STRANDED ON THE GRAPEVINE WEARY MOTORISTS FINALLY GET THE OK TO HEAD HOME.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

CASTAIC - Matt and Tina Hodges thought their experience of Disneyland's California Adventure was over when they left the park Wednesday morning.

They had spent three days roaming around the theme park in the rain, stopped to fix a flat tire and locked the keys to the sport utility vehicle inside. So they didn't blink an eye when police ordered them off the Golden State Freeway on Wednesday morning because snow had forced the closure of the road.

``It's been quite an adventure, but we are hanging in there,'' Matt Hodges said.

The couple and their two children only had to wait a few hours - unlike hundreds of other weary travelers - until the California Highway Patrol reopened I-5 after shutting it down late Monday night because of icy roads.

Semitrucks, cars, motorcycles and trucks stretched four miles down the northbound freeway lanes about noon Wednesday until the CHP began escorting hundreds of vehicles over the Grapevine.

Doug Sweeney, CHP spokesman, said roads were still icy and covered with sand so police wanted motorists to drive slow and use caution.

Since 10 p.m. Monday, police had turned away thousands of vehicles, too many to count, Sweeney said. Most people drove back to Los Angeles, but some waited.

Mike and Cheryl Ault and their kids left Cordes Lakes, Ariz., on Tuesday morning, purposely avoiding the Flagstaff mountains so they wouldn't get caught in the snow.

They were stopped later that night, but were able to find an open motel room. They weren't upset about the delay in their trip to Oregon, but about the $100 the motel charged them for the night.

``We didn't think there would be any problems,'' Cheryl Ault said. ``It's been so expensive.''

Without a lot of lodging options, other stranded motorists slept in their vehicles with the motor running.

Johnny Rodriguez and seven other truck drivers traveling together from Los Angeles to Fresno after delivering produce had been waiting to go home since Tuesday morning.

Rodriguez recalls being stuck on the other side of the Grapevine two years ago during a storm, but at least this time he knew what to expect.

``I knew I was going to get some extra sleep,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Tina Hodges of Roseville, Calif., makes lunch for her children, Evan, 3, and Sara, 7, in the back of their van during their wait.

(2 -- color) Truckers, including Johny Rodriguez, center, waits for Interstate 5 to open Wednesday outside Cafe Mike in Castaic.

(3 -- color) no caption (Road Closed sign)

(4) Trucks line up along a frontage road as the Golden State Freeway remains shut Wednesday during a two-day closure.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer