This morning, I began my telework day in Christiansburg (Econolodge) as soon as I was awake (0500). I did take a break for breakfast in the hotel lobby and also took a short walk in the neighborhood. Other than that, though, I teleworked all the way until my late check out time (1200). At that point, I ate lunch (leftovers from Macado's) and then got back in my car for the drive (via US-460 Business) to the Kroger near the Virginia Tech Campus. Once there, I walked a bit more (to get the rest of my 10K steps) and did a bit of reading and Duolingo. Since I still had time, I ended up doing some more work for my job (mostly via text) - even that was good to pass the time. At 1400, I parked in a lot near the Cassell Coliseum and started looking for Mollie. Fortunately, I found her rather quickly and got some photos with her (Alex took them). When I heard that Nicky and Steve (and his kids) were about to appear, I departed and went inside to find a seat in the auditorium. Surprisingly, after I sat in an empty area, I ended up being right next to two people who knew Mollie and their friends. One, Jamie, had been on the Australia trip with my daughter. During the time before the Graduation Ceremony began, I texted a bit with Mollie (who had noticed that I'd met her friends) - we even waved to each other across the huge room. At 1430, the ceremony for the granting of Doctorate and Masters degrees started. There were a lot of speeches and then there were many, many students who walked across the stage. Quite a few were international young people, apparently without family members in attendance. Noticing this, I ended up clapping for all of them but hardly anyone else around me did. There were also a lot of people nearby who were coughing and hacking (ugh...). I got lots of pictures and some videos of Mollie (and her friends). When the ceremony was over (1550), I made my way outside to find Mollie again. By then, it was raining lightly so there was less incentive to take photos. About ten minutes after I found her, Nicky, Steve, his kids and Alex arrived. I said hello and then departed for my car (Alex gave me their apartment key because they weren't going to leave for over another hour). It took a while to get out of the parking lot but, by 1615, I was on US-460, headed towards I-81. The rain made the drivers tentative and this got worse once I was on the Interstate. For a few miles, everything was pretty good and it looked like I was going to arrive in Fredericksburg by about 2010. However, the traffic jam started just south of Salem and I decided I'd rather not use I-81 for many miles of traffic and trucks. Instead, I exited the four lane highway and started driving (with lots of lights and slow traffic) on US-460. This added about 30 minutes (initially) to my trip but I didn't feel trapped on the highway. Eventually (passing Daleville), I was in the clear and made great time through Lynchburg. Passing through, I saw the Liberty University ski slope lit up in red. A bit later, I switched to US-29 and made more good time all the way to I-64. In the meantime, I was communicating with Mollie about ETA and food. I also listened to audiobooks and music. Ultimately, I made up about 10 minutes while driving because here was MUCH less traffic and hardly any trucks at all - I was very glad to have taken this route. If I'd had daylight, I would have stopped at one or two of the Virginia State Parks that I passed. However, I never had any time (or daylight) after I got off of I-64. I used several back roads (VA-208 to US-522, then VA-208) to drive to the northeast (through Louisa) to Spotsylvania Court House. On the way, I found myself in a part of Lake Anna State Park - it looked quite pretty! This route allowed me to reach Fredericksburg from the west side. Meanwhile, the weather had improved tremendously. Once I arrived at Mollie & Alex's apartment at 2025 (only about 20 minutes later than I'd originally thought, despite the traffic delays), I successfully located the right apartment. After that, I unloaded my car and tried to find the Notre Dame versus Indiana College Football Playoff game on their TV. I wasn't really successful but, luckily, Alex and Mollie arrived at 2115 and got me to the live broadcast. We all spent the rest of the evening watching the Irish winning. I nibbled on snacks ("dinner") and Mollie went through the boxes of items I'd brought for her - in the end, she took a lot of items (just like Brenna had) and my boxes (I'd started with three full ones) were MUCH lighter. For her part, Mollie gave me two Rosaries that Nicky had found - what a nice surprise. At 2330, the football game was over and we said goodnight. Before going to sleep, I did some reading (0015). I'm excited about having two more days with Mollie!
