See you later Rhode Island......Hello SC!

On Thursday morning we packed up and headed on our way. It was very hard to say goodbye to our family and friends. We left at 8:00am and within 2 minutes of being on our way Jack says "Mama-GET ME OUT OF THIS CAR SEAT!". I looked at Tom and we both started laughing...what had we just gotten ourselves into. We pulled into Panera for some on the road breakfast sandwiches and Jack pipes up again-"Is this South Carolina?"....uummm...no...still have a ways to go before we get there! :) And then our journey really began. Day one of driving went very smoothly. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. A brilliant blue sky above us and very little traffic to get in our way. We zoomed along and passed from RI, to CT, to NY, to NJ. Will slept the first half of the trip and Jack played with his new computer from Kay-Kay and his Buzz Lightyear. In NJ we made a stop to feed Will, have a potty break and stretch our legs.

Potty Time!

We continued on from NJ to PA where we made another stop to stretch. When we returned to the car, we told Jack we had a surprise waiting for him. He got to pick a movie and watch it on his VERY OWN TV! :) He was so excited. He watched The Polar Express as we zoomed through the Pennsylvania farm lands and into MD, WV and Finally VA. At each change of state we said a loud goodbye to that state and a hello to the new state.  Jack insisted on staying in his PJ's the entire trip and I made a few climbs into the backseat to enjoy some of the movie and entertain Will when he woke up.

Movie time.

We arrived at James Madison University (my alma mater), in Harrisonburg, VA at about 5:30pm. This was our stop for the day. We made a quick trip to the bookstore to restock on JMU tees for the boys and then headed to the hotel. I could not believe how much had changed since I was last on the campus. While we were getting out of the car at the bookstore, the marching band was practicing and we could hear them. Jack thought that was so cool. I was instantly nostalgic-I could see myself walking with my girls from McGraw Long Hall to Dukes for dinner, or running from a class in ISAT to Burrus Hall (which seemed a million miles away), walking under the tunnel to UREC, watching a football game in the much smaller and older stadium and a million more images ran through my head. A pang of jealousy entered my heart for all the students currently attending. I had such an amazing experience there and met the most wonderful people. I would give anything to get to have that time back to experience again. Thankfully, one thing that I took away with me from JMU when I left, was a strong bond with a few precious people. I am able to relive my time at JMU with them through stories and pictures. I have been fortunate to have some of my siblings follow in my footsteps and attend JMU as well. Since Caity and Mike are currently there, we had the opportunity to meet with them for a quick visit. Although I am sure they would have liked to show us around to THEIR JMU, we were all tired and worn out from our long drive. They met us at the hotel and played with the boys for a few hours before we put them and ourselves to bed. We could not put the boys back in the car or ask them to behave in a restaurant after such a long day in their car seats.

Friday morning came quickly and we packed back up and headed out at 7:30am. We made a quick stop at "The Duke Dog Museum" (really known as Bridgeforth Stadium) to take some pics with the Duke Dog statue. Please know, upon arriving and driving around in Harrisonburg, Jack stated "That Duke Dog is EVERYWHERE!". HAHAHA. We took a quick drive past the other side of campus to see all that had changed there and then hoped back on 81 heading south.

We drove past cattle farm after cattle farm and took in the breath taking views of the mountains. It was another beautiful day. As we neared the NC border we were presented with the most amazing views of the trip. We started to come down from the mountains and all of a sudden you could see this valley with many little towns spread out below us and as far as we could see. We could see more mountains in the distance and were blown away by the beauty before us. Everything seemed so big and open. We made a quick stop for a bathroom and stretch break and then headed on. Jack got to watch another movie and chose Megamind this time. Unfortunately we had not recharged the battery fully (the plug had come out a bit during the night) and the battery died in the middle. I spent much of the day in the back seat entertaining both Jack and Will. They continued to impress us with their ability to be strapped in and not make a fuss. We drove seamlessly into SC! Friday went much quicker until the last 30 miles. Jack finally spoke up about going potty and asked for 3 potty breaks in this last stretch. When he says he has to go, he has to go and we don't waste time making him hold it. Since this was our first long car ride and first one since being potty trained, we took no chances. The first stop was sort of emergent on the side of the road and the next two were at times when we could make better and safer stops. At last we reached our destination! The TownePlace Suites by Marriot in Greenville. The boys and I got unpacked into our 2 bedroom suite while Tom got the key to our new house and set up the utilities. When he returned we decided to stay in and just order dinner. I decided I would go out to pick up our order and even though Jack begged to come with me, I made him stay behind. I thought it would be a good way to see where we are and get acclimated to our new surroundings. But that did not happen......just a mile from our hotel,  I got into a car accident with an oncoming car. The short version of this story ends with me being fine-minus a small burn to my neck from the seat belt, the other driver being fine and both of our cars messed up. Tom spent Saturday morning walking to work to pick up his company car and then walking to the rental company to pick up our rental car. Yikes....another headache!!

Monday our stuff will arrive and we can finally move in. We plan to show the boys the new house on Saturday and start to explore this area more with them. Hopefully, I will be able to get back behind the wheel, although my confidence is quite shaken for now.

WELCOME TO SOUTH CAROLINA

 I will leave you with some pics of our happy baby in his bouncer in our hotel room! Have a good week!

If only there was sound...you would hear the new SQUEAL/SCREAM that Will enjoys sharing with us.