Catch-up Post #2: VA, DC, NJ

July 3: I got up early to play a few more holes with Pop. I didn't hit the ball at anyone. I also didn't get any birdies. But I did play a bit more consistently -- pretty much pars and bogies.

T and I said our good-byes and hit the road. Pop sent us on our way with his Garmin GPS unit. (Thanks again, Pop!) So we followed the voice from Saluda to my brother Tank's house in the Greater DC Area. (Tank, none of my loyal readers knows or cares where Stafford is -- "DC" is close enough for them. They are a simple folk. There is no reason to cloud their minds with these details.)

Garmin got us to Tank's front door in about 9 hours. Tank and Mrs. Tank graciously fed us and let us crash. Usually when my brother and I get together we stay up all hours talking. But for this brief stay, we had to settle for just a few hours of talking and looking at old pictures.

July 4: T and I left Stafford around 10:15 bound for Arlington. Blossom, Mr. Blossom, and the Tall-Thin-Red-Headed Man, arranged to meet us on our way through the Greater DC Area. We met at a cool Irish pub called McConnell's. It was a few blocks off the beltway and a perfect excuse to have a Guinness before noon.

Here's a little background. Blossom is my ex-wife. We divorced on good terms about three years ago. (There were tense moments, of course, but I still consider our split "on good terms".) We still email every few months with updates. Blossom and Mr. B are pregnant -- due in September. TTRHM (aka DD), is an old college buddy of ours. He was formally the most single man I knew, but now he apparently has a girl friend. Sorry ladies.

Anyway, T and I had a very pleasant early lunch catching up. But then it was time to hit the road again.

Our route took us over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which was cool but not very photogenic. Next was Maryland's Eastern Shore and Slower Delaware -- also not terribly photogenic. As we pulled through Georgetown, DE, we started seeing signs for the ferry, so we called the number and found out that one was leaving at 4:15, and then 6:15. It was 3:45 and we were about a half-hour away. For those of you with math difficulties: If we haul ass, we might make the first ferry. If we don't, we'll be waiting around Lewes, DE for two hours. We hauled ass, breaking the speed limit significantly for the first time on this trip. (Our gas mileage has been awesome, by the way.) We made the 4:15 ferry with a few minutes to spare, and enjoyed the 80 minute trip across the Delaware Bay. T's motion issues were put to the test by some good chop, but she came through it like a trooper. I saw some Wilson's Storm Petrels in transit. (In case anybody's wondering, I'm counting them on my Delaware list and my New Jersey list.)

We docked on the NJ side of the bay, and turned the Garmin back on. After a half hour drive across the point, we arrived in Cape May.