road-tripping to NYC

ph took friday off & we rented a car to go see our friends in brooklyn. we had a great time while there, and it was especially nice getting to meet their son for the first time. the weather didnt agree with us, or else we would have spent all day outdoors.. but alas, there was a heat advisory in effect.. 95F/35C but with 93% humidity, so it was very uncomfortable. of course now that we're back its a lovely 75F/25C.. but what can you do? we got ice cream.

the car trip there was brutal, though. it took us almost 10 hours (google maps says 4 hrs, figuring no traffic or stops). we left at 10am, drove an hour.. and made a planned detour to the local "ye olde quaker village" to see some farm animals & how people lived back then (called old sturbridge village, if youre curious - was very interesting and fun for the kids, so it ended up being a 2-hr detour including lunch)

so we got back on the road, but passing through new haven there was something going with the US open (tennis tournament) that we were stuck for almost 2 hours! we said.. "man, this is slow!,, lets take the next exit & jump over to that other freeway! and ~bonus~ it's a scenic route!". ugh. oh no.. just when it was too late to turn around, it's construction delays.. and then a 3-car accident blocking the (very beautiful, but) two-lanes-and-no-shoulder road. so, we were just stuck. we were going about 5 miles an hour stop and go for more than an hour.. so i got in the backseat & unbuckled the kids and let them play around until the accident cleared and we were moving again.

after that ordeal we stopped at next rest stop -for about an hour- to shake our legs out and recuperate. luckily we had some serious snacks on hand (fruit, sausage, cheese, crackers), so we didnt have to stop for a dinner break too.

so we then sat in 1 hour of NYC friday afternoon traffic (which was to be expected) trying to get over a bridge with a ZILLION OTHER FOLKS. and got to our friends house around 830pm.

the way back we took a slightly diffrent route, made two good rest stops, and were home in 6 hours. the kids were road weary and seemed to take turns complaining... which was so very nice of them, but extremely tiring for me.

but its okay. next time we'll take the train. its probably worth the extra money. at least the terrible trip didn't detract from the nice visit with good friends we hadnt seen in four years!