My Secchi Disk

June 1st, we start the long trek north. Ghis spots signs for "Boiled Peanuts" and must have some.

In fact, she must have five pounds! Unfortunately, they were overboiled and about 5 were eaten in toto. This was the supreme disappointment of the trip.

We pull into Cottondale, Florida for lunch. People who knew about this trip kept talking about "the deep south". I still don't know what that means, but this might be it.

Our lunch spot. Laila embarrassed herself by asking the waitress what a "Mater sandwich" was. ("It's just bread and tomaters, of course!") A man who was born 7 miles away in 1934 introduced himself to Ghislaine and asked Laila a riddle. It was packed. Patrons got up to offer their tables to people coming in even as they were finishing off the last bites. The hamburgers reminded me of my grandma Alice.

Back on the road, Alabama chicken transport.

Entering Atlanta:

This is actually all we got to see of Atlanta. Probably it's what most Atlantans spend most of their day seeing.

We stayed with Ghis's Tante Meriam in Kennesaw. Here are three kids on the couch, watching great Bollywood movies. The best was Bagbhan.

Tante Meriam's family.

The next day, heading through Tennesse, the weather is bad and boredom begins to set in...

It rains so much, that Ghis begins to turn into a fish...

Nonstop driving (except for Blizzards, of course) sees us still on the road and bored, in Virginia now...

Ghis starts to settle in for the night:

We're dying of boredom and start to use the cell for entertainment...

After calls to Todd and May get no reply, finally Eleni picks up...

And she's out with Todd, and May, and Roy, and Jen, and Terra, and who knows how many other cool kids. Much hyperness and gossip ensues...

But then we're back to motel hunting in the midnight depths of Virginie. Things got really scary when we had a run-in with a white cat (!!!). We finally found a place to stay about 1am.

The next morning, things are slightly better. The green rolling hills of Virginia...

Look closely for three delicate crosses on the hill, surrounded by resting cattle:

I wanted Ghis to have the Waffle House experience for breakfast.

The first and last time I ever have two hamburgers for breakfast. And check out the excess of butterlike substance on those grits!

For Todd... since his photo of the one in Denton didn't turn out:

Finally we hit the much-loved Pennslyvania turpike.

...the road from hell, which looks like this for 6 hours across the state:

I manage to get us lost in Gladwyn on the way from the turnpike to my parents' house... for old time's sake. This is what a Main Line "neighborhood" looks like:

I think this is just the house guarding the real house.

My old grocery store!

Finally we arrive at #4 College Lane.

And the folks arrive from JFK an hour later.

Last stay at #4... it'll be housing other professors by the end of summer.

THE END