July 21, 2002, Sunday 4:15 P.M.

Well here I am in the final throes of getting ready to drive North on vacation tomorrow morning. This will be my first driving trip back North since I moved down, almost exactly four years ago.

I=m using my new Gateway laptop. It is now primed with all the important files and will be the Amain@ computer while I=m gone.

I=ve had great trepidations about the trip. I hope I=m not biting off more than I can chew. I really want to see the kids. I don=t feel like flying. With the new airport checkin procedures and the reduced plane schedules, I would have to leave home about two a.m. to get a plane

Anyway, if I really start feeling like a traveler, I will have a good time. Planning to go the shore route and return the mountain route.

All these preparations and thinking about it has me having the butterflies. Stomach feels queasy and took a zanax last night to cut the panic reactions.

7 pm was just over to Jeanne=s for scrabble. This afternoon it had rained hard (3.3 inches) but when I passed the pool it was open and people were swimming.

July 22, 2002, 4 p.m.

Here I am at an almost new Remada INN 4 miles North of Manning, SC. Drove 404.1 miles today. Total time start to finish was 8 hours, including stops. So I averaged 50 mph.

The drive went very nicely. About an hour into the drive I was afraid I might be getting sleepy. But it passed. I=m listening to a Dick Francis mystery novel, AThe 10 lb Penalty@ (with horses in it, of course). Made it through 3 2 tapes. Good book and will be anxious to continue it tomorrow.

The last couple of hours of the trip were in and out of rain, but it hardly slowed down the 65-70 mph traffic on I 95.

Going to try and get a bit of a nap. And then I will probably use the nice pool.

Nope, didn=t use the pool. Had a nice dinner at Hardee=s though.

The driving is going so good that I hope to get off at dawn and do another 400+ miles. Hoping to get over the Chesapeake Bay bridge before going to a motel. That would put me on the bridge about 2 p.m. which is a good time to see it.

I didn=t sleep very long last night. Went to bed at 9:30. Watched a little TV. Then fell asleep a little after 10. Had to get up a couple of times and finally at about 3:30 I woke up figuring it mus be around 6. Tried to get back to sleep for about an hour. Then gave up and was rolling at 4:30.

Finished the book (The 10 pound penalty). Was very good and carried me for almost two days. I have another Dick Frances book about twice as long. I=m going to save it for the return trip. Also I have a very poor, poorly written contemporary private bounty hunter book which I=ll probably listen to tomorrow.

Boy that section of highway from Manning, S.C. to the Virginia line is sure interminable. I=m glad I=m not taking it back. Also I think this will be my last time taking the Chesapeake bay bridge. It is out of the way and getting from I95 to Norfolk and through Norfolk is no fun. There is an alternate way to get to the Cape May Ferry.

Ok. Here I am on the AEastern Shore@ of Virginia. At 3:45 p.m. almost didn=t find a room. They are having special Apony days@ at Chincoteague and people have reservations. I didn=t think it would be this bad. So anyway I have a nice room at Comfort Inn at about 2.+ times the rate of last night. ($108)

I went 444.4 miles today. I may skip Chincoteaque. Evidently there is some special pony festival or something over there and I don=t think it=s worth it. May head for Lewis, Delaware and get the ferry. I could be at the kids tomorrow night!! Then I can see Maymay=s ballet recital!!

The last day was the hardest driving. Even though it was only it was only 318.4 miles.The Garden State Parkway is so crowded! In some places it is 6 lanes each way (3 express, 3 local) and many of the drivers are nuts. The speed limit is 65. They do maybe 80 and cut in an out at random. I stayed in middle or right lane and set cruise control at 65. Some cars were at about that speed. Others just flew by. Lots more aggressive driving than at home.

The Lewis to Cape May ferry was the usual fun. I arrived just in time for the 9:40 am ferry. Had to wait only 5 minutes to board. Was raining lightly but just after the ferry left, it stopped raining. Got a lot of interesting pictures (I hope). There were slight swells and the ship felt like a ship. Since the last time I found that I am less steady on my feet and climbed the stairs slowly and carefully. But as far as the ship=s rocking, I had no trouble. I seem to still have my sea legs. No dolphins this time.

I think this will be my last time using the Norfolk-bridge-ferry route. I don=t think it=s worth it to go out of my way. The route through Norfolk is a mess. I really don=t need to see the bridge again.

There is a way to get the ferry via Washington, DC but I doubt it that is worth it either.

The mountain route back home should be very interesting.

Monday, July 29, 2002

Yesterday I went over to Rockland County to FUSRC. They had a very nice service. Liz Carl and her husband and another singer talked about their singing careers and played tapes of themselves at various points over the years.

Saw a lot of my old friends. Went to lunch at the Mt. Ivy diner with the Baumans, Marion Frances, the Chases, and Barbara Frances. Lots of talk.

Barbara Frances says she runs the treasurer=s accounting using Exel spread sheets. I guess if you really know Exel and have experience using all its esoteric features, that it can be done that way.

I figured out what the latest problem is with my Fishkill client. Will take the laptop up there sometime (possibly today) and put the fixes in. Also get PCAnywhere put on this laptop so I don=t have to go there again.

Called Helen Walstedt and arraigned to stay with her a week from today, on the trip home.

July 31, 2002, Wednesday

Went to Fishkill on Monday. Put in the new software. Took it out again. Sure enough, they didn=t anticipate the effects on the margin reports. They are going to think about what they want to do, and I=ll think about ways to separate the various reports so they may be treated differently from one-another.

Current plans are to spend next Monday going to Reston, VA and spending night with Helen. Then covering a couple of hundred miles on the skyline drive and stay two nights in Charlottesville. Spend all day Wednesday at Montecello and roaming around Charlottesville. Then first thing Thursday morning hit the road for I95 and make the same motel in Manning, SC that night. Then home by Friday night. So I=ll still have that interminable drive through the Carolinas. But Asheville/Atlanta route is out-- too long and don=t think I=ll have patience for that much touristing.

August 2, 2002, Friday

So now I have reservations at the Best Western in Charlottesville for next Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

I=m about ready to leave. It=s real nice being with the kids, but I need to get going and DO things. I think the trip up has given me the yen to travel.

The weekend will be nice though. David will be home and so will the kids and it should be a nice, relaxed together sort of weekend. Must remember to do another load of laundry on Sunday afternoon so that I will have clean clothes for the rest of the trip.

When I first got here the weather was quite cool. But after a couple of days it warmed up and the high has been in the mid 90's with high to medium humidity. Just like home. The AC here works very well though so have been comfortable.

Went over the river and had lunch with the Baumans at AThe Hearthside@ in Stony Point. I had the best crab cake I ever ate. Loaded with crab meat and little breading. Also had a ham/vegetable soup that was not much good and too salty at that. Went to their house for an hour or so and yakked.

Don=t feel like going across again so I guess last Sunday morning service and lunch will have to do as far as friends go.

August 3, 2002, Saturday

Had a very satisfying day. Finished the book at home using little tape player. So on the way home, I have one long Dick Francis mystery to listen to. About noon David, Eli and I went over to the school playground to play baseball with Eli. Mostly it was David pitching to Eli who ran the bases. I mostly sat in the shade and watched, but occasionally played outfield to shag the long ones.

Then when we got home David, Eli and I put on swim clothes and jumped into the Abig tub of water@ as David calls it. Stayed in quite a while. Played games etc. Then I went in for a nap. But Eli will stay in as long as anyone lets him. When I woke up everyone was in the computer room playing Sym people. Lounged around all evening, occasionally reading Harry Potter (IV) and just enjoying the family togetherness.

Tomorrow morning it=s bagels and lox again. Then I=ll tag along as Eli and Maymay go for their weekly tennis lesson.

Afternoon it=s doing a load of laundry and preparing for loading the car the next morning for departure.

August 7, 2002, Wednesday

The drive down to Helen=s was very easy except that I took a couple of wrong turns in Leesberg, Va and got lost. Eventually I found my highway again, called Helen on the cell phone when I was 5 minutes away for last minute directions.

The mountain route was interesting and different. But I must say that I 81 has just as many crazy drivers and trucks on it as I 95. And there are hills besides. Scranton was fascinating. It is built on a very hilly Avalley@ of sorts. So all the houses are on steep slopes and the streets would make for good exercise when you are out for a walk.

From Leesberg all the way in to Reston it is built up. Reston itself has changed tremendously since I was last there 30 years ago. There are tall buildings all around a Atown center@ which wasn=t in existence then. Helen says that all around Dulles Airport (which includes Reston) there was a dot com boom which brought in lots of money, well healed people and fancy new office buildings.

The weather changed overnight. Temperature in high 70's. Tuesday driving down it was misty and rainy and hot and humid. Wednesday morning it was sunny and comfortable.

We ate lunch yesterday in a little outdoor cafe in Lake Anne center. In the old days Lake Anne center was the business center of Reston. It is still there and looks very much the same as it did then. However there are five separate in/out door cafes with varying cuisine. Even the old drugstore has an outdoor area for their sodas and stuff.

The thing that is impressing me on this trip is how the population of the whole country has grown. No matter where you go there are parkways and expressways and endless cars traveling at high speed. There are condos and houses everywhere at distances from what was once the cities.

Here in Charlottesville, where I am now, it=s no different. I expected a sleepy old Southern town. No way! It=s as descibed above.

I went to Front Royal and up into Shannondoa National Park. It is really beautiful with lots of overlooks into the valleys where Acivilization@ lurks. However I wasn=t in the mood to stop at each and every overlook. And after a while I tired of driving the twisty mountain road. So about 2/3 of the way along I came down to the valley and made quick time into Charlottesville. It was an absolutely perfect day, clear and cool.

But I couldn=t quite find my motel [Best Western, Mt. Vernon] so I parked in a prominent spot and called them on the cell phone for directions. Turned out, I was only 4 blocks away.

Going to shut this thing off now and get ready to go to Montecello now. More later.

LATER: I had a really long sleep last night 9 or 10 hours. And I slept well, getting back to sleep easily after each time I went to the bathroom. So I started out very rested (very fortunately too, see below).

I haven=t climbed up and down so many stairs and hills in years! This area is sure hilly! I did a thorough tour of Montecello as well as Monroe=s AHighland@ house and the Michie (pronounced AMickey@) tavern. They are all close together and a group ticket was available.

They wouldn=t allow pictures to be taken inside of Montecello or Highland. There is a lot of lent stuff and the owners have a copyright thing going. But I got lots of outside pix. Each place had a guided tour of the insides, most enjoyable.

Montecello was pretty much as I remembered it, but I looked at everything a lot more carefully and wasn=t watching a curious 8 year old. So got a more detailed view. I even walked down to the graveyard and got some good pix, then on down to the gift shop. There is a bus running between the gift shop and the house (3/5 mile but up hill all the way) which I took on the way up. Even walking down was a bit of a chore. I really would have suffered going up!

Monroe=s house was a bit of a surprise. I hadn=t known about it in advance. It is very close by. Seems that Monroe was a protege of Jefferson and they were good friends.

The day was another one of those perfect ones. High 70's and clear as a bell. The pix will confirm it.

I ate Alunch@ it the Mitchie Tavern. It was a very good buffett with chicken (I had a drum stick and thigh) black eyed peas, pickled beets, slaw etc. Also the best cider I ever had, on ice. Turned out it was quite expensive ($15).

The tavern was typical of a Amotel@ of the age. All the men would sleep in one room, the women and children in another. There also was a special room for the occasional rich family.

The day was pretty long. I had breakfast (a good one) at the pancake place near the motel and hit the big visitor’s center about 9 am. Got back to the motel at 4 something.

I was happy to note that I climbed all those stairs and steep paths without any trouble, slightly out of breath and proceeded slowly. But I have trouble going up and down stairs. I go very slowly and carefully, hanging on to the rails at all times. I=m a bit unsteady on my feet. Definitly showing signs of age, dammit!

Tomorrow promises to be another fine comfortable day. Right now I have a mind to head straight for home. But we=ll see what I feel like in the morning.

If I want to explore Asheville, I can always do it at a later date. And right now I think I have had it.

August 8, 2002, Thursday

Yep, I had it. Got up this morning. Had a good breakfast and headed out I 64 aiming for I 95. Stopped a lot along the way. Made reservations at the same Ramada that I stopped at going the other way: at Manning, SC. Lucky I phoned in around 2:30 as there is something going on and I got one of their last rooms. And had to pay a significantly higher rate.

So tomorrow I can leave anytime I want, since the next stop is home and it doesn=t matter when I pull in. I think I will have a swim in the pool in a little while. Temperature is in the high 80's here, but dry. Beautiful sunny day.

As I have been thinking all along: this is the one and only time I ever plan to drive to see the kids. It ain=t worth it. I=ll just have to fly next time (whenever that may be, and I don=t even think about it now. Certainly not this year. Depends upon whether they come to see me again at winter vacation, in which case it won=t be until next summer.

Mileage today, Charlottesville to Manning, SC: 417 miles

Expect tomorrow: 400 miles: Confirmed

Going up: Total 1166.9 to David=s House. So I went 404 miles the first day, 444 miles the second day and 318.4 miles the last day.

July 30, 2002, Friday

Well I did decide to head for home. Stopped in Manning, SC first night after Charlottesville and was home by 5:30 pm the next day.