http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008548749_webweather22m.html 

It's all about managing expectations. When Bob heard that his department shuts down for two weeks in December, our first thoughts were, "Oh good, a road trip!". We love a good road trip—we'd head down south on Sunday, do a little Christmas shopping at the Woodburne Outlet Mall near Portland OR, stop in Eugene for  a few days with Jim and Patty, pop over the Siskiyous, oooh and aaah over snowy Mt. Shasta, eat Mexican food in Sacramento, participate in Los Angeles traffic, and be in La Jolla at the Foster-Ventimiglias by Tuesday night.

By Thursday, the extended weather forecast screamed, "Pay attention!" So what, we'll leave on Saturday, miss the Sunday storm, forget shopping at Woodburne, stay an extra day with Jim and Patty, and arrive early in San Diego.

By Saturday, travel by car through Portland, OR and the blustery Gorge was not an option. So what, we'll just fly and miss it all. Just to be on the safe side, we'll drive to Sea-Tac on Saturday afternoon, stay at the Super 8, miss the storm now starting on Saturday night, and fly off with no problems.

By Sunday morning, the streets around the airport were snowy but so what, the motel's heavily chained shuttle had no problem dropping us off at the Alaska terminal. Flights on the Departures/Arrivals board were full of canceled flights, but ours was still "On Time". We checked our bags and were through Security in less than an hour—we could almost feel sunny California. Just about boarding time, our plans were changed—Flight 482 to San Diego was canceled—all Alaska, Jet Blue, and United flights canceled.

By late Sunday afternoon, our highest hope was to get back home on the now-treacherous freeways without detouring into the ditch. So here we are, Monday morning at home and plenty glad to be here—warm and cozy inside, snow and ice outside.