home again, home again, jiggity jog

soooo... field trip done and everyone is home safe and sound. what did we learn?

R: "sleep more; awake less."

S: how to be more aware of her surroundings.

G: that he is too big to change directions in a wire mesh tunnel 100 feet or so from the ground.

me: hmmm. lots about limits (what kind of hotel i won't stay in; how long a drive is doable for us; etc.) that i have some pretty amazing family. just how far away things can be and still be nearby. ... oh, and what to bring and not bring... :)



now, back to the real world... until the next trip. :)

family, friends, and weather apocalypse

we arrived in delaware in time for a family gathering with many loved ones. we all enjoyed talking, catching up, and laughing, but the kids made out the best.









the next day superstorm sandy started to arrive. we took a walk early on and then watched old, old episodes of addams family. we were among the most lucky in the area, with power and no damage. but things did get a little crazy after some high-energy people had been cooped up too long.









finally, things cleared enough we could travel a little, and enjoyed a spur-of-the-moment gathering with more family in lancaster, pa. again, the kids made out in the deal.





we drove into philly to explore a bit and hang out with beloved friends, and then to follow them home for trick-or-treating.




















and then we drove down to near-baltimore to visit *more* family. this time my two played with my cousin's two, once cross-species communication was figured out.








so much love! so many hugs and laughs and stories! it is hard to leave and head home to uncertainty, but... it is home and we miss many people there, too.

friday we drive home. one more driving day.

home coming

one more road day. we stopped this time in fredricksburg. :)









while the girls got ice cream with daddy, i got to visit a small apothecary history museum.







(that's a live leech in the glass bowl.)







then we got back in the car and finished the drive up (with two car ghosts in the backseat.)




and enjoyed the fall foliage, again. :)




now we are here, looking forward to visiting with family and friends for the next few days.

another town and more show

yesterday started with the back roads...







but as that got complicated, the maps lacked the roads we needed, and cell signal (for gps) flickered in and out at best, we ended up back on the highway.




but first, we did check out the north carolina welcome center.















at this point, we're just rushing to delaware to visit family and friends. tomorrow, we'll be driving through the outer reaches of sandy.

savannah isn't a savannah...

sadly one daughter came down with a stomach bug in the wee hours, so she rested at the hotel with daddy and chilled.

so, R and i visited savannah alone. we enjoyed savannah's beauty.
















we met a lovely artist, and saw one of the historic houses, a paddle boat and forsythe park.

















back again, and daughter is recovering, so tomorrow should be better for her. we'll be continuing north, stopping in rocky mount, north carolina on our way to family.

into the atlantic

we left tallahassee this morning and continued east right up to the atlantic (in jacksonville.) during our drive, we also witnessed a forest fire near the highway.













some of us got a little wet. :)









then we got great lunch (and even better conversation) at M Shack on atlantic blvd. while the adults chatted, the girls ran across the street and made friends.





then we turned north and got in to savannah with dark. tomorrow we will play in savannah.

another town and one more show...

when we stopped for lunch at a drive in (as opposed to a drive through), my daughter found on the radio that old journey song "...the road's no place to raise a family..." ha ha ha!! :)

today, after a delightful breakfast at the inn, we bade a fond fair well to new orleans and hit the road... again. :)













our hotel here in tallahassee has an open pool, sooo the girls are enjoying a second benefit of the T-shirts we got in new orleans... :)









tomorrow we'll head to jacksonville, fl, and the atlantic ocean, then north to savannah before bedtime.