By now, I'm sure you heard that the gridlock earlier this week on I95 in Virginia was absolutely terrible. And I can attest to the fact it felt worse than it looked on the news. Over 40 miles of cars trapped on the interstate in sub-freezing temperatures for over 20 hours is absolutely miserable. After all, I was trapped there for 16 hours.

Here is my story of how I survived I95.

My boyfriend and I had gone to New England to visit his family for New Year's and were traveling back home to North Carolina this past Monday. Prior to the backup, the trip had been going great. We had our coffee, had picked up some breakfast, and were on the road by 8am on Monday.

We drove through Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland with absolutely no problem. It was a breeze. There's a game we play in the car. The two of us take turns picking a color with whoever finds the most of that color having to pay for dinner. We were playing "our game" and having an absolute blast.

Up until the parking lot known as I95, it was probably the most fun we had ever had on one of these trips, and we've made this particular journey together eight times now. We always take I95 because it both has the prettiest views, and is a significantly shorter route. Things were "normal".