So, how was your week? Ours was wonderful!

We left Ocean City just after 7 AM the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, on a day that was not forecast to be the best for travel. We lucked out and the rain held off till almost 10 AM, but when it came, it really came. Confession here…I really don’t like driving in the rain, but even if I did, I think I’d have to say that it was a sucky trip! We don’t go south on I-95 (as we’ve talked about before), and even on our 95 bypass route of US 301, it was a rotten drive. We lost time on 301 from an accident on the road, and then on I-295 going around Richmond, there was an even a worse one.

We sat in traffic for close to an hour, to go maybe 2 miles. This was a horrible accident with a trailer or motorhome going off the roadway into the woods. We were by it in a flash, but looking at the picture I snapped closer, it almost looks like there is a car underneath, and from what the camper looks like, if anyone was in it, I fear they didn’t have a nice Thanksgiving! It was a 10+ hour trip, and not a minute of it was fun IMHO, but this made it all worth it!

Billy and Henry were going to a concert that night, and Lori had clients, so Billy asked us if he could drop the girls off at the hotel that night. A fun night for Grandma and Grandpa with our two girls Layla and Annabelle! A little play at the hotel, some shopping, and then dinner at McDonald’s (Grandma and Grandpa’s second McDonald’s meal of he day).

Speaking of the hotel…back in September, when we last visited, we had a disastrous hotel experience, staying at a Hampton Inn. Let’s just say it shouldn’t have been called a Hampton Inn, but in the end Hilton made good on their promise of satisfaction. This time we did much better and stayed in a Hilton Home 2 Suites, one of Hilton’s newer chains. A new hotel, and everything was perfect. We’d give then an A- rather than A+, because the first morning Susie went to take a shower, neither the body wash nor shampoo dispensers in the shower were loaded! A small hiccup in an otherwise perfect 4 night stay!

Wednesday we were in full on Thanksgiving holiday mode! With the 3 kids out of school, the first stop was for them (and their Dad). Called Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park, it was just down the street from the hotel and a marvelous place with not a single video game in sight!! A climbing wall, bumper cars that you drive while hanging upside down, a zip line that went all around the place, a trampoline area with both horizontal and vertical trampolines, and a ball pit so deep that 4 year old Annabanana could sink from sight, were but a few of the great activities the kids enjoyed! After that, it was movie time! Trolls 3 or Trolls Band Together was something that the kids wanted to see, so off we went. With a stellar cast of well known voice actors including *NSYNC, the kids loved it while Grandpa took a short…okay a long nap! Look, it’s dark, I was sitting in a recliner, and the music was good! What can I say! Then we were off to a brewery so Billy could exchange an empty keg for a full one. We also had a couple of beers while there and had fun with the kids! Then it was time for the worst part of the day…Walmart grocery shopping the day before Thanksgiving! Let’s just say we got through it and escaped alive! The only thing they were out of were turkey legs, but Billy got them later that night at Wegmans. By this point, the kids’ batteries were registering low, and although we offered to take the kids to the hotel so Billy and Lori could get things done for Thanksgiving, he said it would probably better off if he took the 3 of them home and not burden us with what were now 3 cranky kids. Billy dropped us off, Grandma and Grandpa went upstairs and had a drink, and then went off to Chili’s for dinner! A full day for us……

Thanksgiving morning dawned with us going downstairs for breakfast and then heading back to our room to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Having one year trekked into Manhattan when Billy was 2 or 3, to stand on the corner of of 54th Street in the cold to watch it in person, we have first hand knowledge that watching it on TV is better! That afternoon, it was off to Lori and Bill’s for Thanksgiving! Fried turkey, smoked turkey legs, and all the sides, including (per Bill’s request) Susie’s Mom’s Turnip, Mashed Potatoes, and Cheese! Lori’s sister and her family were with us, and eventually several of their neighbors (they live in a great development, with lots of friends for the adults and the 3 kids). Lori and Bill just had an in-ground pool put in their backyard, and what better day to christen it than Thanksgiving! The air temps were in the upper 40s, but the pool water was in the mid 80s, and the kids loved it!

Friday morning we were off to watch our very talented Grandson Henry and his supportive Dad skate for an hour at a thing called Puck and Stick. Just some freeform skating on a local rink with Henry polishing his Goalie chops. This kid is good…Dad tries! (He’s gotten much better since he was kid!)

That afternoon it was time for the Day After Thanksgiving Leftovers and Fun at Lori and Bill’s, with even more family, friends, and neighbors than the night before! Of course, the new pool was a big draw for the kids – at one time Susie counted 12 kids in the pool! None of the adults ventured in yet, but we can see their pool becoming the new Neighborhood Attraction! As I’ve said before, they live in a great neighborhood, with neighbors who have become family, so I predict a fun time for all once the temps warm up a bit!

Susie and I were up bright and early the next day, and hit the road on a much more perfect day for road travel. Sunny and bright, made for much easier travel, and shortly after the sun went down (it happens so early), we went across the Ninth Street Bridge and entered an Ocean City all ready for the holidays! Take-out Chinese food ended our night and our time with our family!

So how was your week??