I'm reporting to you live from the front lines of what is shaping up to be the third biggest blizzard that Chicago has ever seen. I've got my glass of red wine and some jazz playing on my stereo and I couldn't be happier to be snowed in for the day. So what has Snowmageddon been like for me thus far?
Well, I was at work last night when the snow really started to come down around 3. However, cars were still on the street and we were going to stay open to stay open to 6 (we usually close at 10). By 4 it was really coming down, but people were still out shopping. By 5 there were only a few cars on the street and about 5 customers loitering in the cafe. We ended up leaving at about 6:30 and boy was it windy outside! We tried to call a cab, but no one would pick up. As a group of us were leaving faced with the 15 minute walk to the Fullerton Red Line we came across a very nice cab driver who drove us home. I should have gotten the guys name because he was an angel. I made sure to tip him well and I hope he made it home safely.
I was up most of the night listening to the thunder snow and sirens from all the emergency vehicles that were deployed to Lake Shore Drive to dig out those who were stranded. Apparently there were 3 or 4 bad accidents in the early evening and LSD ended up being shut down (it's still closed right now!). From what I understand motorists were stranded there for a good 4-10 hours. That's the level of craziness we are experiencing here. I've got pics to prove it. These are a few I shot of LSD.
I woke up this morning to a snow covered post apocalyptic city. My store was not going to open today so I was thrilled with my snow day. It was about 8am and that's when I set out from my apartment to try and snap some pictures. I bundled myself up (even put on a hat -which I never do) and walked up Belmont to Lake Shore Drive. There were a few people out walking dogs or snow blowing the sidewalks, a few cars, some buses and some snow plows, but it really was like the city had been deserted. It was white everywhere and so quiet at 8am. Normally the city is buzzing with people heading to work, but this was just spooky.
As I got closer to the lake it got windier and signs of last night's chaos were evident. I saw 2 buses that had spun out and were left at the side of the road. Police cars were out blocking access to LSD. I climbed up the side of the embankment (a feat in waist deep snow) and stood by the side of Lake Shore Drive which was completely empty. This is not a thing that any sane Chicagoan would do on a normal day. Maybe I've been watching too many zombie apocalypse movies, but I got the feeling that something wasn't right. Desolate is the world that comes to mind. It was snowing again so I couldn't even see the skyline. I felt like the city had abandoned me and I was left alone on this tundra that was once Lake Shore Drive.
When I was done being freaked out I took a walk back through my neighborhood. Most streets weren't plowed and there were a lot of cars abandoned in the middle of the road. Turns out Walgreens and CVS were open so I went in to stock up on blizzard provisions (milk, marshmallows, red wine and sour cream and onion potato chips). I finished my adventure with a nice cup of hot cocoa. It's almost 1 now and it's still snowing outside, but I can see that the sun wants to peek through. Hopefully people will stay off the streets today and let the city do their job to clean up this mess. Maybe I'll take one more trip out later this afternoon just to make sure that snow zombies haven't eaten everyones brains out.
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