Sauntering Vaguely Downward

1. The Pacific Northwest has pretty much the same weather as the UK.

2. That weather is "unremittingly cold, wet, dark, and drizzly".

3. There was a huge ice storm that knocked the power out for four days, which we spent huddled next to the fireplace swaddled in blankets.

I journeyed here with a feeling of trepidation nagging at my brain, and was pleasantly surprised when all legs of my trip were completed with minimal friction. Although it is, as expected, wet, dark, and cold, I went to bed last night thinking I could relax.

Cut to 03:27 AM today, when a huge bang woke my parents and me.

Someone hit the telephone pole outside their house, doing a massive amount of damage, but somehow managed to flee the scene in what was presumably a very mangled vehicle.

Which.

Knocked out the power. 

Leaving behind only the spiteful cackles of the malign spirit who has waited 25 years to remind me that I am not welcome here in winter.

Epilogue: The police arrived on the scene remarkably quickly to clear the debris. In the morning the power company arrived to replace the pole. The power was restored several hours later. The cable internet lines are still down though, so I won't be very responsive until the router is back as I don't want to use up my dad's meagre data allowance by tethering my phone to it for too long.