Turn left, then turn left, then ahead, turn left.

After a quick white mocha at the local coffee shop, we headed out to the beaches on the Cape. We first stopped at Fort Hill and hiked down to the marshes. From there, we went on to Nauset Beach. It was a windy day, but still very clear and beautiful. From the beaches, we stopped by Chatham, a little town recommended to us by Molly and Phil. We went to The Squire, a local eatery and got "steamers," which are steamed clams and apparently a local favorite. They were tasty, but definitely a different feel in my mouth! I ordered fish and chips - always a favorite.

We quickly hit the road after lunch because it was going to be a 7 hour drive to Tim's grandparents' house in Quakertown, PA. The drive was pretty good as far as scenery, traffic, and company... until we hit NYC. We had already called ahead to Ellen, Tim's sister, to get the lowdown on the best route from Boston to Philly. She said to go straight through the city. Well, we thought we knew better and mapped a route around the city. Around mid-Connecticut, things started slowing significantly. We still kept spirits high, jamming to Brooks and Dunn, our "kick traffic's butt" music. Well, by the time we reached our "short cut," things slowed down to a snail's pace. I think our attempt to outsmart NYC was a total failure, because in reality, we had decided to drive to the suburbs of NYC... where everyone was headed. Needless to say, we were trying to calm down to Coldplay, our "traffic kicked our butt" music. I didn't think driving in or around NYC could compare to Boston, but boy was I wrong. Well, a drive that should have taken maybe one hour took two, but I am thinking now there will be nothing worse traffic-wise. Although who knows... DC is still coming up... we will see.

So we did eventually make it in to PA. We cooked up a couple of yummy grilled cheese with pepperoni sandwiches and sat down with Tim's grandparents and aunts and uncles. We didn't know everyone was coming over, but it was a pleasant surprise. We got to share all of our stories and pictures with everyone. After everyone left, I crashed on the couch and eventually made it to bed.

This morning we had a nice breakfast and walked around the yard with Pop Pop. It was really a beautiful, brisk fall day. Tim's grandfather raises Japanese maples and has tons of them planted all over his yard. We walked through the groves he has planted and looked at all of the varieties- some dwarf, some tall, some green and others red. He has people that stop by throughout the year to buy trees for their personal yards or for local nurseries. Before we left, he gave us four small trees to plant at our new house in Texas. It means a lot of have the trees that he raised, and this may be the only time we can bring them down with us. I imagine taking trees on an airplane might be hard:). I'll have to post a picture of our crammed car sometime. It is a little nuts. I think I'm going to rearrange things this weekend.

From Quakertown, we hit the road for Media, PA where Allison works at Starbucks. We made it there just as she finished and we got some tasty drinks. I got the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. The first drink was super salty, but overall it was really good. I don't even want to know the nutritional information. After Starbucks, we headed to her apartment where she is in the middle of packing to move back to Texas too. Things were a little chaotic at the house, so we jumped right into packing. In a little over an hour, we had the office 95% done. There is still a bit to be done so we're coming back on Monday to pack more. From the apartment we went to Allison's friends Becca and Scott's house warming party. We ate some delicious vegetarian cuisine- never thought I'd say that:). From there, we hit the road for Shermans Dale - Tim's parents' house.

We got in around 8:30, drank some wine, and ate some cheese with Tim's mom as we caught up on life. It is always great visiting with her. We're now sitting here watching SNL. We wanted to catch the Palin skit with my buddy Sarah. The first skit was pretty funny, but I thought the weekend update was awesome. I'm gonna have to catch that one on YouTube tomorrow. Wish I could say more for the other skits!

Distance to Texas: 1,453 miles