Fact: Day Nineteen

Today was another driving day.

We went to lots of states. I have a bunch of pictures and one funny story to tell. Let's go.

Dwight getting ready to go...

Leaving New York for the last time on this trip--hello Pennsylvania (again).
Matt with Dwight.
Welcome to Ohio! My taking-pictures-in-motion skills are improving.
Cleveland rocks (which is the Drew Carey Show theme song I couldn't get out of my head the entire time we were here...)
I've been to Indiana before--when Jodie & Adrian lived here. It just wasn't the same without them...
Michigan was another touch-and-go state. We did make sure that we stayed here longer than we did in Rhode Island (because Rhode Island is smaller, of course).
Great Lakes, great times (apparently).
It was starting to get late by this point. Jim wanted to get close enough to Wisconsin that our drive tomorrow to Laura's won't be horrendous. Which meant the drive today got a bit painful near the end.
Haven't we already been in and left Ohio? Why is this picture here in the order of things? Visiting too many states....getting muddled....
I took a bunch of pictures of basically nothing along the highway to work on my motion photo skills. This one made us all laugh...because is it really necessary to have an Exit ZERO? Doesn't it deserve something better than the absence of a number?



We stopped for the night in Rockford, Illinois.

And now my little story from the day.

At one point, we swapped seats and Will was in the front seat with Jim. I was right behind Jim on the middle bench with Matt and Rach was in the back seat (referred to in our house as the back-back) with Jourdan.

Matt turned to me after being quiet for a minute and we had this conversation:

Matt: Mom, would you trade seats with me?
me: Sure, why?
Matt: (pause) Well. (pause) I've been thinking. If the van suddenly split down the middle, I'd really like to be on the side with the steering wheel.

The perfect story of life with Matt Parker.

Fact: Day Ten

Today we woke up in beautiful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

We didn't necessarily get UP right then. In fact, the housekeepers knocked twice convinced that we must have checked out by now and I cheerfully let them know that we weren't quite ready, but thanks for asking. It was a lovely, lazy morning.

We finally tumbled out of the hotel right at noon and headed the strenuous 2 blocks to Independence Square. We saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (and we relived all the scenes from "National Treasure" that we could), tried a real Philly Cheesesteak (Jim, Will, and I loved them--Jourdan wouldn't try it, Will & Rachel were quick to reject it and I guarantee I found the MOST expensive vendor in the entire city...but that's another story all together), saw Benjamin Franklin's grave, toured around the United States Mint (the P on all your quarters mean they were minted in Philadelphia, of course you knew that), and left Pennsylvania behind.

We drove on the New Jersey Turnpike all the way to Newark. The whole way, I made phone calls to hotels in New Jersey and Manhattan and came to a swift and scary conclusion...IT'S A HOLIDAY WEEKEND!! We need two nights in a hotel until our subleased apartment is ready for us on Sunday afternoon. Everyone could accomodate us tonight. Tomorrow--not so much.

So we took the first option that was available--a medium-cheap Marriott basically in the parking lot of the Newark Airport. Actually on the off-ramp of the southbound access road that is leaving the Jersey Turnpike and connecting a U-turn from the northbound loop.

Which thing I know because I made the horrible decision to do laundry. I got convenient, printed directions from the hotel concierge to a local laundromat and off I went. Except that the street didn't exist. I toured the streets of Newark enjoying the view (a lot of the houses looked just like Peter Parker's aunt's neighborhood from the first Spiderman movie) and ran into a clean, warm laundromat in a Korean-ish neighborhood. The owners were friendly and helpful and I got the laundry done.

At 8:35pm, I was pulling out of the McDonald's drive-thru and had just texted Jourdan that I was on my way back to the hotel. At 9:26, I pulled into the hotel parking lot. Which was precisely 3 miles north of where I was when I texted her. You do the math.

I drove past the hotel going the wrong direction three times, circled the airport twice, went the wrong way on accident 5 times, got on the turnpike once (a 60 cent mistake), and got to the hotel with a bag full of room-temperature french fries and an increased appreciation for public transit.

Independence Hall and Liberty Hall (wherein the Liberty Bell resides).Dwight loves Pennsylvania.
We did walk two entire blocks.
Matt.
The Liberty Bell!
Benjamin Franklin's grave dotted with pennies. Will & Matt spent some time cleaning up around his grave, putting all the pennies back on top. I briefly wondered if they'd pocket the pennies had no one been looking...but Franklin probably would have approved.




Mint, Dwight?

Mint, Dwight?

Michael Scott's Paper Company Official Snack Food
When we drove into Jersey, we looked and looked (and LOOKED) for a Welcome Center. Jourdan declared that she did not feel welcome and I said that might be what they were going for. We did find the words "New" and "Jersey" together in a couple of spots...
Will is our official state-hunter.
We are all prepared for our grand debut as agents for an Improv Everywhere mission. We have 6 iPods, 2 cameras, and 3 phones charging. We have purchased, washed, and hung gently all the required wardrobe. We have checked and double-checked our route to Roosevelt Island. And we're ready. It's the reason we came to the city tonight.

Fact: Day Nine

Today we left the Martines' house, traveled 50 miles to DC, used Colleen's super-slick trick for cheap/easy parking right near the Mall, walked and walked and walked until our feet were black (we all wore flips except Jim...our feet were FILTHY and tired!), rode the Metro until we were experts and I almost didn't freak out every time Matt got close to an incoming train and did some insane trick like stood on one foot, drove around the Lincoln Memorial until we figured out how to illegally stop to see it (without having to walk an additional 4 miles to get to it), drove over the Arlington Cemetery Bridge 11 times figuring out the above illegal stop (we think the traffic markings were more guidelines than rules), drove through Delaware (all 14 miles of it), and stopped at a Holiday Inn (we're earning points) where upon checking in, we discovered that we're 2.5 blocks from the Liberty Bell. Awesome!

The only other picture of the Martines Family...Jeffrey! He was pitching a fit about something and I asked him to hold Dwight as a distraction then proceeded to pepper him with questions until he was absolutely baffled by me. That's usually the effect I have on small children.
We had an easy 55 mile drive to THIS sign. Woot!

And Dwight saw all the important sights.

Dwight in his Presidential Pose--this is inside the Washington Monument waiting to go up the elevator.
We learned that the Washington Monument is 555 feet, 5 1/4 inches tall. When we rode up, however, we were a mere 500 feet off the ground. Weak sauce.
The spot Will wanted to visit more than ANY other.
And it's been closed to visitors since 9/11/2001. It was pretty disappointing, but he was happy to see it. And we went to the International Spy Museum around the corner as a consolation. That place was awesome and mind-blowing.

From the Spy Museum, we rode the Metro to what we THOUGHT was the closest station to the White House...we got there anyway.

Then we rode the Metro all the way to Crystal City for Michael Scott's favorite "local" New York food. Dwight enjoyed it, too.
A surreptitiously-acquired photo of Jourdan and Matt on the Metro.
Jim was ready to leave the city by the time we got back to our car--it was 8:30pm and we had essentially walked for about 9 hours. And he was wanting to drive at night to avoid traffic. So he was more antsy than the rest of us to get out. Will and Jourdan REALLY wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial. So he graciously agreed to try and drive over to it. We got TO it with no problems...it was figuring out where/how/when to stop so we could get out that was the tricky part. After circling Arlington National Cemetery five times (and accidentally getting on a freeway at least twice), we had that place figured out and we were on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial! The kids sprinted up to Lincoln himself, Dwight and I stayed down to get a picture, and Jim stayed with the van so it wouldn't get towed or blown up by security. He's just generous that way.
This photo doesn't have Dwight, but it really captures the mood of the evening--it was beautiful and calm and the perfect end to our DC day.
We made it to Delaware with no problems. By this point, only Jim, Will and I were awake to enjoy it (and Dwight, of course). But we have the usual proof that we were there.
I had more than a few people baffled by me taking this shot. It is the middle pillar in a REALLY busy all-night travel stop just past the Delaware border. There were at least 30 people at 11pm getting food at the Roy Rogers. It was like it was lunch here and midnight everywhere else. Odd.
PENNSYLVANIA!!!! Dwight must be extremely happy to be in his home state. If he were going to come to America, it would make sense that he would come to a -sylvania...like PENNsylvania.
Oh we're smiling. Never you fear!
It was a crazy busy day--but SO super fun. Day Ten will find us on the outskirts of New York City. Here we go.