Near Disaster in the Frozen Waste of Walmart

You can never be dressed too warmly for a winter excursion. We learned this (again) yesterday.

Our forced weekly grocery buying trip to Walmart for the inn’s needs over the New Year, turned into a more than usual struggle of endurance. The temperatures were hovering in the low 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind chill factor dropping that number by ten points. We bought everything on our list and as we exited the store the arctic blast hit us in the face. By the time we had loaded up the truck with our bulging canvas bags, my fingers were beginning to freeze despite my ski gloves.

“You’ve got a flat,” remarked a man getting comfortably into his car next to ours. We both rushed around to his side and you can imagine what we said. The freezing wind howled around our legs and I wished I had put on my Long-Johns and extra socks. We reluctantly began the process of a tire change. Richard got onto his knees in the dirty parking lot slush to place the jack for lifting up the truck. After two years of short handed cruising I am still used to my role aboard ship and I stayed by my 1st Mate’s side offering helpful comments such as “Oooops! The truck just fell off the jack.” and “You should loosen the nuts before you lift it up off the ground.” Meanwhile his gloves were soaking wet and his fingers so painful as they froze up and he could barely get the spare high enough to reach the bolts. With well practiced mutual support and persistence we got the job finished and hauled ourselves back into the cab with the heater on full blast, our eye glasses all a fog. Thankfully the tire place was still open and we stopped to get the flat fixed on the way back to the inn.

We arrived at two minutes before check in time, with the incoming guests waiting in the parking lot for us. It could have been so much worse. I vowed that the next time we poked our heads outside, even if it was just going to the grocery store, we would be dressed like Scott of the Antarctic and his dog. Woof!