The Coldest Journey

The beginning of 2019 may have been the coldest winter I have ever experienced. This was my first winter away from home and the temperature outside had dropped to record lows. For someone who lives by the beach, I don’t handle winter well and I hate the snow. You would also think I would have chosen a school that wasn’t in the mountains. But sadly, I did.

A few weeks after returning from winter break, a friend of mine said to our group of 5 that we should take a trip to New York to eat at Dallas BBQ. He had been trying to convince us to go for weeks, and usually, when he comes up with a plan, all he has to do is laugh and smile at us to get the answer that he wants when he wants to go out and do something. This was definitely one of those times, we should’ve said no.

Like the college freshman we were, my friends and I were always up for an adventure. Little did we know that this was going to be one of the coldest days of the year. Still anyway, we bundled up, layer by layer, until we couldn’t. We planned what time we were going to leave our housing building to walk to the train station to buy our tickets for our short trip to New York.

The walk to the train station was a cold one but our laughter brought us warmth. It had been snowing for days so you could only imagine how icy everything was. When we got to the train station, we were in high spirits regardless of the weather. In such high spirits, that we missed the black ice and salt mixture on the stairs. Two of us had already gone down the stairs towards the ticket machine when our friend, Jason, decided he wanted to dance with the black ice. 

He slipped down the last few steps landing on his ankle. My friend Annabelle and I were behind him his entire trip down and watched it all unfold as if it was playing in slow motion. Once we all are at the bottom of the steps, we’re laughing it off as if he was alright, but he was definitely in pain. Once we bought our tickets, we found out that the train we needed to take had already departed and the next train wasn’t going to come until almost twenty minutes later.

Instead of going back to the room, we decided to stay in the train station to avoid missing the next train. While we waited, we were trying to convince ourselves that we weren’t freezing cold and to have Jason sit this one out because of his injury to which he refused. The train finally arrived to take us to New York and finally granted us some real warmth until we reached the city. 

I don’t quite remember the walk to the restaurant but I do remember walking in circles for at least 10 minutes because everyone swore they knew where they were going. They didn’t. When we got to Dallas BBQ, we were seated. The next problem that arrived was getting Jason up the stairs to our table. Isaiah, the friend who’s plan it was to go to the city, and Enzo had to help him up the stairs. I missed this interaction because I was following the waitress, but nonetheless, I heard the light screams in pain from Jason. 

Dinner itself was much of nothing. Fries weren’t crispy, chicken strips were a solid 7 and as a girl who has a chicken strip review account, I would know. We paid for food and made our departure. Trying to get Jason down the stairs was another experience. With his arms wrapped around Isaiah and Enzo, this was definitely a sight to see as he was taller than the both of them. 

We didn’t have to wait long for the next train and the trip back to school was pretty fast. On the train ride to and from New York Enzo somehow finished homework that he had that was due at midnight. The walk back up to the dorms was the most painful of all. We had lost all feeling in our bodies and I was just thankful to be back in a place where I could control the heat. Annabelle and Jason still had to walk some distance because they didn’t live in the same building at Isaiah, Enzo, and I. 

I remember defrosting through the covers. I literally felt like an ice cube melting with droplets of water falling from my body. Even three layers of socks, two thick sweaters, and leggings underneath my jeans weren’t enough to keep me warm.

In the end, I would most certainly not recommend it. I give this as 4/10. A four because the trip could definitely have gone worse, but also a four because it’s now a memory that I hold with my friends. We all now have something that we will share with each other forever.

*All Names Have Been Changed*