Off to a rotten start

The last thing I thought I'd be doing at 4 a.m. on the first leg of our FL road trip is blogging. But being we're currently holed up in motel near the interstate in Westfield, WI with nothing to do but sleep or worry -- I've decided to write instead.

Earlier this evening we loaded up the car, said our good-byes and started out late (good plan since traffic is usually lighter at night, right?) The idea was that we would drive through Wisconsin and llinois all night and be seated in front of a steaming $1.99 Grand Slam breakfast at a Denny's in Kentucky by daybreak. However about 70 miles north of Madison state troopers began routing all vehicles off the freeway and we detoured with a long line of semis and cars onto a smaller highway still heading east. After 20 + minutes of stop-and-go on, the troopers zoomed up from behind to set up a blockade at our connection. We learned all minor and major roadways southeast of the I90/I39 interchange began closing tonight due to flooding -- with no estimates of re-opening. Evidently Dane County got 4 inches of rain in a hour this afternoon, causing the already-swelled rivers to encroach on the roadways. Madison and the Dells are a mess. Even roads in cities as far east Fond du Lac and Milwaukee have closed. We're pretty much trapped at Westfield for now!

So tonight the good ol' Pioneer Mountain Inn is hosting a full house of stranded travelers. I'm thankful for (and really quite amazed at) their wireless capabilites, but I'm a tad distraught about their "no pet" policy. I crammed Libby into my suitcase to sneak her inside the room with us overnight, but then became so paranoid about her barking and getting us all kicked out that I reloaded her into the suitcase and snuck her back out to the car. It will be a sleepless night with running out to check on her!! I guess come morning we'll be checking the weather and road condition reports ASAP to see what we can do.

Does someone want to call the cable guy in Jacksonville to reschedule my hook-up? I don't think we'll be getting down there in any kind of timely fashion... :( Wish us luck and send good thoughts. (Or possibly a boat or a plane -- in either case the problem of flooded roads would be eliminated :).

Julie and Libby kickin' it in the backseat
Scene from the back of the line