Swans, Ice, and Spinning Cars

So, my daughter decides to go on a walk to the park today with her friend. I said that was fine and off she went. She calls me about 30 minutes later to tell me there were some swans at the park and they were really pretty. I thought I would take Russ's advice and go shoot in the snow....what the heck! So I grab my bag and my new tripod and head to my car. To get to where my daughter saw the swans, I could either park on the street and make the long trek up some icy steps and down the bike trail or go through the cemetery and up a somewhat steep road going to the back of the cemetery. Guess which one I chose....that's right, the steep road. Idiot! My car got stuck halfway up, then started to slide backwards while I was in drive! And of course, no matter which way I turned the wheel, the car was going to slide in whatever direction it chose, which happened to be backward and right toward the guardrail. So I set there a minute trying to figure out what to do, all the while trying to go forward (not happening) backward (also not happening) and praying I didn't slide anymore. So I finally decide to try to turn the car and I put it in drive, turned the wheel really hard to the right and went spinning and sliding down the road SIDEWAYS! Let me just say, I almost peed myself and I was shaking pretty hard. Finally, I get back down the hill, park on the road, and go the way I should have gone, but I did get some really pretty pictures of the swans.....after my hands stopped shaking so bad. Live and learn!