The Worst Trip from Ohio to New York

Edith's two-month birthday was the day we drove back to New York.
I took this photo when we were waiting for traffic to resume
after an accident in Pennsylvania.

Baby's first road trip went better than expected ... in one direction. We left Brooklyn for Columbus at 6:30 in the morning, and the 500 miles we normally cover in about 9 hours instead took 12. Not unexpected when you factor in feedings and diaper changes.

The drive from my parents' home in northwest Ohio to Brooklyn, however, was another story. It started out great. We left at 10 a.m., and she slept until about 3 p.m. More than half of the trip was done with only a brief stop for gas. The way things were going, we thought we'd be home by about 9 p.m.

Instead, it was midnight.

First of all, the snow went from non-existent to quite heavy as we drove further east, and we ran into some rather scary white-out conditions. But Paul drove through them like a champ, and we got only a little behind.

Until we saw a sign saying there was an accident ahead. We got off Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania and tried to take back roads, but the conditions were snowy and bad, and the sun was setting. We decided to get back on the highway, come what may. And what came was a 3-hour standstill.

Of course, Edith chose this time to be both hungry and poopy. But we made it through, and she slept again from about the middle of the standstill all the way until we got home. And I paid for her cooperation by feeding her almost nonstop when we got home for the next two hours.

Obviously I'm glad that we weren't the ones in the accident that caused the jam, but I have to say it was the cause of the worst trip from Ohio to New York we've had yet. I suppose I should be glad the trip took only 14 hours -- and that it wasn't punctuated more often by a screaming baby.