Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Day 1: Clarksburg, MA to Port Washington, NY

We didn't get as early a start as I hoped today because loading the car was more challenging than we anticipated. When I was packing our suitcases, I thought I was completely underestimating how much we'd need for 10 weeks. Once we piled everything in the driveway, I changed my tune. After a couple of different configurations, but only unpacking the beach towels, we finally fit the puzzle pieces of our belongings into the back of the car and on top of the roof (we took pictures of it so we'll remember how to re-pack the car on Sunday!). Ron drove his car down separately to be "babysat" by my parents, so just the kids and I loaded into the car to officially begin our journey.

Pulling out of the driveway was more emotional than I was expecting as was the early part of the drive leaving the Berkshires. I'd seen this scenery countless times before, but the beauty of the green hills struck a deeper chord than usual. I know that I will be seeing far more impressive landscapes in the coming weeks, but I'm going to miss these hills that we so generously call mountains.

The blissful calm I felt at the beginning of the drive was not meant to last, though. The 5 hour trip reminded me why I'm thankful to be traveling with 2 adults in the car this summer. Driving down the curvy and narrow Taconic Parkway in a rainstorm while loudly explaining how to view a movie in full screen mode on a Mac to one kid and performing muscle straining contortions to grab the DVD case from the other kid constitutes neither safe driving nor good parenting. Let's hope I can avoid that kind of multi-tasking for the rest of the summer (or ever again).

1 comment:

  1. Oh let the fun begin! I can't imagine spending that long in the car with my family. I admire you! Have a safe and exciting trip and I'm so looking forward to seeing you all. Shelley

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