The Blizzard (Or, How Surgical Residency and Sunflower Seeds Saved Our Lives)

Weird title, I know, but very apropos as you will soon discover. We landed in Sofia Saturday at about 12:30 PM local time after nearly 24 hours of travel. Friday was actually pretty nice. We had a huge layover at Dulles so we spent some time at the USO (where we are always pampered and treated like royalty) and then we ventured out of the airport to the new Air & Space museum in Washington D.C. It was incredible, with literally dozens upon dozens of new and old aircraft on display and within arms reach. We saw the space shuttle, the SR-71 Blackbird, and countless other aircraft up close while we enjoyed a free, two hour guided tour. It was a nice way to pass the time, spend some time alone together, and relax before our big journey.

Of course, evening came and our flight left without incident. We “enjoyed” a low key 8 hour trip to Vienna, Austria, had an eventless layover, and hopped on a 1 ½ hour flight to Sofia where we were greeted with snow flurries and not a small dose of fatigue. Fortunately, our translator and escort, SvetLa, was at the terminal promptly to meet us and begin the next phase of our journey. After some frustrating moments at the car rental counter, we finally found our vehicle and set off on the 5 hour trip to Shumen.

Unbeknownst to us prior to our arrival, Sofia is set snuggly in the middle of the Balkan Mountains. So for us to make it to the east coast where Shumen is located, the first half of our trip was set through mountain passes and tunnels. The terrain is absolutely beautiful, but as luck would have it, our journey was interrupted by the largest snowstorm of the winter.

By the time we made it to the outskirts of Sofia, there were at least 8-10 inches of snow on the ground and the plows were having a very difficult time maintaining the already poor roads. We spent long stretches of the first two hours of our trip at a standstill on the road, but finally made it to the point were we were able to make continuous, albeit very slow progress.

God’s providence was upon us during this “ordeal,” however. On more than one occasion we came to points in the road where the other side of the road was stopped and clearly would be stuck all night long. Our side of the road heading east continued to move, however, and while we made very poor time, we managed to keep moving the entire day.

As you can imagine, we hadn’t had much sleep. In fact, I think I started driving at the 25 hour mark of our trip and had only managed a 1 hour nap on the plane overnight. Fortunately I’m used to this type of sleep deprivation and was able to recognize the signs of fatigue before it became too dangerous. Once I felt myself nodding off, we pulled over to a gas station and bought my trusted sunflower seeds. I’ve found over the years that the only time it is impossible for me to sleep is when I have sunflowers seeds in my mouth. So, for the next 5 hours I chugged Bulgaria’s finest seeds, downed liters of Coke, and prayed for a safe journey.

The Lord brought us to our hotel promptly at 9:15PM local time after an 8 hour drive through mountains, a blizzard, and two lane roads. I can’t say it was the most enjoyable day, but we were again reminded how blessed we are to have a Father in heaven to protect us and also to provide us with some fun stories to tell Olivia about 10 years from now as we recount this tale.

For now, enjoy the pictures with the beautiful scenery and say a quick prayer of thanks for our safe travels yesterday. We will finally be getting Olivia in about an hour, so more to come on that tonight….