The last three days have been a blur. Because we knew it was going to be a long trip we decided to get started fairly early, with our goal being to leave the hotel by 8:00 a.m. We didn't quite make that but it was close.
This is the part I hate the most. I have way too many pictures like this with us waving good-bye to our boys. It was hard this time too but knowing we will see him again in just a few weeks for Thanksgiving was a real comfort. I only cried a little. :)
We said farewell to the Inns of the Corps for the last time...
I had one last inner giggle at the "Welcome Aboard Camp Lejeune" sign...
And we hit the road...
Richard and Tanya fell alseep almost immediately. In their defense, Tanya wasn't feeling well. We think she may have gotten a slight case of food poisoning, maybe at Cracker Barrel, and Richard had worked hard the night before on his homework. He completed a week's worth of biology AND math in one evening. They earned a rest.
Natalie held out for a while...
...but eventually she succumbed to the call of sleep too...
The trip was long but largely uneventful. It was interesting to see the cotton fields. We missed them last time because it was dark when we went through the area.
Before we knew it we were in Virginia.
I didn't remember the trees being so colorful the last time, but it may have been dark and was probably raining then.
When we got to West Virginia I was really curious to see what had happened with the snow in the mountains.
Even at the highest elevations the roads were clear and there were just remnants left of the blizzard caused by hurricane Sandy.
I passed the time working on my knitting projects; a pair of slippers for Jimmy's sister which I finished somewhere in Virginia I think, ...
...and a holiday dishcloth pattern that I've been trying to perfect. Maybe third time's the charm on this one...
We crossed into Ohio at about 3:15. The GPS said it was about 3 more hours to ONU.
The weather was steadily getting colder and at some point it started to sprinkle on and off.
Then it was only about seven more hours to go (sigh) I still feel exhausted just thinking about it. It is amazing how tiring just sitting can be. We were all getting pretty sick of it but Jim was a champ. Other than the one hour which I drove between a rest stop and arriving at ONU, Jim drove the entire 20+ hour trip without once complaining.
By the time we reached Ohio I was pretty much done and napped off and on the rest of the trip so if you like the pictures you are out of luck for the rest of this trip. I personally never sleep really well when in a car but it does help to pass the time. Around two-something in the morning we pulled into Brian's farm in Hustisford to pick up Richard's truck and Natalie's car and they drove from there. That was when the wildlife fun started. Before arriving at the farm we saw two bucks, one on either side of the road. During rutting season bucks are very unpredictable but fortunately they both turned away. It got our adrenaline going though! We also saw a skunk meandering down the middle of the road. It didn't seem particularly concerned when we zipped past, at least not that we know of. After leaving Brian's we saw TWO more skunks crossing the road. I'm pretty sure I've never seen that many skunks (alive) outside of a zoo. Ever.
We all arrived home safely at around three in the morning. We only grabbed the essentials out of the vehicle and then we all hit the beds.
Richard and I were up a few hours later to go to church but Jim and Natalie needed more rest. Later in the day Jim went to work to assess the damage that occurred in his absence and I unpacked the suburban and started putting things away. Sunday evening Natalie and I drove to Watertown to pick up Lexi and Libby, who were happy to see us...LOTS of wiggling rear ends. Apparently they were pretty well behaved. The only thing they got into was a packet of Chris's muscle powder. Now we may have some buff doxies. Maybe they will be better able to stand up to Gizmo's attitude attacks.
After dropping off Natalie and the dogs I headed out to my friend Gina's to pick up Gizmo as well. It is a bit of a drive out there, almost an hour but I was proud of myself for finding it in the dark.
Now everyone is safely back home, I am slowly, and I mean SLOWLY getting back into the swing of things. I can't seem to get organized.
Monday night we had a family dinner of sorts. I went to Pick-n-Save and got "gourmet" burgers, bacon and cheddar, italian pizza and plain. They were HUGE and delicious.
Someone seems to have picked up the bad habit of begging while we were gone, hmmm...... (get used to disappointment Gizmo!)
A family dinner with Phil and Tiffany was a perfect way to end our fall vacation!
Photo of the Day:
Scripture Verse of the Day:
"My son, preserve sound judgement and discernment...then you will go on your way in safety..."
Prov. 3:21,23
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