Worked a half day, then metro'd to the airport to pick up the SUV we're renting. Then back to the house, Kathy and I loaded the car up to the gills, added Emelia and our dogs, and we're on our way by 2:30. Emelia is screaming up a storm from the get-go, it's raining, and traffic is going nowhere. One hour on the road, and we're still inside the DC Beltway, but at least Emelia has settled down. Two hours in, and we've gotten just past Baltimore. Finally, just before 5pm, we start moving in earnest, though with the rain, fog, traffic, we still can't go very fast. We stop briefly around 7pm, to let the dogs go to the bathroom, then press onward for another hour for a stop in a Northern New Jersey brewpub. We stay there for about 90 minutes, enough time to relax and enjoy a surprisingly good meal (and a sampler of beers). Back on the road, traffic creeps along on the rotten New York roads, rain still falling steadily, Emelia crying occasionally but generally ok. Arrive in Grandma's and Grandpa's house around 1:30, unload the car, head to bed around 2:30, Kathy stays up another hour with a wound-up daughter.
But now we're here, and we can enjoy our week up here. It even makes yesterday worth it.
