Eight States in One Day
Day 14:
We started the day with another big breakfast and a stop for Dunkin Donuts coffee. I had no idea how big Dunkin was out east, but I love their coffee so I was happy to be in constant supply. We headed out early for our longest day on the road. We were making our way through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. We had long stretches of the Lord of the Rings. Good heavens, Andy Serkis does an amazing job with this audiobook. We stopped for a game of catch in several states, many times just playing at the gas station while pumping gas after a bathroom break, remembering quirks and sharing them with the boys like how Jersey is all full-service gas or take care in the Baltimore area, the trucks are always in a hurry and might mow you down (we’ve experienced this more than once).
Driving into West Virginia was beautiful with layer upon layer of forest-covered mountains. We got to our campsite late and tired and set up camp. We quickly made our dinner, heating up soup on the camp stove and building a fire in a wet fire grill to make grilled cheese. We sat down to eat and were most of the way through the meal when it started to rain. Jeff and I “did dishes” (wiped things down as best we could to store until morning) under the back hatch of the car as the rain poured down. The boys finished laying everything out inside the tent, getting ready for bed. I squeaked the squelched my way to the bathroom to get ready as well. It was fun to hear the thunderstorm for a while. Then the tent began leaking not long after as we were really exposed, not level, and have been using this tent for a while – the seams could probably use a reseal. We stuffed the corners as best we could with the extra blanket and sweatshirt I grabbed. Knowing it was our last night camping, we fell asleep, a little damp listening to the rain.
