On the road again...

Because we didn't drive enough in the last few weeks we decided to hop in the car for one last road trip to NY! The kids and I wanted to go visit my big brother & his family who live just outside of NYC. Visiting them would complete the "cousin" cycle! Plus-we needed a little break from our little apartment in the "no kid" zone of DC. So the plan was hatched and we decided that we would travel on Sunday after church because not many people would be traveling that day!! (Hind sight...traveling on Sunday...not a good thing!)

So after church the kids and I piled into the car loaded up our suitcases again and off we went for our 4.5 hour drive! Everything was going great. We crossed over this amazing bridge called the Delaware Memorial Bridge going from Delaware into New Jersey. We traveled on the New Jersey Turnpike, passed Newark Airport, and finally we arrived at NYC. It was dark by the time we made it and I was surprised to look out into the skyline and see the Empire State Bldg and the Chrysler Bldg! I was also excited to cross the George Washington Bridge until...red brake lights in front of me. I basically drove right into a parking lot. I have never in my life been in such a crazy mass of cars going everywhere and anywhere driven by a bunch of crazies. This is the only time that I have felt like I was from Idaho. This is also the only time that I have been soooo tempted to scream out obscenities at other drivers! (hand gestures were also a temptation!) It was the most stressful, frustrating, spit out my window in disgust two hours of my life! In fact the up coming birth of my 4th baby will be more enjoyable!!

But...we finally made it at 11pm Sunday night! And all the traffic mess was well worth it! We had a great time with the Dan Feldman cousins!

• We swam in their neighbors pool for hours!
• Aunt Jenn introduced us to Silly Bands!
• We went to the beach and found lots of hermit crabs, built a sand castle, and swam in the ocean!
• The kids enjoyed sleeping in the attic with all the cousins.
• We (the kids) jumped on their trampoline for hours.

We had a blast! It was a great little trip for us! Thanks to Aunt Jenn for housing us, feeding us, and entertaining us for a few days! The "cherry on top" came when I made it home in 5 hours, paid $15 less in tolls, and crossed the Tappan Zee bridge instead of the GWB! My driving experience was a night and day experience! Coming home was a breath of fresh air! My going there was my worst nightmare! In fact I am just going to list a few things that I have learned from my experience!

1. Traveling thru NYC on a Sunday evening is pure insanity. I was told after my journey by a local New Yorker that Sunday is the WORST day to travel on! I will remember that for the future!

2. Now that I have driven in NYC in traffic I can do anything! In fact driving in DC is a piece of cake! I am not sure why I was so worried about it!

3. New Yorkers don't believe in blinkers, waiting in line, or following the basic rules of driving! I attempted to be courteous and was burned when my blinker was ignored by everyone!! And I believe that there were 50 cars that cut in line right in front of me when I was right at the exit. I guess they were too important to wait in line huh???

4. I need an EZ Pass! The cash lanes are horrific! I haven't spent that much cash in years!

5. I loath the GWB!

So I know this is a long post but I hope you have felt my pain and experienced my joys from our little road trip to NY!