latest graphic pictures some of which have never been seen before.

All our guides are dedicated ripperologists and enthusiasts and each one is a member of the cloak and dagger club a theatrical performance team who bring old crime history to life.

​This is the most up to date Jack the ripper tour anywhere in london, the most exciting, the most shocking and a must for anyone who loves a good gruesome mystery. So join us now as we finally track down the most elusive criminal in history."

I mentioned this to Gianna last night and she freaked out a bit saying she would be "sooooo afraid" so I'm not sure it would be a good idea.  But, I'm going to chat with Tanya about it and see what whether we think it makes sense.


And, as for me, I'm going to get myself a nice cup of a hot water, lemon and honey to start this snow day!

Stay safe, be well and see you tomorrow!
-E
xoxo 

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 6 DAYS

Darn time change

Well HELLOOOOO out there!

Can you believe that I was still tired and woke up late this morning as a result from the L O N G
3 days spent running around at the Natural Products ExpoWest - it's rather unbelievable to me.

I'm no where near as exhausted after any of my travel days...even the crazy weeks of days on end at amusement parks.


Here is the most recent press release:

Natural Products Expo West & Engredea Celebrates 
Largest Event Yet 

The 37th annual Natural Products Expo West & Engredea, the world's largest natural, organic and healthy products event, experienced another record-setting year playing host to more than 80,000 attendees including industry pioneers and a new generation of innovators shaping the future of healthy products.
The show, produced by New Hope Network, was held March 9-13 at the Anaheim Convention Center and brought together 3,100 exhibiting companies, including more than 500 first-time exhibitors.

It is truly an awesome each and every year that leaves the attendees talking about it and sharing pictures and reviews for weeks to come. 

Eventually even mine will be posted as well.
However it's been and will continue to be a crazy few weeks being back here in SoCal.
As you know I arrived back into the states about a week and a half ago and that I am again leaving in 6 days.

Within that short amount of time I've had so very much to do (to the point that I am still not fully unpacked). Throw 3 long days at the Expo in there, my upcoming Birthday weekend (my bday is Sunday) and everything else, on top of just your average day to day routines/chores/errands/etc and that is just about where I am right now.

So when people say that I'm crazy for all that I do - well it's kinda difficult not to agree with them!
​

While over here in SoCal we are complaining about the summer-like temps and meanwhile poor Elisa and the girls are snowed in...

We've definitely had our share of not only being snowed in, but being buried in snow early this season while in Lake Tahoe where we were hit with a Mother of Blizzards!
We got 144" in 7 days - and no that is not a typo! *The so far season total is at 600"

So luckily for all my friends and family back in NY that the blizzard warning was cancelled and downgraded to a winter storm warning. 

They were originally looking at up to 24" of snow, and now 6-10".
None of which is too bad when you are on the slopes but you know that it does make a big difference in a city and makes travel incredibly dangerous! 

As of yesterday CONDE NAST TRAVELER reported:

More than 2,000 flights have already been canceled as of Monday morning and a whopping 4,211 flights have been proactively cancelled for Tuesday.
On Monday, heavy snow and strong winds are expected to stretch from Washington, D.C. to Boston, but the storm will hit a much larger swatch of the U.S., too. Stella is expected to impact travel from eastern Wisconsin to the Atlantic, and rain and snow is forecasted to cause delays, road closures, school closures, and cancellations from North Carolina into Maine, covering a distance of more than 1,000 miles.
​

Hopefully the snow up north on the west coast can and will sustain long enough for us to enjoy one last ski trip of the season.

DID YOU REALIZE THAT:
By this time next month we will just about be on our way to go and catch uo with Elisa and the girls in London! And will already have gone on 2 more vacations before then?!

Well, I have much to do and it's time for me to log off.

I'll see ya'll back here tomorrow,
​-T