The Journey -- Day One

So I didn't sleep much Tuesday night.  It was half Christmas-eve-itis and half abject terror.  But, even without a great night sleep, Wednesday came and with it the start of our great adventure.

We began the day with our good friends at the graduation party for Pippa's Little Monkey's Preschool.  What a fun year we have had!  We mothers took turns teaching our five little monkeys and the kids got a chance to learn and play together.

As soon as graduation was over, I gathered my monkey and her brother (luckily they were very excited to leave), strapped them in and off we went!

Today's trip was a long-ish one -- almost 7 hours of driving through Maryland and West Virginia -- and, because of graduation I wasn't able to get on the road until about 11:30.  I had already made hotel reservations in Marietta, Ohio and I wanted to get there before too late . . . all in all, after a long night and a hectic morning, I was pretty frazzled and grumpy by the time we were actually on our way and then, just as we were getting onto I-95, the rain hit -- buckets and torrents and blinding waves of precipitation -- just great . . .

There is something about the open road, though -- the storm moved on and we were on our way.  The kids were happily playing on their new travel desks and trying to out-sing each other and, just like the clouds, my mood lifted.

The kids were FABULOUS today.  Very little trauma and lots of laughing and singing and sleeping!

The weather was terrible.  We passed through blinding downpours about 6 times over the course of the day, but they never lasted too long and we made it safely through.

We reached Marietta at about 6:30 pm -- not a bad time at all, especially considering the weather -- and checked into our hotel.  We're staying at the Lafayette -- an old (and supposedly haunted) hotel on the shore of the Ohio River.  Our room is tiny -- two twin beds a desk and a dresser with just enough room on the floor for the kids (Pippa decided she wanted to sleep in her sleeping bag rather than on the bed) -- with lots of character.  The furniture is all heavy, elaborately carved, Victorian.  The bathroom is as tiny as the room with a deep, turquoise-blue, bathtub and a toilet you have to sit sideways to fit on.

Outside there is a little park and a walk along the river.  I almost wish we could stay longer!

The kids had a hard time falling asleep -- about 10:30 for Merry and a bit later for Pippa -- but once they went down they both slept well and I slept pretty well too -- until Pip woke me up at 6:50 -- doesn't she know vacations are for sleeping in? (She is probably thinking what I once thought about my parents -- "doesn't she know there are exciting things to do?") And so there are!

We're on our way to Indiana today.  Another 6+ hour drive, but we have more flexibility today and the weather looks much better!

We'll check back in tomorrow!