That may be all you want to read. It's all true, and it explains what you need to know. In writing we call it "the main idea," but without supporting details, it doesn't make for much of a story.
So, here is the long of it.
We left Florida on Thursday for our big adventure. Our travelers are MK, T. Willy, MK's boyfriend, MM, and me. We rented a car (okay, mini-van, but I insist I am not a mini-van mom;)). We had a mostly uneventful trip on Thursday on the way to see my mom's sister. I showed the kids some familiar sights along the way, and it went really well. GPS is a wonderful thing. We had a couple of navigational errors, but we arrived safe and sound.
My aunt invited my other aunt and cousins and their children, and it was a lot of fun. We caught up and watched the kids play in the yard and roasted marshmallows and listened to an orchestra of frogs that finally grew so loud that it forced us inside. It was a lot of fun, and it reminded me that it's been too long since I'd visited with the family.
We were exhausted so hadn't set an exact time to leave on Friday. I'd mentioned 7, but we didn't get on the road till about 8:30. I wasn't feeling well, so I'd woken early, taken some medicine and gone back to sleep.
I had planned the trip so that we could drive through the town where we lived when MK was born: Statesville, NC. I showed her the hospital where she was born, the apartments where we lived, and then we went to the restaurant where the Big Man worked. I was so excited to be there that I told our server our reason for going, and she has been with them since they opened and remembered him! I didn't expect that, but it was neat.
Then we drove...and drove...and drove. Good grief. I-81 was so much longer than I'd remembered. My dad had given me directions to avoid the traffic in DC, so I was really glad that it required getting off of the interstate for awhile. It was a really pretty drive. We stopped for a photo op at "Dinosaur Land." We have pictures of my brother and me there as children, and one of MK as a toddler, so it was nice to add T. Willy to it (and MM.)
We ate and filled the gas tank and went on our way, and just ahead going up the hill to Harper's Ferry, WV, was gridlocked traffic. I debated getting in it because I wasn't sure if it was just moving slowly or not at all, so I pulled into a produce stand and waited. I was so glad I did. We bought some grapes and waited it out. A man gave us an alternate route, so since the traffic wasn't moving at all, we decided to try it.
We didn't even make it a mile when the traffic backed up going that direction too. By now we realized that we were going to be there for awhile. We were able to pull over into a parking lot while we waited it out. Eventually we realized that traffic was moving in the direction we wanted to go in the first place, and we easily got back on the road and kept going. We were so glad that we went that way too, because it was beautiful!! The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we made it to my parents' house around 10. Late - but safe.
MM has lived in Florida all of his life. He has never been to the Northeast, so he saw some new states and scenery. He and the other two were great but weary travelers, and they are ready for some fun before we do it all over again on Thursday.
So here are a few pictures taken along the way.
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