Arriving at the Mount

Today, I got to drive, in the misty rain, through Virginia, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. If it had not been for Liam, I would still be trying to figure out how to get through the nation’s capital. Liam has certainly solidified his worth on this trip by helping me navigate the maze of freeways, underpasses, overpasses and HOV lanes.
I was very grateful that I went through DC on a Sunday, because, even then, the traffic was heavy. I can only imagine how long and arduous it would have been on a week day.
My route took me right past the monuments and I could see the dome in the mist.

I chose to take the toll roads, because it took an hour and a half off of the travel time to New Jersey from Richmond. Toll roads took me through a tunnel under the river at Baltimore, over gigantic bridges and onto the New Jersey Parkway where I encountered the worse traffic since I left the Bay Area, going 5 – 20 miles an hour for over an hour and paying for the privilege.

It was all worth it, when I finally arrived safely at the Mount in Watchung the welcome mat was out, tea was waiting and “my nuns” were as hospitable as ever. After unpacking, Sr. Marlene and I went out or a nice quiet dinner and got to reconnect. It will be early to be and late to rise tomorrow then off shopping and lunching with a few wonderful women.

Zoe, is holding up very well, but has a small booboo. Now that I am safely on the other side of the continent, I can reveal that on my very first day, just after I got on Highway 5 a truck threw a stone into my window and cracked it. That night I found a PepBoys and got a resin epoxy, or something, and sealed the crack so that it would not grow any more. It worked and I was very proud of my self for fixing it. Just did not want the Stepher to worry. I have been faithfully checking the engine, the oil and water levels and Lil Car is great.