It was finally college winter break, and I was going to spend a few days with my best friend from high school, Tommy. After graduation, we both went to separate state colleges, and didn't get to see each other much, but we both were back in town over break, and we were going to drive up to northern Wisconsin for some skiing. My family had a small cabin a half hour from there, so after skiing, we were going to spend the night before coming home.
A snowstorm was predicted, but those things had a way of eluding the weatherman's accuracy by either the amount of snow or the timing. It didn't look too bad, but I borrowed my dad's Jeep for the ride just in case.
I picked up Tommy and headed out on our trip. We had a great time playing our favorite songs and sharing some new ones along the way. We made it to the ski hill late afternoon and got into our gear.
It had been a few years since we had skied, so we kept to the easier slopes and tried to practice. There were quite a few people, and the weather was warm enough that everyone was having a great time. I had forgotten how tiring skiing could be, but we kept going, fueled by laughter and friendly competition.
It started snowing, and the crowd started thinning, but we were having so much fun we didn't think about the weather. Finally it started getting late, and the snow kept getting stronger as the winds picked up. They were starting to shut down the hill, so we got into the Jeep to head for the cabin.
"We probably should have left a little earlier," Tommy said as road visibility started getting bad.
"Yeah, but the cabin isn't too far, and we can get warm and eat something there," I replied.
The snow started piling up on the roads, and when we turned off for the county roads leading to the cabin, it was hard to see where the road ended and the ditches began. The wind was blowing hard, and the snow was drifting across the roads.
The Jeep had good traction but we still had to stay on the road. We had to drive slower, and that made the drive take longer, giving the snowstorm more time to dump on us. Tommy texted our parents to say we were almost at the cabin, and would text again when we got there. The closer to the cabin, the worse the cell reception, so we wanted to give them at least one check-in along the way.
I was getting nervous now, thinking how we could get in a ditch and get stuck. With no streetlights, the only light we had in the storm was the Jeep's headlights, and they just reflected off of the blowing snow. I had driven on these roads many times, but they looked unfamiliar as the snow filled the ditches and overran the road.
For a while I thought we were lost, but then I recognized some familiar trees along the road and I knew we were almost there.
Finally, I saw what I thought was the driveway to the cabin, and turned, only to find I was a little short and the right side of the Jeep went into the ditch. We were stuck!
The tires kept spinning in the snow, so I knew we would have to dig out. Luckily, we were just up the driveway from the cabin.
"Can we just leave it here and get it tomorrow?" Tommy asked.
"I'm afraid a snowplow might run into it half on the road like this," I replied.
So we left the Jeep at the side of the road and walked down the long dark driveway through the trees to the cabin.
Our family cabin sat in a small grassy clearing in the woods, surrounded by pine trees. The wind was whistling through the trees, causing the snow to drift several feet high in places. The snow was knee deep for most of the driveway as we hiked our way to the front porch.
I opened the door and turned on the lights. We walked into the main great room, with a kitchen toward the back left and a small bathroom in the front. A long stairway led to the L-shaped loft upstairs, where we had a king-sized bed and set of bunk beds.
Our cabin had electricity and a wood pellet stove, and we were lucky that the power was still on. I started the stove and turned on the well pump and hot water heater. It was about 40 degrees inside, so it would take a while for it to heat up. I turned on the ceiling fans in the loft to circulate the air as it heated, so it would eventually warm all over.
We went back outside and over to the shed where we found some shovels, then hiked back to the Jeep. It took us almost an hour to dig out the tires and push the Jeep until it got enough traction for us to get it back on the road, and then down to the driveway.
By the time we got back inside the cabin, we were soaked with sweat and melted snow, and shivering. The cabin had started to heat up, but the only warm area was near the pellet stove. We took off our wet coats and snow pants and hung them over chairs to dry out. As we started stripping out of our wet sweatshirts and pants, we realized that we had left our overnight bags in the Jeep in the driveway. I didn't feel like putting the wet clothes back on to go outside again, and I remembered that we kept some old clothes upstairs in some dressers.
I went to the loft and found the dresser that held mens clothes. I searched through two drawers until I found some old flannel pajamas. The two sets were pretty ugly - white with geometric designs, and blue with loud stripes, but they seemed to be close to our size, and we only had to wear them until our clothes dried overnight.
"Are you kidding?" Tommy laughed when I handed him the blue flannel pajamas. "I haven't worn pajamas since I was a kid!"
"Yeah, I haven't either," I chuckled, "But they're warm and dry and I'm cold. Otherwise, you can go outside and get our bags out of the Jeep..."
Tommy sighed and took the pajamas and went into the bathroom to change. I went to the kitchen and took off my damp long underwear and t-shirt, but decided to keep my boxer shorts on so I wouldn't pop a boner through the gripper fly of the pajamas. The flannel felt warm and soft against my skin, but it was still very cool in the cabin. I hung up the damp clothes and found two pairs of slippers in the shoe rack for us.
Back in the kitchen, I preheated the oven and took a frozen pizza out of the freezer. I found some beer in the fridge and was putting the pizza in the oven when Tommy came into the kitchen.
I laughed at him, and he laughed at me as well. He looked like a little boy in those blue flannel pajamas. The loud stripes looked so retro, and his messy hair made him look like he just got up on Christmas morning in the 80's. I'm sure I looked just as ridiculous in my wild patterned pajamas, but beggars can't be choosers.
We set a timer for the pizza and I had Tommy look through the shelf of DVDs while I checked the pellet stove and looked for some blankets. The stove heated up fast, and the fan was blowing hot air, but it was really only warm near the stove.
I found a big heavy quilt and brought it down to the couch, where we both sat cuddled up and pulled the quilt around our shoulders. We shivered for a bit, but the dry clothes and body heat under the quilt felt very good and cozy. While we waited for the pizza, we texted our parents to let them know we got there ok.