This morning, I was awake earlier but tried to go back to sleep. As a result, I didn't really feel ready to get up until almost 0700. After that, I did some reading and doing Duolingo. Mollie and Alex got up at around 0830 and we made plans to go out for breakfast. At 0915, we departed for the Metro Diner (I was driving because Mollie was tentative about using her own car). After arriving, we each ordered one of the signature breakfast/brunch specials - I got a waffle with an entire Thanksgiving dinner on top! My daughter and Alex also got some tasty food at the nice restaurant. We were done eating at 1045 and then drove a short distance to the Barnes & Noble (because Mollie wanted to do some Christmas shopping for her sisters and friends). There were a lot of things to browse and I realized this was a good chance to buy some travel books - in the end (1145), I bought Southeast Asia books for my upcoming trip. Next, we drove back towards Alex and Mollie's house but stopped in a residential neighborhood so we could take a walk on the Spotsylvania County section of the old Virginia Central Railroad bed (now a bike path). It was chilly but sunny and we got about two miles of walking. Returning to Mollie's (arrived at 1300), I packed up my car and then watched some "Cobra Kai" videos with Alex and Mollie. At 1445, I sadly said goodbye to them and got in my car for the drive to Virginia Beach. After departing, I made my way (using some back roads) to the south side of Fredericksburg and then got on I-95. The speeds were pretty good but there were odd slow downs along the way. At one point, I became concerned that I'd be trapped on the Interstate in the jam so, instead, got off for a gas fillup at FlyingJ in Carmel Church (1525). Fortunately, the traffic evened out once I was back on I-95. I passed the time by listening to audiobooks. Once I reached I-295, the speeds increased; however, the road construction on I-64 slowed me down again. Since it wasn't dark yet, I got off the Interstate at Croaker Road so I could visit York River State Park (first visit since late 2005). At that point ("dusk"), the park was about to close - this meant I was the only visitor and got some great views of the sunset and lighting on the water. A passing ranger saw me as I was finishing up and we talked for a short time about the beautiful place. Retracing my route to I-64, I found that the traffic was moving nicely, probably because of the expanded lanes as I drove east. I arrived at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel by 1730. Despite lots of left-lane-cruisers (ugh), I made good time on I-64 and I-264. I reached Erin's neighborhood at 1750 and she was waiting to greet me. After saying hello, I unpacked all the remaining items (that hadn't been taken by my other daughters) in the boxes I'd brought with me. Erin took a surprising amount stuff! In the end, the three boxes I'd brought on the trip were reduced to only one with barely anything in it (very glad my instincts with the items were correct!). Meanwhile, Austin ordered some dinner from a nearby restaurant (Oahu Barbeque) and we gorged ourselves on the delicious food. I also got to try some gingerbread stout that Austin had saved for my visit - it was good! Our conversations were great and we made plans for the next few days of my Christmas Journey. Since Austin had never seen "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", I found a website that would allow us to watch it online - we all enjoyed it. During the whole visit, Kiki (Erin's dog) decided that I was her friend and was being very friendly. Erin took some funny pictures of the action to share with her sisters. As it got later, I started to feel tired so said goodnight at about 2230. After that, I read for a bit before heading to sleep (2245). It felt good to have been able to see all three of my daughters during the last 10 days!
