Travelogue: Day 1

Left my parents house in central NJ at 2pm, headed toward PA but stopped to grab an iTrip FM transmitter and lunch at McDonalds. While sitting in the car, I realized that I had forgotten my jewelry and my extra set of car keys. This in itself wasn’t a huge problem, but the key to my grandmother’s china cabinet was on that key ring. Without it, I’d have to keep all her china on my dining room table, and let’s face it, with three young kids, you don’t want your china within their reach. DH was kind enough to take us back so I could get the stuff. We were finally on our way at 3pm. That was 6 hours later than DH had wanted to start.

We drove the route the AAA had suggested, which was PA Turnpike to I-81 South, through a little of western MD and WV, and south through western-central VA. We grabbed a quick dinner at Wendy’s and drove on through most of VA. We got stuck by James Madison Univ., where the highway was stopped dead, thanks to a car fire. DH decided to try and find a hotel for the night, and decided to stop at the Hampton Inn, where the surliest desk clerk greeted him. She scowled at him and asked, “Reservation?” “No.” Then she angrily replied, “Days Inn!” We drove down to Staunton, the next big town, hoping to find a room at the Hampton Inn there. Unfortunately it also was booked solid but the kind desk clerk did find us a suite at the Hampton Inn in Lexington, about 30 miles south and made our reservation there. We arrived shortly after midnight at a gorgeous brick manor home; this was the Hampton Inn Col Alto. The desk clerk told me they had no vacancy but I told her I had a reservation. She was quite shocked, since the room we were to receive is not rented out after 11pm because it is right behind the lobby and can get noisy. She had trouble getting us in the system also, and wasn’t sure if she had an extra portacrib. When she showed me where the room (the McDowell room) was, I took a peek. Let me tell you, it was AMAZING. We had a beautiful king size four poster bed facing a fireplace. The ceilings were at least 10 feet high. In the two corners facing us were chaises, and we let B choose which one she’d sleep on. The clerk found a portacrib, and we set ours and the hotels up for S and A.

Our funny quote of the day: “Do they speak Spanish in Virginia?” B had just started a weekly Spanish class at her old daycare, and the teacher had given her the name Virginia. Funny the way their minds work.