Jaime's Treehouse Tale (pre-trip right now)

[tiggerbell]

Chapter 7: Getting There is 1/3 the Fun

APRIL 8, 2011: Shanan drives to my house and leaves her car in the garage. We drive near Wrigley Field to pick up Jen. On the way, I explain the License Plate Game to Shanan. I had downloaded one to my phone to keep track of plates on the way to Disney. We get on the highway, less than 10 minutes from my house, and Shanan wants to find every state! As I’m telling her that is so NOT going to happen, a black car with a Hawaii plate drives by in the lefthand lane. You have got to be kidding me!!! That NEVER happens! We joke about turning around; this trip can’t get any better!



We get to Jen’s and get back on the highway, picking up several license plates along the way! We encounter very little traffic and are out of Illinois and into Indiana before we know it! I had snagged an old CD case from out of my garage and we amused ourselves through Indiana, singing along to Madonna and N*SYNC.



I’m doing a sedate 74mph when a car with an unusual plate zooms by on the left. None of us caught what it was. I’m now doing 90, chasing the plate down! All 3 of us have our cameras out to try to get a good enough shot to zoom in and see what it was. I do catch it – turns out to be an Ohio plate I’d never seen. WE’RE HEADING INTO OHIO!!! What a waste!



Rest stops in Indiana are not very imaginative – we end up at a McDonald’s. Jen jokes that she wants to go to the McDonald’s on the other side of the road. I say we’ll try on the way back!





Into Ohio and we’re meeting Todd at the Toledo Express Airport. It was so “Express”, it looked like a movie set!





And we’re racing across Ohio again (for some reason, once Todd was in the car, I stopped doing 74 and was regularly driving at 90mph). Shanan was still keen on getting all 50 license plates and trying to convince us to extending the trip. I told her to stop trying to make us her “Thelma”, although I did agree to the part with Brad Pitt!

Shanan had to juggle her camera, phone, and I-Pass! I was amused and took this shot while driving!







We stop for dinner just inside the Pennsylvania line (pizza and hot dogs, I believe) and then Shanan took over the wheel. Shanan’s never driven in the mountains and she’s excited. I had a bag of Chips Ahoy cookies sitting on the dashboard for my dessert and was arranging the electronics around me as Shanan pulled onto the highway. It was dark, so none of us realized just how short the entrance ramp was – she had to gun it to get in front of a car and the cookies flew into my lap! I grab ahold of them, pick up my phone and yell, “Meggie – Mommie loves you!”

I then open the cookies and start eating them – I paid full price and I’m not losing any of them in the ditch we’re going to end up in! A minute later, my phone rings – it’s Meg!

JAIME: You aren’t going to believe what…

MEG: I called you. Can I talk?

JAIME: Oh. What?

She related some Meggie drama.

JAIME: Can I talk now?

I tell her what happened and about the cookies. She tells me to just tag the cookies with her name; she’ll eat them when the patrol car brings them to her. Thanks for your concern.

Here’s what it looked like when Shanan was driving – it was rainy and foggy for a while, too. Shanan drove through the Alleghany Tunnel and it felt very claustrophobic.



The GPS on my phone tells you how long before you reach your destination. We should have arrived at Anne’s in Hagerstown, MD, at 11:30. I check the GPS and we now have an arrival time of 11:15. Shanan shaved 15 minutes off our time! I make the mistake of telling her that. It’s now Shanan’s personal mission (in addition to getting all 50 states) to get to Anne’s by 11:00pm!

She did it.

CLICK TO CONTINUE

[Tonya2426]

Sorry Shanan but the only car I am getting in to with you is the Tomorrowland Speedway!!!

[mainegal]

And you did not collect any speeding tickets on this trip?!!!

[tiggerbell]

And you did not collect any speeding tickets on this trip?!!!

I know!!!! And we saw a LOT of cops!

[jeanigor]

I know!!!! And we saw a LOT of cops!

Are we going to share why only you and Shanan drove?? (like the photograph and my new nickname?)

[tiggerbell]

Are we going to share why only you and Shanan drove?? (like the photograph and my new nickname?)

As you wish.

[jeanigor]

Had a slight timing incident the Monday before we left.
Now instead of being called "Hey, you, kid". They call me Crash Bandikoot.



No injuries and the car was scheduled to be replaced on Wednesday, anyway....

For some reason Jaime felt I should not drive her baby.

[tiggerbell]

Chapter 8: Being There is 1/3 the Fun

Todd requested I share why only Shanan and I drove: Jen was going to take over, but had a headache at dinner, so she was spared the strain of mountain driving at night (she did, however, put fingernail marks in my back seat). Todd, on the other hand, was told he could go on the trip, but was not allowed to drive my car, due to his driving the week before we left.

Here’s what’s left of his mother’s vehicle…



He claims he stopped, just not in time. I parried with "timing is everything". And his secretary calls him Crash Bandicoot – and now we all do, too!


APRIL 9, 2011: After getting to Anne’s at 11:00 last night, we stayed up until 1:00am talking! A few hours sleep and there’s coffee (I think Anne may have thrown together something for breakfast…). We’re off to DC! I discover this weekend that being the driver really messes with your ability to Facebook, Tweet, and Gowalla… (so these are Shanan's photos!)







Anne directs me into Virginia and onto the George Washington Parkway for a scenic route!



Before we know it, there are landmarks everywhere!







We get to Ros’ house and Robin is there already! Yay! We lug in our stuff, do a little catching up, and head out for lunch. We end up at a building which is a mall (the lack of city space was very strange to me).



Trying to eat a light meal led us to Panera Bread.







After that, it was back to the cars (Robin and Ros driving) and tours of the city. Jen, Anne, and I were in Robin’s car. We had a little trouble between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery… (this would be a great place for a cliff-hanger… I wonder if I’ve hit the picture limit for this post yet…)

CLICK TO CONTINUE

[jeanigor]

After that, it was back to the cars (Robin and Ros driving) and tours of the city. Jen, Anne, and I were in Robin’s car. We had a little trouble between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery… (this would be a great place for a cliff-hanger… I wonder if I’ve hit the picture limit for this post yet…)

Shanan and I rode with Ros; in line with proper security protocol, Jaime and I did not share a ride vehicle--much like Charles and Diane used to travel. (dibs on being Diana).

[tiggerbell]

Shanan and I rode with Ros; in line with proper security protocol, Jaime and I did not share a ride vehicle--much like Charles and Diane used to travel. (dibs on being Diana).

Are you calling my ears big?

[guynwdm]

Are you calling my ears big?

as long as they are sparkly it's ok to have big ears....

[OKW Lover]

--much like Charles and Diane used to travel. (dibs on being Diana).

Are you calling my ears big?

When we were growing up we used to talk about Annette that way.

Woo Hoo! A trip report! And Val & I are in it!

[Launchpad11B]

as long as they are sparkly it's ok to have big ears....

[eeyore79]

love it!! keep it coming!!

[A.Mickey]

Sorry Shanan but the only car I am getting in to with you is the Tomorrowland Speedway!!!

Hey! I made it there and we all survived....and I never went that fast (only around the curves)