Honeymooners snowed in as US temperature plays havoc

The current cold temperatures in the US have played havoc. While stalled cars, power outages and huge pile of snow affected everybody, it did not spare honeymooners.

Most of the East Coast and Midwest in the US battled record snow falls (NJ 24 inches), accidents (6,000 calls placed to highway patrol in Virginia on a single day) and power breakdowns.

Arab News caught up with honeymooners, Adnan Muzaffar and his wife, Samar, in Asheville, North Carolina, where a foot of snow was creating memories that they did not imagine.

Samar, a 2005 graduate of Manarat Al Sharkiya in Alkhobar had recently tied the knot with Adnan a resident of Myrtle Beach.

“Americans come to Myrtle Beach for their honeymoon, but when you live in Myrtle Beach you want to go somewhere else.” Adnan told Arab News.

A lucky survivor of a major layoff in his company, which saw 8,000 people lose their job, Adnan decided to go on a low budget honeymoon to Asheville North Carolina just five hours away from their apartment.

Two days into Asheville, the snow came down and the honeymooners got snowed in.

“It was in the beginning less than six inches but people in North Carolina behaved like it was the North Pole,” Samar said.

“Everything closed down, the museum, the art gallery and most restaurants. The ones that were open had amazing queues. A subway place told us that there was a fourhour waiting. A Red Lobster was so full; they had people standing for hours just to get a seat. The manager and assistant managers were all serving as waiters,” she said.

“We could hardly go out for long without the coat (In fact, the couple left Asheville without their coats and will have to pay for it to be mailed to them). Coming from Myrtle Beach, I did not have ice scraper to clean the windshield with. I wore my drink holder over my hands and cleaned the car. I was lucky. I saw so many people clean their cars with bare hands.” The honeymooners managed to get out of Asheville with a couple of their vacation days left. They booked an Oceanside room in good old, sunny Myrtle Beach just minutes from their apartment.

“That way we can go home and feed the fish too,” said Adnan. Samar added: “It was not so bad. It gave me a chance to really bond with my husband. And it was like a life lesson. Marriage will have all seasons and temperatures, must learn to keep our coats dry cleaned and available.”