Well.

The trunk of our tiny little Ford Escort is packed about as full as we can get it. For a moment there I was a little doubtful that I'd be able to fit all three suitcases in there, but after trying several different arrangements I found one that worked. All the nooks and crannies have had various odds and ends stuffed in as well. Tomorrow morning the vacant portion of the back seat will be filled to capacity also, and then we'll be off!

I have been looking forward to this trip for a long time. I haven't had a vacation since May, and that I used for moving into our new house so it wasn't really a vacation in my book. If I really wanted to get technical, it's my first vacation since our last trip to New Hampshire for the RinkUnion 2. (Although we did go to Kentucky in February, but that was just for the weekend.)

I've said it before on this forum; I really do believe in the adage that says getting there is half the fun. I love road trips, and I love driving. Flying can be fun too, but I find trips a lot more enjoyable when I'm in control. There is a certain amount of trepidation this time though... it's our first attempt to drive to New England in the dead of winter. And checking the national weather service web site this afternoon, I noted that DuBois, PA, which is our destination for the first leg of our trip, is due for 3-5 inches of snow by tomorrow night.

We've got blankets, food and water, a flashlight, a snow shovel, and salt for melting ice packed in the car. I just got new tires put on the car a couple weeks ago. My trusty road atlas is on the dashboard. Hopefully we've prepared sufficiently. I'm trying a new route this time, so except for the first and last parts of our expidition, it'll be unfamiliar territory. We'll go through five states, and if this new route works out, we'll only be on toll roads for about fifteen miles of our entire trip! In the past, with two different routes, we've had to pay tolls for the majority of the trip, spending in the neighborhood of $20-25 one-way. I hate that.

I'm assuming our Holiday Inn room won't have an internet kiosk in it, so the next opportunity I'll have to get on-line will be Saturday night at my mother-in-law's house. Talk at you then!

Gri"the wandering orc"shny