This all started as a good plan… a wire-to-wire road trip adventure taken entirely via the rails…Exchange Street in downtown Buffalo all the way to the Inwood station in Far Rockaway and points in between.

As things turned out, yesterday was a challenging travel day all around. Incredibly, we actually made it to the 9PM opening tipoff of the Big East finals at Madison Square Garden.

With winds whipping and a heavy rain falling, on Saturday we along with other family members headed out to Deer Park in Suffolk County to visit Pete’s cousin Sandy and her husband Paul, with baby due anytime now. Looking at the efficient and comprehensive route maps, we found that there was a Long Island Railroad Station right in town. So not only would we not have to drive all the way back to Inwood, but we would get the experience of another set of tracks and stations to explore as part of our travel adventure.

Things went downhill fast.

We got onto the train OK, but five stations later, in Hicksville, things came to a halt. At first they said the gates weren’t powering up, then they said there was debris blocking the tracks, as the minutes ticked away, we were then informed there was a fire in the control tower. It was now past 7PM; our dinner plans in Midtown were up in smoke and we had no idea when, or if, the train would get running anytime soon.

Pete became a man on a mission; after logging 14 basketball games in 5 days, witnessing all 16 teams in the Big East in action, he would move Heaven and Earth to get us to the Garden in time for the game.

On the phone he went, calling his dad in Horseheads, getting his family on the horn eastward in Deer Park, and they got the numbers for cab companies in the Hicksville area for us to try.

At the Hicksville Station it was a scene of chaos. Nothing running, stranded passengers, the rain was falling precipitously. We hunkered in a Dunkin Donuts across the street, where their lobby was quickly flooding and others packed the area just to get out of the horrible conditions.

Yes Pete managed to get us a cab; we waited a bit while the cabbie vainly tried to find 3 other passengers trying to get to Manhattan. Meanwhile, others approached the door, “Please take us to Jamaica” one lady implored. No dice, so with just us two passengers in tow, we waded through the blinding rain and wind and onto the expressway for the 40 mile cab ride into Midtown. Exiting the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was surreal. The streets were still pretty packed with cars and people, but with the horrific weather conditions, it was a mad dash to manage the elements, and I could only think of the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” a disaster flick involving a weather meltdown in New York which led to a deep freeze.

He got us there in time, in fact with a half hour to spare. Total cost? $117 plus tip…$140 total. Desperate times indeed.

The story does not end here.

Following the game, we’re back in the basement of Penn Station, checking the boards for our return home down the Far Rockaway line. Yes the LIRR got us as far as Valley Stream, six stations from our destination. Employees led us off the train and out of the station with flashlights, and from there we boarded a waiting bus.

A gregarious female driver warned us of what was to come. Downed power lines, trees blocking streets. No power. She maneuvered this massive bus down narrow streets in the pitch darkness. The damage and devastation was everywhere. And then the stations and the neighborhoods… Gibson, Hewlett, Woodmere, Cedarhurst and Lawrence, all well groomed and manicured towns sitting mostly in darkness, except for the cops and emergency vehicles blocking roads and diverting traffic.

We arrived at Inwood at 1:45AM, roughly an hour later than expected.

Oh, did we mention today we switch to Daylight Savings Time?

Ah, the romance of the rails.

So on this Sunday morning, we pack our bags, checking the MTA web site, only to learn of further delays and cancellations on the LIRR routes. Pete’s relatives are gearing up to drive us to any operable station that will get us into Penn Station for our 1;15PM Amtrak departure. The rain is still pounding heavily; we just hear a clap of thunder and sirens are now wailing in the distance. What will today bring?

OK… just settled. We’re going to ask Aunt Linda to drive us to the Lynbrook Station, about 8 miles away. Right next door to the train platform is a White Castle.

See? Maybe it won’t be such a bad day after all!