Blacksburg Trip - Day 1

Mollie asked me to come to Virginia to help her begin her brand new college adventure!  So I worked out my schedule with the company and left New Hampshire early in the morning (around 0600).  Used I-89 and I-91 to reach Central Massachusetts.  After my bad luck in June (trying to get through NYC on I-95), I was a bit gun-shy and decided to head west (over the mountains into New York) a bit earlier.  I took a series of back roads (many of which I'd used to finish up the MA AT Hiking in July) and reached US-7 near Great Barrington.  From there, I crossed into New York (via MA-1 and MA/NY-23) and was able to get on the Taconic Parkway.  There wasn't much traffic but it was raining almost all day.  One really good thing: I was able participate in several telcons on the way (preserving valuable leave).  Used I-84 and the rest of my "normal route" (I-81, I-83, PA-581, US-15, I-270 and I-495) to reach NoVA, stopping for lunch at McDonalds in Milford, PA (1125) and gas at Gulf in Barnesville, PA (1310).  I was able to arrange a get together with Erin and Mollie through a series of phone calls throughout the day.  Arrived at my hotel (Fort Belvoir) by 1630 and got in a bit more telework.  At 1830, I drove over to Nicky’s neighborhood and picked up Mollie.  We then drove a short distance to Stoneybrooke Park (1900) and found Erin there with takeout from Noodles & Company.  We ate a nice dinner together at the gazebo and had a nice time talking about things we'd been doing during the summer.  Mollie had lots of things to tell me about her roommate and other tidbits related to her first week in college.  After we were done eating, I gave the girls some items I’d found in my moving boxes.  We noticed that Erin’s tire was getting close to flat (she said she'd get it checked).  We then walked to Nicky’s so Mollie could get different shoes and we ended up taking Bear with us as we explored some side streets near their new home. By 2030, we were back in Stoneybrooke Park and I helped Erin get the car to Nicky’s.  Before I departed, Mollie gave me one of Nicky & Steve’s beers (Troegenator) to drink at the BOQ and I went back to Fort Belvoir.  Relaxed and read until it was time for bed (2200).