The last time I posted, we’d made it to a hotel suite in Cedar Park, Texas. At that point, we thought we’d only be spending one night there before moving on to our vacation rental, which we initially couldn’t reach due to ice on the roads. Little did we know, the road situation was much more dire than we thought; the weather got worse and we ended up staying in our hotel suite for nearly a week.
In Wisconsin, a coating of ice topped even by 6 or 7 inches of snow wouldn’t bring a city to a grinding halt. But the scenario in Texas is completely different. They have no snow plows, no salt trucks—there wasn’t even a shovel or ice scraper to be found. Tony had to chip away at the ice on our windshield with a jack knife. Further, different areas of Austin started losing power because of the overwhelming demand for heat, and whole municipal water systems started to freeze and shut down. Yes, we actually did have to flush the toilets with pool water and bathe in the sink.
The girls were troopers, even after we lost water, and made the best out of a not-great situation. They even put together a “Hotel Olympics” game for us—complete with torch procession and awards ceremony. It was the most we’ve laughed in a long time; Tony and I are both super proud of their resilience and ingenuity.
Our family and our year of travel was actually featured on Fox 11 the other day:
https://fox11online.com/news/local/how-a-de-pere-family-is-braving-the-winter-storm-in-texas
Today, we are sitting in our condo in Lago Vista, Texas. We got here Friday and I took one of the most appreciated showers ever (And washed dishes! And did laundry!) before we lost water again. The home is a really lovely space—the gatehouse, actually, to a large resort/residential community on the Colorado River. Deer wander the grounds, Tony can fish and we have access to kayaks and tennis courts. Our water did go off again this morning, which gets exponentially more frustrating every time it happens, quite honestly. I know the girls are disappointed that the pools and hot tub they were promised at this vacation rental are unavailable; still, I have a hard time feeling too sorry for ourselves since we never lost power or heat. And the people who live in the resort have had it MUCH worse. The handful of residents who’ve stayed are hanging wet carpets and rugs off their balconies—evidence of burst pipes and interior flooding.
Full disclosure though—this has been the most challenging stretch yet for our family. The hardest part for me, as the mom, is not knowing what to do or where to go. Should we have left the hotel and looked for a different place to stay? Should we leave here now and try to find a rental in a different city—Waco, Dallas, San Antonio? Is the situation going to be better anywhere else? Knowing we are safe here, my instinct is just to stay put. (Though all the snow here is melted, so we’ll have to find another way to get water to flush the toilets!)
It’s during these times when my brain wrangles the “what if’s?” that I take solace in the strength of my husband and our shared faith in Christ. What would I have done, when our car was spinning sideways on the ice, if I couldn’t count on Tony to drive us and God to bring us all to safety? How many times was I just one prayer away from losing my sanity?
We are all grateful now that the weather has turned absolutely gorgeous—sunny and upper 70s for days. As a family, we look forward to putting these challenges and struggles behind us and moving on to adventuring and exploring.
So grateful to all of you who have reached out with words of comfort and care. God bless you all—and God Bless Texas!
OMG!! What an adventure!! Hugs to all!🤗