I tidied up the apartment, completed some errands and ate a Benadryl to help me sleep. I don’t know about you but that particular over the counter allergy pill knocks me out and sleep doesn’t come easy for me. Last year I was so anxious to get going that I wasn’t able to rest before shoving off to the sunshine state which made for a tiresome ride. My wife and children had already been down south for over two weeks and I missed them incredibly.

I departed from Queens on July 14th, at 3:11 am and embarked on a lonely 1,244 mile drive to reunite with my family. I hit Woodbridge, Virginia at 7:27 am to refuel and grabbed a cup of coffee, then more gas in Shiloh, South Carolina at 2:33 pm, then more coffee in Richmond Hill, Georgia at approximately 5:00 pm, and then one last tank of gas in Jacksonville before arriving at my in-laws house in Delray at 11:19 pm. The 20 hour 8 minute drive was actually easier than the previous year.

My kids were all asleep when I arrived but I was happy to be there when they awoke the next morning. We had a lovely time with Mima and Pop Pop over the next few days, spending lots of time in the sun, (I got sunburned immediately) and swimming in both the ocean and the pool. During our stay we received bad news but we tried to remain optimistic. Our last night in town we got to have dinner with our friends Sal and Sharon who happened to also be in Delray on vacation.

The first stop on our road trip was Sarasota, to visit Stevie, Mel, Guili and Amalia. It always nice to spend some quality time and catch up, and the kids love each other and had a blast hanging out. We had a lovely dinner together and then the next morning I had some laughs shit talking Florida’s gross climate with some natives as Stevie replaced one of my headlights that had blown on the way down. Next stop was the capitol of Florida, Tallahassee, for one night. We took the kids to a trampoline play place and had a delicious dinner at a Korean-Mexican restaurant. Kimchi for the win.

Our next stop was Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was disappointing and cut short. The hotel which Nicole had triple checked, was advertised as pet friendly, but in reality was not. Our shmoodle puppy, Trixie, was not allowed on the couch or the beds, had to be confined and if we were out sightseeing and she barked, they would make an effort to contact us before removing her from the premises. The fuck? And put her where? We spent the night and then checked out first thing in the morning, but before we left we went to Rock City, touted as a Chattanooga attraction but actually located over the state line in Georgia, though the two states share Lookout Mountain, which was also a civil war battleground. The trail at Rock City is 4,100 feet long and at 1,700 feet elevation you can see seven different states. I was happy we still went and visited Rock City despite having to lug our insane puppy with us around the mountain, barking at everyone around us the entire time.

We lost a night in Tennessee but added another in Kentucky. We really enjoyed our time in Lexington. We visited Ashland Park and the Henry Clay estate, Jacobson Park, Thoroughbred Park, Waveland State Historic Site and the Arboretum. I feel like we made good use of our time there and learned a bunch of interesting things about the area. We had Waffle House for the first time and visited hometown fixtures Winchell’s and Ramsey’s for delicious dinners, a pastrami sandwich and shrimp and grits and catfish and pork chops respectively. I want some right now.

Lexington is absolutely a place I could see myself living. Maybe one day. The drive through the Appalachian mountains from Lexington to our next destination, the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia was one of the most beautiful drives ever and it reminded me of when I was little driving through the Adirondacks with my grandparents to their little A-frame in Wells, New York.

We stayed in a cabin at Big Meadows Lodge, a place we visited last year on our first road trip. We love it there, the views on Skyline Drive are amazing and no photograph does it justice. The atmosphere was heavy, as we learned even more bad news, but the upside is that we were together and surrounded by natural beauty. It is funny how connected I feel to nature even though I was born and raised in Queens. All I want is to live in a cabin in the woods.

From Virginia we made our way to New Jersey for a night to spend time with relatives before heading home. The moment we exited the Holland Tunnel and entered Manhattan I was filled with disdain, and wished we were back in Kentucky or Virginia. Either one would suffice.

Anyone who has driven for long periods of time with three kids and a pyschotic pup knows that that in itself can be challenging, but all in all, despite some lows the trip was good. We made some memories. I hope the kids can look back at these moments fondly in the years ahead. Let’s see what states we hit next trip and in the meantime I’ll daydream about my cabin in the woods.