A LONG DAY (with unexpected hugs)

Wow. Today was a long day. 14+ hours of driving a 50ft rig across 3 states (around 700 miles) on our way to Maine.

Didn't take a lot of photos today, since my hands were on the wheel for the vast majority of that time. But, here's one from a rest area around Mansfield, OH -




We only lost one kayak strap all day (saw it in a construction zone and had to drive 5+ miles before we could get off the road and strap it back down) and no kayaks lost.

We decided on Interstate 86 instead of Interstate 90 to cross New York. It was a beautiful drive with really no traffic to speak of. I imagine it was much prettier and less congested than 90 (and no tolls).

We stopped for dinner in Owego, NY. We decided on something healthy after sitting all day... Just kidding - it was McDonalds.




While sitting there eating, I was unexpectedly approached by a younger guy (I'm guessing senior in high school or freshman in college) who asked me for a hug. After a second I realized it was probably related to my shirt.




I agreed and I hugged a dude I didn't know. One of his friends came up behind him and he wanted one too. Another stranger hug was given. Harper-based inspiration strikes again. (Melissa and I both own this shirt and obviously in memory of Harper's hugs)

On our way to our selected hotel in Albany, we ended up on I-90 for a short while. I expected to pay the toll, which I also expected to be a pretty penny due to the extra axles from the camper (despite it only being 5 or 6 miles of toll road). To our surprise, when we exited the toll road, the lady in the booth told us we didn't have a toll to pay... No idea why but we'll take it!

We found our selected hotel (a Towne Place Suites) only to find there was no chance our rig would fit in their parking lot. So, we went searching... After another failed attempt at a Hilton Garden Inn, we found a Courtyard that had just enough open space to park our rig. I went inside and learned they had one room available. A lot more than I'd hoped to pay, but it's clean and we have a decent sized room, and we were able to park the camper for the night. I'd call that a victory.

Tomorrow is slated for another early start and more driving east. We'll have to decide if we are headed up through Vermont and New Hampshire or through Boston. I'm sure it will be exciting either way. But I wonder which path will get me more hugs? That's obviously the route we want to take.

Location:Washington Ave,Albany,United States