Cross-Country Road Trip: The In Between Time

Once we had escaped from New York in tact, we had about a week to kill before we could get going on our trip.  Our lease was up the end of the month, but because we were breaking the lease early, they management company said we had to be out by the 20th of the month, so we were, for all intents and purposes, homeless for a bit, as our lease in Washington hadn't started yet.

On Friday night I went to my parents' house and Marek stayed in the city to hang out with some of his friends.  Then he took the train to his parents' house and they dropped him off in Eastern Mass on Sunday.  Claudius and I woke up nice and early on Saturday morning.  Claudius stared forlornly out the window, looking at who knows what.  He was off to daycare for the day so he could work out some of his energy and not be too barky and get in my parents' way.

When I picked him up from daycare he was very thirsty!  Luckily we still had his McDonald's cup leftover from the day before, so he dove right in.  Silly dog. :)

After daycare, I dropped Claud at home and then my parents and I went out to Chili's (LIVING IT UP IN THE SUBURBS!!!) for dinner.  They have this sparkling pomegranate margarita that is pretty darn tasty.  M only problem with it is that it's too small!

After dinner we went to Kohl's (how exciting) where we proceeded to run into my great aunt and my cousin (they were together) and my aunt (separate).  They all live somewhat in the area, but what are the chances that ALL of us end up at Kohl's at the same time.  I'm sure after dinner and Kohl's, we went home and watched a movie (pretty sure it was Fair Game, about the Valerie Plame incident), and then Claud and I went to sleep.  Sshhh, don't tell my brother Claud was sleeping in his bed! ;)

On Sunday, I had to fly out again to Ohio for work, so Marek stayed with Claudius during the week.  (I don't have many pictures from that time, because Marek is not as free with his picture taking as I am.)  This one cute picture shows Claudius sitting on top of the couch, staring outside.  Apparently he liked to hang out up there (on his blanket of course...very strict at my parents' house - no dog on the couch without his blanket!).

I was supposed to come home from Ohio on Wednesday, but SURPRISE!  Work decided I should fly to San Francisco for Thursday and Friday and work 12-hour days there instead.  So on Wednesday I boarded the plane in the rain and headed west for my first trip to San Francisco.  I'd like to say I really loved San Francisco, but I was only there for a little bit and spent most of my time at work, so didn't get to see much.  (Of course, now that we're on the West Coast, going back should be much easier.)

Mississippi River

While in San Francisco, I spent a lot of time in this building, which has insulation made of old pairs of jeans!  Here's a fun story: I wasn't allowed to rent a car in SF, so had to walk to and from the hotel to the office, which was about a mile.  I wasn't super thrilled about it (I had 4" heels) but it was doable.  Until I walked a half mile in the wrong direction (meaning I had to double back and add another mile to my walk...IN HEELS), and showed up to the office late and with blisters all over my feet.  So much fun.
 

And getting a taxi on Friday to take me to the airport?  I will say this: New York really, really, really spoils you when it comes to taxi availability.  Aside from the horrible hour known as Shift Change, getting a cab in New York was so easy.  Just walk out into the street and sure enough, you'd be able to find one within minutes.  Even after calling a cab company, it took forever to get a cab (and I just got some random one, not even the one I called).

Now it was Friday night and I was really tired.  I like my job a lot, but I think it turns you into a bit of a workaholic.  I'd travelled to San Francisco to work on one project but still had to do work on my other project, which meant I had to be up and working by at least 5 AM both days and then we stayed in office until about 10 PM at night the first night.  So by the time Friday night rolled around, I was exhausted - and I had a redeye home and then we were driving to DC right away.  I had a ticket on Virgin America, and I was seriously considering upgrading myself to first class so I could get some rest, but I kept waffling and finally decided it was too much money.  Marek insisted though and bought me my upgrade, which was totally worth it.

Legroom isn't a big seller for me when it comes to flights - I actually have the opposite problem, because my legs are too short and it makes flying very uncomfortable - but the recline was so great.  I forget how much the seats in first class recline, but as soon as we hit 10,000 feet, I was leaned back and fast asleep all the way to Boston.  It was nice to be able to get some good sleep, because we were off and running as soon as I landed.  (Thanks Marek :)).

So much legroom!

Cute little mechanism for reclining the seat