We left Macon on Sunday, June 25th at about 4:00 PM. There were, of course, many last minute things that had to be dealt with after church that morning. The kids were almost beside themselves with excitement! We had bought a new van a few days before, and they were armed with notebooks, pencils and movies. You can tell by Ben and Emma's faces that they had NO idea how long they would be in this van.
Jack had no idea either. He just knew everyone else was excited. As you can tell by the next picture, he was asleep before we even pulled out of our driveway.
And we were off! It was such a relief to finally get in the van and head out. The plan was to drive all night, or until Paul needed a rest and arrive on Long Island Monday morning. Paul was scheduled to set up at a church on Monday afternoon, and then speak at a CC practicum on Tuesday.
Paul drove for a few hours, and then I took over so he could get a nap before nightfall. I'm not usually a good night time driver because I get so sleepy. Actually, I'm not really a good morning driver either for the same reason. :) But I drove until 1 AM so he could get some rest, but I'm pretty sure he never slept. I listened to The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The next morning found us in New Jersey. Paul pulled over about 7 and the rest of us got out and had breakfast while he slept in the van for about an hour and a half. He came in, had breakfast and coffee and we were good to go.
The Verrazanno Narrows Bridge. What a familiar sight! I was so excited to see this because it meant we were growing close. We were all shocked that we had to pay $15 to get across this bridge. (And, in a serious oversight, we had no cash on us! We went through the toll anyway and were told the camera would take a picture of our license plate and mail us a bill. As of today, over six weeks later, we still haven't gotten the bill. )
We arrived on Long Island around 10. His meeting wasn't until 1, and we couldn't go where we were staying until 4, so we found a park so the kids could play. The weather was amazing. Breezy and comfortable! Coming from hot humid Georgia, it was a welcomed treat.
So after the park, we ran to Walmart. What a mad house! The people in Walmart drove their carts around the store just like the people on the road drove- CRAZY! We almost were run over by carts several times. It was insane. We drove Paul over to where the Practicum was so he could set up. The kids and I stayed in the van and I closed my eyes, ready to doze off, when I heard him loudly calling my name. Turns out the secretary of the church was a schoolmate of mine, years ago! We had in fact, ridden the same bus for a few years, so we knew each other very well. What a small world.
After he set up, we went out for real Long Island pizza. It didn't disappoint. So, so good! By this time, we were getting very tired, but we still had some time to kill, so we drove around and took in this very different culture.
We arrived at our friends house around 4. These were friends of ours from college, and I hadn't seen them in over 25 years, but it didn't take long to get reacquainted. They were very hospitable and served us a delicious meal. Another friend, Dennis, came over and ate dinner with us. I have known Dennis since I was about 15. We attended the same church and then the same Bible college, but I hadn't seen him in about 25 years also. It was fun to reconnect and talk about the old days. After supper, Doug treated us all to authentic New York Italian Ice. Oh I have forgotten how good that really is! It had been a long day and we were ready for bed. All of us slept soundly.
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