A Nebraska Blizzard, NC Brother, & Air Mattress Debacle

About a month ago, my brother, Alec, called me and said he’d like to come visit in February. He and a buddy were driving (driving!!) from NC to Colorado non-stop. He would then fly from Denver to Omaha to visit for a few days. Quite the haul, but super exciting nonetheless.

He made it to Colorado with no issues, but his journey to Nebraska would prove to be more dramatic. The day before he flew in, Garrett and I called him to discuss flight options. We were expecting a blizzard around the time his flight was due. Not just any blizzard, but ice and then a blizzard with expected 5-10 inches of snow. The airline was already offering to reschedule in anticipation of delays. After talking about it, we decided he should risk it, otherwise, he would only be here for a little over 24 hours.

We kept a close eye on the weather, and thankfully the ice was pushed back a bit. His flight was on schedule, but we had to get to Omaha (an hour drive) to get him. The drive up there was rainy. We knew that if it got much colder (1-2 degrees), everything would ice, and it did.

Once we had found Alec, we began our trip back home. Ice started to pelt us about 30 minutes to Lincoln. When we reached the city limits of Lincoln, the blizzard began. Roads were quite slippery. At one point— the scariest point— we were going horizontal on a street, hit the median and thankfully slid back to the right direction. We were pretty silent during the whole deal, and white-knuckling it hard. Thank goodness for Garrett’s driving skills.

Look who I found in Omaha!

We were so relieved to pull into our apartment parking lot. The snow was coming down hard at this point. We would not be going out as previously planned. Thankfully, I had some food in the fridge to whip up a stir fry that was Alec approved. When the snow slowed down, we ventured out on foot. Ya’ll, the snow was real. We spent the rest of the night playing board games and drinking warm beverages.

Headed out into the blizzard and snow!

At this point, I’m going to pause the blizzard saga. It is important to note, that almost every plan I had for my brother’s stay was popped—figuratively and literally. I had plans to take him to our favorite restaurants and show him some areas near Lincoln. Those were the figurative popped plans due to weather and road conditions. The literal pop was the air mattress. I had blown it up, made it just so, and had it all ready for him to sleep on. The only issue was it wouldn’t hold air. We went on an investigation for holes. There was not just one but several, and they were all caused by Callie Cat. Apparently, Callie found the mattress stored in our closet, and decided to use it as a scratching post. Due to this, Alec had to sleep on the couch. There is no doubt my hospitality was sabotaged by a cat and a blizzard.

Callie hated Alec because he held her. She hates being held with a passion. She did ruin his bed, though, so I guess they are even.

Anyway, back to the blizzard. The next morning we decided to try and venture out to find some food. It took a while to dig out Garrett’s car, and it also required a push from Alec to get out of the parking spot. There were snow drifts a foot deep.

The roads were not clear by any stretch of the imagination. We took it easy, and all was well until a red light on a hill. When the light turned green, the poor car only slid in place trying to get going again. Alec hopped out, waved to the folks behind us, and pushed us until we gained traction. It was a funny sight to watch Alec job beside the car as he tried to catch us. We were trying so hard not to stop again and get stuck.

In the end, we made it to Abe’s Burgers for lunch and decided that we should stay home again that evening. We invited our friend, Josh, over, and all enjoyed tortellini soup, homemade crème brûlée, and playing board games. After Josh left, we watched a movie and called it a night.

Abe’s Burgers and Freedom Fries

Monday morning came, and roads were better. When Garrett got back from class, we went to Holmes Lake to have some fun. The lake was completely frozen. We froze our toes off and had a blast! Later that evening, we went out to eat.

Tuesday, Alec rode to work with me all the way to Crete. I think he was worried about how I drive in snow, but I have become better at it. Besides, the roads were so much more clear at this point! He got to sit in my class, where he was mistaken for my husband (haha!). We drove back to Lincoln, to drive back to Omaha, for Alec to catch his flight. Ultimately, his flight was delayed, and he had to be rerouted. While 2 hours later then planned, he made it back to NC safe and sound.

Alec said he wanted to experience snow, and he got it! Hopefully his next visit will be in warmer weather. The weekend was certainly filled with memorable moments, drama, good company, a popped air mattress, and buckets of snow. Although, it didn’t go as planned, the important thing is, we are all safe, and we got to spend time with Alec. I was sad to see him go, but so glad he came.