On Thursday evening, Adam and I drove up to Breckenridge for our annual weekend with Stef and friends. As many of you know, I can be a total nutcase in the car. For several reasons, I have a serious fear of driving and/or being driven. Every time we get on RT 70, I take a deep breath, say a little prayer and try not to drive the other passengers crazy with my hyperventilating. Unfortunately, this is one trip where my neurosis was warranted.
It began to snow just outside of Frisco. We stopped at Subway, happy to be just a few miles from our destination. About 10 miles outside of downtown Breck, things took a turn for the worse (no pun intended).
Adam was driving extremely carefully as the car hit a pot hole and began to spin out of control heading for the guard rail on the opposite side of the road. Adam tried to correct the car, but it was too late. We began to spin away from the rail and quickly realized we were headed off the road and down a 20-foot ledge. As gravity pulled us down, the car flipped over.
On our way down I was completely silent. Many would have thought I’d be chaotic and screaming. However, I just held on to Greta and remained calm. It all happened so suddenly and yet it was almost in slow motion. I had no idea what was going to happen as we started to fall.
As the car came to a halt, instinct kicked in. I don’t even remember taking off my seat belt, but in a matter of seconds Adam, Greta and I were out of the car. Not only were we alive, we were unharmed. Other than a few small cuts on our hands, we were completely healthy.
Several cars stopped, including two young teenagers (aka our angels) in a large SUV, who just happened to have an empty back seat. After several trips up and down the hill, we managed to transfer all of our gear (the Jeep was literally packed to the brim with dog crates, ski gear, suitcases, food and booze) to the back of the SUV. These amazing kids then drove me the rest of the way to Breckenridge and helped me unload all our stuff at Stef’s, while Adam dealt with the towing.
So somehow, after all that, we were still able to enjoy our four day weekend in the mountains. Despite the crash, we made it to Breckenridge with every single thing we brought….except two broken eggs. That’s right – 34 other eggs made it safe and sound, along with dozens and dozens of other items.
Of course, we are most grateful for our health (and Greta’s) and once again reminded how fortunate we are.
I guess it’s time to start car shopping…
