My Version of Smith Hill

Right off the top I have to comment on the frigid temperatures. The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was start the car. I'm thinking a good half hour of warming up might not be enough. Luckily that did the trick.. nice and toasty on my AM commute.
Anyway on the way into work I ended up seeing Andrea Bullard (we live in the same neighborhood.) Actually, I look for Andrea every morning on my way in. We travel the same route to work so the chances of us bumping into each other are pretty high. It's kind of become a little game for me... odd I agree.
First thought once I hit the road... "I wonder what Smith Hill is like?" Honestly that's my first thought every morning on my way in, especially in the winter. If you've never made the trek up, you must check it out, if only to understand where I am coming from. Just to give perspective, I used to live in West Winfield. That's a 30 minute commute to work. It was always smooth sailing --until that HILL!
Moving on-- all is well on my way in. I stop at a local gas station in North Utica to grab a beverage( Mountain Dew)... then it's up the hill. I catch up with Andrea(she's a very cautious driver, hence slow). Fortunately she understands you need speed to make it up the hill. Unfortunately, deer crossing the road don't care. Andrea slams on her brakes, as do I. There's no collision. I was a safe distance from her car. Now I'm thinking.. "Here we go, I'm going to end up backing my car down this hill." Luckily that doesn't happen. We make up just fine. The town of Deerfield was out early, keeping up with Mother Nature.
A fine start to a chilly day!