And so it begins….the travel odyssey that reaches from Richmond, VA to Madrid, Spain with the Galapagos, Machu Picchu and a trans-Atlantic cruise in between! Accompanied halfway by our pals, Richard and Maggi, and always by our traveling partner Pietro. (For those of you unfamiliar with Pietro, he has become our traveling companion since October of 2007, when Ed rescued him from sure destruction on the di Pietro in Verona. He’s a cute little Bavarian puppy with an interesting history – one that will soon be published on his very own website: travelswithpietro.com. In the meantime, it is here that Pietro will regale you with the traveling stories of Ed, Cathy, Richard and Maggi.) And so it begins………..
Hi all you bleaders (blog readers, get it? Yeah, I stole it from a book, but it works, don’t you think?), Pietro here starting our blog with our easy drive to DC. Only a little over 2 hours with only one mis-turn. That darn mixing bowl was new to Cathy (our fearless navigator) – and as fate would have it – we were in the wrong lane. Drats! Oh well, a quick u-turn at Van Dorn and we were back in business, on 395 in a snap, pulling into the Comfort Inn Pentagon in no time. It’s a bizarre little place, this hotel. Located in the back of the Best Western hotel, you literally have to drive through the Best Western parking lot to get there. Oh well – real estate in NoVa! What can you say? It’s a nice enough place once inside, very big room, comfy king size bed, a restaurant and bar in the lobby (albeit hidden and only open from 5 to 10).
Of course, Ed and Cathy settled in and headed to the gym. (Is anyone surprised?) Ok – so “gym” was a bit of a stretch. More like a closet with an old treadmill, threadbare stepper and bike (with a seat that would not stay up in position but kept falling while Cathy was trying to cycle).
After that little aerobic interlude, Ed and Cathy headed over to Cathy’s folks house – yeah – and left me behind! Hmph! Haven’t met the family yet – maybe on the return trip I’ll be let our of my bag, but for now – well let’s just say they’ll pay for treating me like chopped liver!!! Here’s what I missed out on:
A nice visit with Mom and Dad; chocolate wine tasting (they save all the good stuff for when I’m not there!!!!), awesome Maui onion and garlic almonds, and oh yeah, the phone call at 6 pm announcing our DCA to Miami flight was canceled due to anticipated weather! (Maybe I’m glad I was left at the hotel!!!) So, here we go……
Ed immediately got n the phone – I won’t bore you with all the details (trust me – they bored me when they told me the story!!!!) – but an hour an a half later after becoming best friends with Leigh, our wonderfully helpful CSR, and after a bazillion different routings – DCA to Memphis, DCA to RDU, RIC to where ever, anywhere to anywhere, pleaaaassseeeeeee just get us out of DC to Miami for he Quito flight – ends up Ed and Cathy and I are flying out fo DCA at 7 am on Delta through Atlanta to Miami. Maggi and Richard – who wisely hadn’t left Richmond yet – are flying out of Richmond at 2:20 (a far more civilized time) direct to Miami ans taking the later Quito flight. Phew! What a nightmare – this combo, that combo, where to put the car, should we drive to Richmond? To Raleigh? Hell – all the way to Miami? Exhausting – but all handled……we hope!
So off to dinner they go – to Fratelli’s on Van Dorn. Cheri, Darrin, Stephanie, Mom, Dad, Ed and Cathy – Cheri doing quite well with her surgery induced liquid diet while the rest of them pigged out on Fried cheese, veal primavera, Agnilotti, Frutti di Mare and Vongole. They all passed on dessert (I should think so!) but hung out for a while with drinks and talk after the food. An excellent meal, excellent company, lots of talking, laughing, stories. Stephanie told everyone about Harry Potter ice cream at Baskin Robbins (we’re going there when we get home!!!). A great send off to the adventure trip beginning the next day!
It ended too soon with Mom and Dad driving Ed and Cathy back to the hotel in the beginning of the snow showers. Early (well kind of) to bed because we really have to be early to rise on Friday!!!
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