Trip To Michigan - Winter Storm Quo

Our trip to Michigan to visit Doug's grandparents was a whirlwind. Doug booked us plane tickets two days before we left. We had heard grumblings on the Weather Channel that there would be snow up there, but it always snows in Michigan. No big deal, right? We figured it would be totally fine.

A huge perk of Doug traveling so much is upgrading. 1st class upgrading to be exact. Bri was so excited to be in 1st class. 

It's going to be hard for her to go back to coach after this...

Pink baby went 1st class too - LOL!!!!

Flying over Chicago...

We actually landed in Chicago because it was way less expensive to fly into there verses any airport in Michigan. So we had a bit of a drive to get to St. Joe. 

I had never been to Chicago before...

And it was freakin' cold when we arrived but no snow in Chicago yet...

Doug told me when we got on the plane that the forecast was changing and the weather could be worse than expected. And it was coming in fast. Ugh. We had to get to Michigan in a hurry (we did grab a quick bite for lunch on the road).

Off we went...

We had to drive a bit through Indiana first...

Michigan finally! You can see the snow starting...

Starting to really come down...

We finally arrived at the assisted living home in one piece - thank goodness...

Doug's grandparents had their apartment pretty warm (as most seniors do), but we still enjoyed spending the afternoon with them. This is how I am going to remember Doug's grandpa. Telling stories all afternoon (while the storm was blowing outside). He was so happy to see us (especially Briana)...

After a while, Bri needed some iPad time...

We took some family pictures...

We also tuned into the Weather Channel and found out the winter storm now had a name ~ "Quo." 

Well, that didn't sound good at all.

So ~ our original plan was to take Grandpa to Doug's uncle's house that afternoon (he lives about an hour away) because Doug's grandpa had a doctor's appointment the next day in Ann Arbor. We were going to take him to stay there for the night (and we were planning to stay there too). It would be much less driving for Doug's uncle if Grandpa just spent the night at his house.

Well, that didn't work out. The storm kept blowing and getting worse. It wasn't dumping a ton of snow, but the conditions were whiteout and roads were getting icy...

We were debating back and forth if we should attempt to go to Doug's uncle's house. Were we just scared, wimpy southerners being nervous nellies or was this really dangerous? We started asking people who worked at the assisted living home if we should attempt an hour drive. When Michigan people start telling you that you are crazy to attempt it and not to do it, you then make the choice not to go.

Doug's uncle told us it was really coming down where he lived, and he told us not to come as well. He has a vehicle that can handle the snow better, so he told us he would come and get Grandpa the next day. So, Grandpa was staying put.

And that left us without a place to stay. Ugh.

We had spotted a Holiday Inn Express on the way to Doug's grandparents place and decided to check that out (it was about 5 minutes away). We said our goodbyes to Doug's grandparents (we were coming back the next day) and hoped and prayed they had a room available.

As you can see, the snow wasn't collecting all that much, but the wind and snow were blowing like crazy...

Doug ran into the hotel to see if there was room . They had ONE room left. That was it! We grabbed it. And it was a kids suite. How cool/lucky was that?

We were so happy to walk into that lobby...

Bri got her own room with bunk beds...

The parents room...

The wind was whipping and it was getting colder...

 We were so tired from the plane ride, car ride, long afternoon talking with D's grandparents and stressing about the snow. We ordered room service for dinner and chilled.

I saw on the news that the Xi'an Terracotta Warriors were coming to a museum in Michigan. Very cool...

The wind and snow blew all night. We were so glad to be settled in that hotel room. And we were glad we didn't risk driving on I-94 in a snowstorm.

The forecast for the next day was much better. Cold and sunny. Thank goodness. Grandpa needed to get to Ann Arbor and we needed to get back to Chicago that evening (because we had a very early flight the next morning).