Tuesday, August 9, 2022- to Long Island

      Julie's dad is from Long Island, and Julie has accompanied him back to "the Island" before to help with the driving.  When family was up in Western New York for his birthday party last summer, it was decided that we would take Grandpa and Grandma once more to visit the family there.  Julie is doing the driving duties, and Scott and Abby have come along for the ride.  Emma chose to stay home on "dachshund duty."

     We had a car reserved with Avis, but because of our problems with them on our western trip a few weeks ago, we decided to cancel that one.  Julie's folks rented the car, and we picked it up yesterday at 3:00.  We were hoping for a minivan, but they don't seem to be available anymore.  The vehicle we got was... slightly smaller.  Scott took the seat furthest back, and is ok there, but he has to take a long time getting out each time.  He brought the second DVD player that we got this summer, so he has been watching his own things as we travel.  Grandma and Abby have the middle seats, Julie is driving and her Dad has shotgun.

     We left our house a little before 5:00, picked up Julie's folks and were on our way.  We stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds, and again in Pennsylvania for gas and a restroom break, but other than that we drove straight through. Traffic got a little thick around the George Washington Bridge, but we got to see the skyline of Manhattan in the distance, and Abby was watching all of the bridges and traffic pass by.  She was even excited to see "excavators," and she knew that word.  We got to our hotel in Famingville, Long Island shortly after 2:00.  Only one of our two rooms was ready, but we got stuff out of the car.  Abby, Julie and Grandma went swimming while Grandpa took a nap.

     There is an Applebee's across from our hotel, and our first visit for this trip was with Grandpa's step-brother, Uncle Rick, and his wife, Aunt Sharon.  We talked with them for over two hours until we went back to the hotel to settle down for the evening.