Stranded in Stratford!

In continuation of the story of our Kitchener Retreat, the three vehicles filled with teens and leaders from the States left Kitchener, Ontario Canada around 1 pm on Sunday afternoon. It sleeted and snowed the night before and the bitterly cold wind was whipping. We had some serious deicing to perform on the cars; however, the sky was clear and the roads were slick, but manageable. We merged on to the 401 (the only major highway across Southern Ontario) and began our journey home. A couple of miles on the 401, the traffic backed up and came to a stop. We faced a huge bottleneck, as far as the eye could see. A few miles later (30 minutes or so), all traffic was directed off of the 401. Highway closed! I had to catch my plane home to Maine in a couple of hours in Detroit and I soon realized that that wasn't going to happen. I called for alternate directions and discovered Route 8, a smaller 2 lane road running parallel to the 401. This road led for about 20 miles to the town of Stratford, Ontario. The wind was growing stronger and the temperature was dropping. Unexpected wind-blown snow hit us frequently causing visibility to drop to zero. Facing near whiteout conditions here in Stratford we tentatively pressed on. Then we hit an impasse. We discovered that all roads south and west out of Stratford were closed due to blinding and drifting snow. We learned that even the plow trucks were not allowed travel and clear the roads. We stopped at a Tim Horton's and met up with the other two cars. Our options were very limited. Make the difficult and risky drive back to Kitchener or stay in Stratford. We decided that we should stay in Stratford and wait to see if conditions improved. I figured that others stranded here would be quickly snatching up available rooms so I thought we should secure overnight accommodations. A wonderful lady at Tim Horton's recommended we consider staying across the street at the Queen's Inn. I went to the hotel to check on room availability. When I returned to Tim Horton's I found that Lisa's had lost her gloves and car keys and Rev Jenn had jumped her car over a snow-hidden parking block. We helped Lisa find her keys (we found the keys but I don't think the gloves were ever found) then we all pushed Jenn's car back over the parking block. What a sight to see more than a dozen people pushing the front of a car in the blinding wind and snow. Amazingly, we succeeded in freeing Jenn's stuck car. Then we 12 teens and 4 adults trekked across the street over to the Queen's Inn. The 16 of us safely arrived at the hotel with only a minor cut on Audrey's hand from the car pushing episode. A second lady (angel) at the Queen's Inn really helped by providing us a large private meeting room with Internet service, board games and a pool table. She also held 4 rooms for us at a discounted price (after I explained our circumstances), including a suite for the boys, with extra cots so everyone had a bed. Once we went online and read the Internet traffic and weather reports we realized that we truly were stranded for the night. We settled in and enjoyed the pool table, games and computer that the inn had provided for us. But we were all hungry and in need of a hot shower (we had been staying at the church for the weekend with no available shower). So we moved over to the hotel restaurant (Boar's Head Pub) for dinner. We took an entire section of the pub over and joined the other stranded travelers dining there. The food was quite good and I felt comfortable, warm and happy in the hotel. Despite our circumstances, I was blessed with excellent adult company. The three leaders, Jenn, Lisa and Lori were terrific and their upbeat conversation and remarkable flexibility inspired me. The teens also responded wonderfully to our situation and demonstrated great patience, attitude and understanding. I couldn't ask to be stuck with a better group! The temperature outside dropped below zero Fahrenheit and the wind howled, but we were safe and secure. We retired to our rooms for showers and a restful evening after the long day conducting the church worship service, traversing challenging roads and encountering unforeseeable excitement.

The following morning, we woke at dawn to much improved weather and road conditions. We said our goodbyes to our friends in the other cars and departed early in the morning. We traveled several miles of icy roads and encountered the occasional encroaching snow drift before we hit clear roads. Once we merged back onto the 401, the sky was blue and the roads were dry. I made it to Detroit Metro airport for my rescheduled flight home to Maine on Monday afternoon with plenty of time.

I'd like to thank leaders, Rev. Jenn, Lisa and Lori for their assistance, outstanding leadership, good judgment and positive spirit. I'd also like to thank all the teens for being so cooperative, patient and good natured throughout the whole ordeal. Most of all, I thank God for looking over us, sending angels when we needed them and making sure that everyone remained safe for the entire adventure.

The Great White North certainly lived up to it's name. I can't wait for my next trip to Kitchener!