I am comfortably ensconced in a DoubleTree in outside of Columbus, OH, with a lovely Salad Caprese settling nicely in my tummy. It was a very long day with stops in NJ for gas (a good 30 cents cheaper per gallon than home), PA for Chili's (at, I swear, the same Chili's I got lunch from on the way to MN) and later for more gas, and in OH for Dairy Queen. Note to self, finger food is good for eating while driving, spoon food not so much. It's a good thing I had lots of napkins.
Dumble had short walkies each time we stopped. I offered him water each time, but he wasn't interested. As soon as I put the dish down in the hotel he drank. Go figure. He's such good company, napping most of the day in his car seat. (He has one of these.) He sits in the passenger seat in easy reach for ear scritching and back rubbing, and where he can look at me if he's wondering what's going on (he can tell when I disengage the cruise control or slow down).
It was warm in the car when the sun was shining, and I ran the fan with no noticable cooling. After a couple of hours, I finally thought to check if the car was on recirc - duh. He did not like it when I opened his window a little to let some air in, the sound of the air rushing in scared him a bit. I'm glad I got that figured out. (I'm also really glad I got the a/c fixed, Dad was saying it should be quite warm when I hit Arizona.)
I tried to listen to an audiobook of Pride and Prejudice on my Ipod through the car radio, but even with the volume all the way up on the radio, I had trouble hearing it. I'm bummed. I need to poke around with google to see if there's anything I can do.
I listened to the "Traffic Report" on the XM Highway. That's alway fun, but I hardly ever catch it since they stopped playing it on Wednesday afternoons. Then I listened to all the Sugarland music on my Ipod, followed by The Pulse (XM 26) and Laugh USA (XM 131?). Oh and a little Holly (a Christmas music station on XM). I don't think I could bear the driving without the XM and the Ipod!
I had nice chats with my sweeties, my Dad and my Auntie via my bluetooth headset - also a great way to kill some miles painlessly.
Some cool town names - Blairstown, PA, and DuBois, PA (hi, sis!)
I'm for bed - I hope I sleep better than last night!
A little Holly, huh? Nice. I was startled to think my voice might be coming at you through your car speakers - that'd be spoooky! Sounds like you had a good and productive day on the road. Hope the rest of the trip is equally pleasant!
ReplyDeleteYeah! You're a hero, Safe travels, and hope this is enough until we can be returned to work near our beloveds.
ReplyDeleteHey Ms. Ellen sounds like a good day. Jer and I just got back from PA (geneology whirlwind trip). Please hugs to dumble and be safe.
ReplyDeleteLove Mags
Thanks, Keith. It was so hard to leave yesterday, but I don't really have a choice - not if we want to keep the house! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd it could be worse - there could be no Tandem jobs anywhere.
I hope your holiday was nice! And we both have Xmas to look forward to.
Maggie, I hope your foray in PA was productive - your family tree must be looking pretty good by now!
Holly, I actually do think of you when I tune to the Holly radio channel!