I teleworked all morning in my room (fortunately, I was able to get a late checkout) and coordinated departure times with Mollie so we could get out of NoVA before the rest of the crowds. At about 1330, I wrapped up my work day and drove over to Nicky's so I could pick up Mollie and all of her stuff. When I got there, I figured out that Mollie thought she had another hour before we'd be leaving (?), so it took a while for her to finish packing and say her (long) goodbye's. We eventually (1420) got started on our trip but Mollie figured out that she'd forgotten something just as we reached I-495 (ugh...). Headed back to Nicky's and were able to get moving again within about 15 minutes. Took some work and Veterans Hospital calls while we were getting out of Alexandria. Unfortunately, we ultimately ended up really paying for the delay in leaving - we hit a major traffic jam on I-495 and it was even worse when we reached I-66. But it wasn't raining, so that was a plus... As we drove, Mollie coordinated with Brenna (about our drive and expected arrival time) and told me more about what we should expect the following day. It was clear that Mollie was excited about going off to college! We made good time on I-81 and we talked some more about some of our previous vacation trips (the car I had rented inspired that conversation). After coordinating with Mollie, Brenna picked up dinner for us from Cook Out at 1645 and got back to the Rough House about five minutes after Mollie and I arrived in Harrisonburg (1700). We toured Brenna's room (much cleaner and more organized than it was when I was there in June). We then sat down to enjoy the burgers and delicious sides. We talked about Mollie's excitement for college, my activities in New Hampshire and things that Brenna planned to do with her friends (who were just starting to return from Summer Break). I wanted to stay longer with Brenna but Mollie told me she needed to go to Walmart for some supplies. So, we said goodbye and got back on the road. Before we left Harrisonburg, we stopped for gas (1800) and Mollie picked up a Sheetz sandwich for the next day (we'd learned there wouldn't be time to get lunch during the New Cadet Move-In Day). We used a back road to reach US-11 and then got on the Interstate. Our drive on I-81 was rather uneventful and we arrived at Econo Lodge in Christiansburg at 2000. After we got our stuff in the room, we drove to the Virginia Tech campus (via US-460) to explore and find landmarks (to make the next day a bit easier). It started to rain and got dark, so we were rather limited in how much we could really visit. As a result, we drove back to Christiansburg so we could visit Walmart for additional supplies. I helped Mollie find several items from the New Cadet checklist that she'd previously been unable to locate (e.g., alarm clock) and bought snacks for her first few weeks of classes. We were done shopping at 2130 and went back to the hotel. There was a live band at the Fatback Soul Shack - it was good but quite loud. I went walking near the room (despite the intermittent rain) while Mollie read and relaxed in the room. We both went to bed at 2330 - tomorrow's a big day!
