2021 Road Trip : On our way

I can’t remember why we opted for a domestic trip for our summer vacation…oh that’s right, Covid. And because we spent 16 months in splendid isolation with the cutest dog on the planet, we decided that maybe we didn’t need two weeks in splendid isolation with Lucy in Maine this summer. Instead we opted for a Northeast road trip like one we took back in 2008 before we were dog parents. After all that time at home shopping online and not really interacting with humans, we thought that something that gave us the chance to be out and about and go antiquing and used bookstore hopping, and restaurant eating, and museum gazing, seemed like just the ticket.

I had meticulously planned and replanned our itinerary until I had something that ticked a lot of boxes.

Washington, DC to Ithaca, NY

When we go on a road trip I can never wait until Saturday morning to pack the car and get going. Originally we were going to head out on Friday after work and spend the night in Harrisburg, PA just so we could be that much closer to our vacation when we woke up on Saturday morning. But then the Boston Symphony Orchestra announced they were going to actually have a Tanglewood season this summer, and I realized we needed to get out butts up to the Berkshires sooner than I had planned. So instead of leaving DC after work on Friday we left at 9:39 AM so we could comfortably drive up to Ithaca to see friends for dinner and stay the night.

The dog we left at home. (Very happy and comfortable with her Aunt Sarah.)

Trunk kit. So much easier to pack than a carry-on. Empty book bag? Check. Silverware in case we get take out food with crappy plasticware? Check. Juicy Fruit, extra masks, measuring tape, headphones, etc.

I am nothing if not organized. I even did turn-by-turn directions for some days so we could take the back roads instead of the way Waze or Google would take us. (And lest you think I am still on vacation, we had to cut the trip short for reasons that will be explained in future posts.)

Always nice to wander around Cornell where I spent two great years in grad school.

The peaceful Cornell Arboretum pond was teeming with turtles.

Have you ever seen a Crome Yellow that big before? Very thick paper. The pictures make the place look much brighter and tidier than it was. I had to use the flashlight on my phone to really see titles. Also had to get down on my knees and bend down to see the bottom shelves. Relatively high prices seem to keep the stock from moving, but so many inaccessible stacks and boxes made it a bit frustrating.

I was hoping to find more dusty old hard covers of forgotten authors, but had to settle for oldish trade paperbacks. I should say, I wanted the HCs not for the sake of having HCs, but because I was looking titles that hadn’t had a revival.

Next Stop: The Berkshires and Tanglewood

BookerTalk August 27, 2021 / 3:45 pm

You’re not joking when you say you are organised. The cutlery I could understand but measuring tape???

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- Thomas September 4, 2021 / 1:58 pm
  
  We took along the measuring tape because we were going to be antiquing and had written down desired sizes for various things we were hoping to find.
  
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  - BookerTalk September 8, 2021 / 4:49 pm
    
    Much more efficient than my tendency to go somewhere having left the measurements on the kitchen table
    
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TravellinPenguin (Pam) August 27, 2021 / 8:33 pm

I will enjoy your travels vicariously. Have fun.

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- Thomas September 4, 2021 / 1:59 pm
  
  It was nice to not do something vicariously finally.
  
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Liz Dexter August 30, 2021 / 4:38 am

For someone who’s been more than 6.5 miles away from home exactly once since March 06 2020 (and that was a trip to 10 miles away from home), i’m going to enjoy living through this trip with you, although I’m concerned about why you had to cut it short, of course.

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- Thomas September 4, 2021 / 2:00 pm
  
  Our itinerary had us headed right for the path of Hurricane Henri and inland alternatives we looked at were all booked up. Not surprising as it was a Friday in August.
  
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