Albany, NY (USA)

[I woke up at around 0700L and got ready - Carolyn was still sleeping, but Ella was wide awake and got ready quickly (we cleaned up the pallet and folding bed) - it was very cold this morning, but the car started one more time (yaaay) and we drove over the Holiday Inn Express, where we met up with Katie, John, Aria and Johnnie for breakfast - it was great to visit and I didn't want it to end, we were having so much fun - but I knew I had a lot of driving left to do, so I said goodbye and got on the road (I-90) - no traffic at all as I made my way west again (via I-88) - the snow hadn't melted and the farms still looked pretty - I made it to Port Crane by 1100L and got gas (same town as last Friday but found the gas station across the street was cheaper this time) - I must admit I was getting tired of the grimy mud/slush/dirt that I'd been seeing this weekend - I couldn't even see my license plate through the gray surface coating on my car... - one piece of good news: it wasn't as cold by that point - got back on the road and switched to I-81 near Binghamton - speeds picked up as I began to encounter several cars that were clearly trying to escape the series of snow storms (and more was forecast on the radio for all areas I passed through during the day) - that helped - I was able to get through Pennsylvania pretty easily, but I hit two areas of construction (Wilkes-Barre area) that really slowed me down and then had trouble as I got to Harrisburg (I-83 traffic was horrible) - by the time I made it into Maryland, I was getting really tired of the different drivers I'd encountered - following additional traffic difficulties on I-695, was very relieved to see that the traffic jam on I-95 was on the other side (eastbound) - I had no trouble as I hit the Beltway and thought traffic problems were done until I heard a report on my favorite DC station (WMAL) that a backup had begun at the Potomac - a well played move to the local lanes kept me completely out of trouble, though (I was glad I wasn't using the "express" lanes) - when getting home, I shared some loot with Nicky and girls - it is amazing that I was able to get up to Albany and back with almost no difficulty - what a nice break! (note - snow hit DC again in the morning and I had trouble getting to work - lucky I didn't see this during the trip!)]