Heading to New England

Yesterday we packed up early and headed out to New England for a weekend getaway and for the guys to go to the Ravens playoff game.  We had myself and the hubby up front in the truck (my car is still in the shop) and my sons and a teenage friend in the back.  We were packed in tight, cramming a few things inside with us because the rest of the stuff had to go out in the back of the truck and be exposed to the wind and cold under the tarp).  We made a breakfast stop in Joppatowne at DD and then had a good stretch up through Delaware.  Just before we hit NY we inadvertantly missed a turn.  We were a bit concerned when we were welcomed to Pennsylvania, but thought that was just part of the detour around New York that my husband's friend had mapped for us.  Forty five minutes later, however, we realized something wasn't right when we were still heading west and were in Bethlehem, PA.  We stopped for some pizza so we could regroup and the couple who owned the place were very kind and helped us with directions.  We could go back to the cut off we missed or we could go up through the Poconos and take the back roads to get back on track in Connecticut.  The time was the same for both, so we decided to go with the new directions.  All would have been well except that the road through the mountains had collapsed and we were sent on a detour way up through windy mountain roads and backwoods.  It would have been beautiful had we not been worried that we were REALLY lost and hadn't been in the car forever by now AND Dakota and Brian David starting feeling car sick.  Great.  We got back on track and....yep, another detour.  This time we had to stop at the end because the boys were feeling really bad and we got out and Dakota and I took a walk around this tiny little town.  We went into the post office and I chose someone and asked for directions.  He must have been an angel because he told me that just 3 miles down the road (in the opposite direction we were heading) was the highway entrance to Rte 84, which would take us all the way to Massachusetts.  He was right and off we went.  We were singing and laughing for awhile, but as we passed eight, then nine and ten hours in the truck we were all getting a bit worn, especially poor Dakota, who still wasn't feeling all that great and who was exhausted.  Twelve hours after we left home and four hours later than we should have, we reached our hotel.  Thankfully we had been out ahead of the snowstorm and the weather was cold and clear.  Our hotel and room were gorgeous and I thought things were looking up.  Brian took Koda to the pool and I headed out to get some food.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any so at 9:25 at night we ordered out and finally got dinner at 10pm.  Koda was so overtired and leftover car sick that he threw up when presented with his dinner.  However, he then stated he felt GREAT!! and went on to eat his dinner and sleep well.  Poor kid had a tough day lol. 

Today it is snowing and 8 degrees here in New England.  The bad thing is I doubt we will get to do any sightseeing in Boston. The good thing is that it's 1pm and we are all just hanging out in the room, the guys playing a tournament on PS3 and Mom enjoying her computer.  I took a walk outside with my husband earlier and it is gorgeous...exactly what I pictured New England to be like in the wintertime.  I saw a gorgeous blue jay in the trees and the river outside our hotel is frozen and covered with snow.  There's a gazebo outside too, nestled in it's own blanket of white, and we saw some rabbit tracks heading for cover under the few bushes that line the walls.  I think the guys are going swimming later and then we are getting some chicken from the market down the street, watching a movie and playing some board games.