I was miserable after my 2.75 hour round trip to/from Dunwoody to Holy Innocents’ yesterday and whining like a baby. Then I started seeing all of my friends’ posts and texts about 6-8 hour rides home from work, 8+ hour round trips to/from Marist, MVP, Swift, Eaton and other “area” private schools. My older next door neighbor had to park at a church on Chamblee-Dunwoody and walk several miles home. I’ve heard of other friends having to do this too! One neighbor waited two hours to get out of a parking garage then decided to change into his workout clothes and jog home! I heard that there were still about 10 kids at Peachtree at 9:00 last night….even more at Woodland Elementary School. The teachers and principals that stayed with the kids are FABULOUS! I just read that Dunwoody High had some senior kids on a trip to Orlando and they walked home from MARTA after riding the train as far as they could from the airport. Oh, and I read a story about a woman delivering her baby in her car on the side of I-285 near Riverside Drive during the snow storm!!! I have a feeling we will NEVER forget this storm. I’ve been mesmerized reading the stories and have decided that I may just decide to watch the weather channel more closely in the future and make my OWN decision about whether or not to send my kids to school! I will also make sure I have a full tank of gas in my car…..I am so thankful to be home safe, sound, and warm!
Feel free to post a comment on this post to tell us your story! I think it is good therapy to share!!!
-Audra
My tree crew still haven’t made it home. They left east cobb as soon as it started coming down. It took 4 hours to get to the shop which is by spaghetti junction. They have been on 285, heading to Roswell since 4pm yesterday!
I went to pick up my child from school, so he wouldn’t have to spend the night. A 1 mile drive took 30 mins. only to be stuck behind 50 cars that weren’t moving. I parked and we walked 45 mins to get home. I can not enjoy my warmth at home knowing the guys that work for me have been in their cars all night, even though we all stopped working around 1pm.
I started driving from Canton at 11:45 with my 11 month old son. After a bridge closed on 140, I decided to take Trickum Road to Highway 92. There were cars stopped on the road everywhere!! I finally made it to downtown Roswell and to Pitts Road at 5. When NO ONE was moving an inch, I decided to walk home! I walked 2.5 miles with a 22 pound baby. I got to the top of my neighborhood and just couldn’t hold him anymore. A sweet neighbor, who we had never met, took us in and fed us and gave my son more clothes. We will be forever grateful!!
Any guesses at what they will name that baby born on 285? My guess is Mercedes but maybe they’ll name her Porsche or Lexus and call her Lexi.
I left our home near the Perimeter Mall yesterday at 12:30pm to pick up my son at Dunwoody Elementary. I got home at 6pm! It was scary and my heart breaks for the kids that are still stuck on buses or at schools!
I left Ravinia at 12:30 to go get 2 kids at Kittredge. Fortunately, I decided to take surface streets through Murphy Candler to get there. I picked them up at 12:45, and then it took us until 2 pm to get home to Dunwoody using Chamblee Dunwoody. At the same time, my husband went to get our other son at Holy Innocents. They ended up parking the car at the office buildings across from Chick Fil A and walking the rest of the way. So, everyone was home by 3. We didn’t know how lucky we were until I checked FB at 10:30 and saw all the harrowing stories of 8 hour commutes and kids stuck at school overnight. This is why they cancel school BEFORE one of these storms hits!
I think they should name the baby born on 285, Snow White!
I left a lunch meeting with a customer on Fulton Industrial Blvd near Six Flags at 1:00 and didn’t get home until 6:30. It was treacherous for sure. I could have been at the beach in those 5 1/2 hours:)
Wednesday, January 28th, will forever be remembered as “Snow Jam 2014.” The day began with the threat of snow, but started out sunny and clear. As a result, many went to work as they would normally do, instead of opting to stay home.
The snow began falling across Atlanta around 11:00AM, and where we are located, around 11:45. Almost as if everyone received the same alert, a mass exodus of all of the offices and retail establishments began around 11:45. The result, was about 3 – 4 times the number of cars on the road, that might normally be. Literally within minutes, it was gridlock. Sensing what was coming, and assuming we would be dead at That Pie Place, we sent our employees home, so they would not be trapped in the traffic, and Chris and I stayed to see how things developed.
By noon, it was taking people 2 – 3 hours, to go less than one mile, and by 4:00, up to 8 hours to cover 3 – 5 miles. It was then that people began coming into TPP. Some simply parked their cars and left them there. Others came in seeking a restroom. For the next 8 hours, we had a steady stream of customers. By 8:00, Chris and I hade served 150 to 200 people, resulting in an excellent revenue day.
More importantly, many, if not most, of our guests were simply grateful, and appreciative, that we remained open. By 10:00PM, we had a dining room full of stranded people – many of which chose to spend the night, with Chris and me.
In the morning, we made breakfast for our “guests,” and then one by one, they decided to resume their efforts to get to their destinations.
From the comments we received all night, we made many new That Pie Place customers.
Quite a day to remember.
That’s Atlanta.,
Left my office near the North Springs MARTA station at 12:45 pm to go pick up my 11 month old daughter from school. Made it 1.5 miles in 3 hours. Made the decision to park and walk the rest of the way (.5 a mile) and walk back to the car with her. We were able turn off at That Pie Place on Peachtree-Dunwoody road and get dinner. Got back on the road and made it to a co-worker’s house by 8 pm. My husband said that the road in front of our house (Dunwoody Club) was still jammed with cars at 11 pm, so there was no point in me trying to come home yet. Left at 8 am this morning, and Peachtree-Dunwoody and Mt Vernon were ghost towns, and clear enough to drive on. However, the hill down Dunwoody Club was a sheet of ice. My husband walked half a mile from home to come meet us and we drove slowly to our house, with 2 wheels up on the snowy sidewalk. Just glad to be home before I ran out of diapers!
I would like to commend the Dunwoody/Sandy Spring residents who got out of their homes and their cars to help police the traffic on Pitts Rd/Spalding Drive & Dunwoody Club Rd around 6 pm. Not only did they direct the traffic and make it flow but also helped many vehicles stuck on the hill or side walks back onto the road whilst the emergency service had more important incidents to deal with. Kudos to them all who where out there in the freezing cold.
I left Kennesaw @ 12:30 and didn’t make it to Dunwoody until 3 AM…14 1/2 hours later. It took me 6 hours to go 9 mile on 41 and 6 hours to go from 75 to the Riverside exit on 285 E. It was a nightmare, for sure. I have never been so happy to get home safely!
It took me over 3 hours to get from work (on Lake Hearn) to Dunwoody. On the way I had the pickup my daughter from DHS as the bus never made it to the school. There were students still waiting in the Cafeteria. I hope they all made it home.
Today is Thursday, and I’ve had my 3rd flight to Atlanta cancelled since Tuesday. I can’t complain, since its 80 degrees in Phoenix, Arizona!