Winter Trip - Day 2

I got up at around 0600 and got ready to leave.  Mollie was also awake and my brother-in-law, John, was making breakfast for us.  After lots of goodbyes, we got on the road at about 0645.  With Google saying it would take nine hours to get to Alexandria, I tentatively told Mollie that we might have a chance to get all the way to Blacksburg in one day.  Using MA-3, I-93, I-95 to drive from the Boston area, through Providence and half way across Connecticut.  Google gave me a choice to get on the Merritt Parkway and I took it - this allowed me to skip the through-NYC drive.  Mollie took a nap while I continued west to I-287, crossed the Hudson and used some back roads to cut over to I-287 just south of Suffern (NY).  By the time we were in central New Jersey, Mollie woke up and we started talking about stopping for lunch/gas.  At around that time, we talked to Brenna about our plans.  Sadly, it appeared that COVID-hysteria had peaked in NoVA...  As a result of this call, I began to feel very uncertain about whether we could actually stay in Alexandria for the night...  Meanwhile, in an attempt to make me happy with avoiding tolls, Google routed me on to US-202 and, despite some traffic and light delays, we made pretty good time to the Trenton area.  We then used a few back roads and ended up reaching the Delaware River at Washington's Crossing State Park.  Mollie liked to historic buildings but was shocked by the old, narrow bridge...  We then drove south until we were able to get on I-295.  We realized we'd still not stopped for lunch finally found a place to stop on the Lincoln Highway in Langhorne, PA.  We got gas at Shell (1215) and lunch at Wendy's (1230).  I paid a few extra dollars and signed Mollie up for the free ice cream club that Wendy's had (this made her really happy but we later learned it was only good at that Wendy's).  We got back on the road and Google offered us a nice route on the Eastern Shore (my preference anyway).  As a result, we used I-295 and I-95 until we passed through Wilmington, DE.  We then used DE-896 and some other back roads to get to US-301.  We talked to Brenna again and it became certain that we'd probably not be able to spend a lot of time visiting with her and Erin.  This made me sad, but Mollie and I continued driving (US-50 and I-495) until we reached Nicky's house in Alexandria (1545).  Since getting out of DC again quickly became the next priority, Mollie spent some time loading up my car with things she needed to take to Blacksburg.  She also spent time playing with her dogs (she'd missed them).  Meanwhile, I shared the things I'd brought for Brenna (she really liked most of the items, especially the book I brought) and left some other things for Erin (in her room).  Erin and Austin actually arrived while we were getting ready to leave and I was able to talk to her a bit.  In what seemed like a whirlwind visit, Mollie and I found ourselves back on the road by 1615.  Before long, we were driving west on I-66 and later made it to I-81 without too much trouble.  Unfortunately, we had to travel through lots of traffic until we reached Harrisonburg... Somehow, I stayed awake all through this time - mostly with help from Mollie (food and conversation).  After what seemed like a Marathon run, we arrived in Blacksburg (2005) and quickly unloaded all of Mollie's things.  There were more students in the area than we'd expected, so I felt good about the decision to press through without stopping.  Mollie made me hot chocolate and I wished her well for her new semester.  I was on my way again by 2030 and stopped for gas at Shell in Christiansburg (2040).  I then called Brenna, trying to set up lunch for the next day - I also tried Erin (voicemail) and a few of my friends (to gauge whether visits during COVID-hysteria were going to work).  Mollie and I chatted on the phone briefly about my travel progress (by then I was already north of Roanoke on I-81).  To stay awake, I listened to a Spenser audio book.  I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of weather and traffic by this point - things had sounded worse all day...  After I was in my hotel (2230) in Harrisonburg (Motel 6 on south side of town), I checked in with Erin and some of my concerned friends.  Plans seemed to solidify after that...  Watched a bit of Patriots-Bills and tried to get some steps for exercise (pitiful) before going to bed at 2345.  What a day - but I'm glad to discover that I've still got it in me to drive all day!