Snowmageddon Part 1: The Grocery Store Rush

I thought it was a "North Carolina thing." As soon as the mention of snow or frozen precipitation creeps into the forecast, parents and kids across the state rush to the local grocery store to stock up on the essentials- milk, bottled water, tp, eggs, bread and beer. I learned yesterday that this is apparently a D.C. thing too. I made it to the Van Ness Giant by about 3:30 p.m. thinking I would beat much of the rush. I was wrong. I snagged the last grocery cart in sight and embarked on a mission to navigate the tiny aisles packed with fellow shoppers trying to beat the after-work madness.

Yes, I made it out alive with everything on my list, including beer, wine and ingredients for my Super Bowl recipes. But I did realize that D.C. is not, in fact, a true northern city (as my northern friends will attest to). Granted, my hometown might enforce a mandatory evacuation if two feet of snow was forecast, but D.C. is apparently not free of snow storm overreaction.

Now it's time to hunker down. Well, when I get off work that is. One difference between D.C. and N.C. is that some offices in D.C. do stay open when a major snow is in the forecast. Sigh.