Christmas Trip - Day 1

My big trip to Virginia starts today!  I spent most of the day teleworking (from early in the morning until 1500).  I then got picked up by a member of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car team and driven to their office in White River Junction.  They gave me my car - Nissan Versa - and I was on my way back to Hanover by 1525.  Once at my condo, I packed up the car (finished by 1625) and then left town.  I used I-89 to reach I-91 and then headed south.  By then, the sun had set and it was dark and misty.  My drive to the south went pretty well and I had very little traffic for a while.  I stopped to pick up dinner at McDonalds in Greenfield, MA (1750).  After getting back on I-91, I used it to reach I-84.  Started to encounter some drizzle and it lasted for most of the rest of my drive.  After I crossed the Hudson River, I used I-86 to reach a Walmart in Middletown (NY).  I'd been collecting bottles and cans and was able to redeem almost all of them at 2030.  I did a bit of shopping there (long lines, slow) and was finished by 2105.  After returning to I-84, I continued west.  As I usually do, I stopped at New York Exit 1 (just east of the Delaware River) to get gas.  Before setting up at the pump at the Shell in Montague (NJ), I had some misdirection because of the unfamiliarity.  It's hard to believe that I used to come to this town almost every weekend and now can't remember where to go...  In the end, I pumped my own gas (first time in New Jersey) because the station was closed (2140).  I also made a hotel reservation online.  Once back on I-84, I continued west without incident all the way to I-81.  I did start to encounter denser fog and rain but it wasn't until I was headed south that I started to see a LOT of crazy drivers.  Mostly, this change was familiar and I though things were normal until I passed I-80.  At that point the fog got really HORRIBLE.  Through the next 40 miles of driving, the road was almost impossible to see.  Most people had their flashers on and were going quite slowly.  For my part, I stayed below the speed limit but still made decent time.  I eventually (whew) arrived at the I-78 merger and found better weather.  Continuing west on I-81 from there, I arrived in Carlisle, PA at 0040.  After checking into the Quality Inn there, I got unpacked and then went to bed.  It took a while to fall asleep after I turned out the light at 0100 but, eventually, I succumbed to exhaustion.  I'm glad I made it this far today - tomorrow, I get to see Brenna!