Arriving in Maryland

My parents and I arrived at Cat's place last night.

When my parents went to Florida last year, the one thing they commented about was how the mountains they past on the drive made their drive a little harrowing and difficult. I told them then that I would help them drive down this year and save them some of the ordeal. My original plan was to drive down to Orlando with them (me driving most of the way) then flying back. Maybe stopping at Cat's, spending a few days there, then coming back home to TO. What we ended up deciding on was for me to drive down to Cat's, all of us spending the night, then my parents heading down to Florida on their own. If it were up to my dad, he would have just stopped long enough to let me out and continue on. I wanted them to relax and get a good night sleep before continuing on. Let's face it, they are getting old!

The trip started at 7:45 Thursday morning. The rain was pretty bad for most of the drive to Niagara. (I had worked until late the night before so I slept in the car until the Peace Bridge.) I then took over and drove the rest of the way down until arriving at Cat's at exactly 5:45pm. We made pretty good time, since we stopped a few times along the way, duty free, snack/coffee, lunch, stretch our legs, gas, bathroom. Apart from the rain, it was an uneventful smooth drive.

Once at Cat's, we showered/got cleaned up, relaxed a bit before meeting Cat and the kids at Chopstix for dinner (a local asian/fusion eatery). Afterward, my dad went straight to bed. Cat and I stayed up a bit, catching up and trying to figure out the schedule for the next few days.

When I woke up, I could hear my mom's voice. It was 9am and I expected them to have already left. Apparently my dad had been very ill all night. He said he was feeling a little upset stomach even before we went to the restaurant last night. Suffice it to say, they decided to stay another night. They've been resting and napping the day. As long as they make it to Orlando by Sunday, they are good.

As for the rest of us, the kids are incredibly busy as usual… Cat and I have already gone to Costco, and made Ginger spice cookies. More updates to follow.