Brian: When morning came, five hours of sleep had been obtained and second thoughts were expressed as to the wisdom of catching a plane so relatively early; however, that plane was headed to SFO (San Francisco International) and we were really ready to take flight. The weather had gone from rainy to snowy: nearly 5 inches had fallen during the early morning hours with more coming down every moment. We decided to skip breakfast and proceed straightaway to the airport. Intent on starting out married life as a dutiful husband, I moved the snow covered rental car to under the entry overhang at the Wildwood. The desk staff was very kind in providing a broom to brush off the car and, in a hearty fashion, I began this task; there was, however, a problem encountered along the way. Somehow, the car doors became locked with the car running and the airline tickets already ‘safely’ stowed in the trunk. What was so occupying my mind that this could happen? Again, the desk staff came to the rescue. After 45minutes of toiling, the manager (formerly a police officer) had gained entry into the vehicle and off we dashed, or rather sloshed, to the airport.

Naturally, it took a little longer to drive to the airport than it would normally, what with having to dodge sliding cars, downed power lines, and broken tree limbs. In fact, the visibility was so poor that we actually drove past the airport without seeing it; that’s saying something because I have been in and out the Des Moines airport many times over the years and know well its location. Joyce and I, honeymooners-to-be, finally arrived in the terminal about 20 minutes before the flight was to leave. Even though it was snowing heavily, the airline purported the flight to be departing on time. Sensing the possibility of soon trading this most inviting climate for that of California, we rushed off to the gate only to find that a power failure had left the security devices inoperable; therefore, no one was able to proceed to any gate. About this time, Brenda showed up with the same silly notion of catching an outbound plane. Well, after expending our limited reserve energy attempting to make the flight, the flight was, of course, cancelled. At this point, discussions began with the ticketing agent, which were on-again off-again depending on the availability of electricity. Sometime during this experience Jean arrived with Jack and only minutes later Eldon arrived with Bob, each clinging to some vain hope that he would be able to exit this winter in October like place called Iowa. Bob’s clinging was rewarded and Brenda’s persistence paid off but Joyce, Jack, and I all retreated to ‘flight’ another day. In fact, the tale of Joyce and I, entitled ‘Newlyweds Trapped in Des Moines by Snow,’ made the 11:00 p.m. news on WHO. Famous at last, but no offers from Hollywood yet.

Joyce: The retreat landed the family once again at Dawson Central Station for more food and fellowship. Just what we as newlyweds desired to do, spend our first day of married life with Brian’s parents and the Dawson clan. It’s not that there is anything at all wrong with these folks, but in some way this (mis)adventure was lacking the romance normally associated with the concept of a honeymoon. It was Eldon who took pity on us and found one of the last hotel rooms available in Des Moines so that we might spend our second night together, with a modicum of privacy from the rest of the family!