The girls arrived at my house this morning around 7am, and we pretty much had the car packed up and ready to go within 20 minutes. It was just about this time that we discovered that the cigarette lighter wasn't working. Thus, the GPS wasn't getting any power. And for all of those that understand the technology of a battery, an uncharged GPS is a useless GPS. ...We had a useless GPS. I checked the fuse box, spent an extra 15 minutes swapping out the spare fuses with the one in question to no success, thus we were now relying on Google Maps and my Car Atlas that I now keep in my Jeep for emergencies. There was a moment of panic where I saw society become overly dependent on technology. One could write an essay on this very topic. Then Claire busted out the Google-Maps. Way to go Claire. Claire is prepared. Everything is right again. Honestly, this is the way I'm used to road tripping, so the failed GPS didn't really bother me. Staring a some little machine that will tell me that I have 23.6 miles and 18.85 minutes left until my next right turn is not a fun driving experience, as far as I'm concerned. Give me a map any day.
I drove for the first six hours, then changed seats with Julia in Maryland, who then exchanged seats with Claire in Virginia. Claire (while not paying attention to the maps) ends up driving us through downtown Richmond in the effort to backtrack to the freeway that we should've stayed on in the first place. The upside of this maneuver was that we got to see the downtown/warehouse district neighborhood of the city, filled with eclectic restaurants and cool little brownstone-style bars. Richmond actually seems like a pretty cool town. A few hours later we cross into North Carolina and stop to grab a bite to eat. Katalina is now behind the wheel. We pull out of the restaurant to hear a loud thump and crash occur behind us. We our now aware that the back hatch of Katalina's car has popped open and there goes my bag (containing my precious computer) and Katalina's Nikon tumbling down the road. Panic ensues. I pretty much dive out of the car while it's still moving to run back and grab my computer. Thank GOD I had a padded backpack. Anything less and I'm sure that it wouldn't have made it. Obviously I'm working on it now, so everything turned out okay, but that was a scary few moments. Save from a small dent in the corner of the machine, it's working perfectly. I can breathe again, and for everyone here that uses a Mac...we all know what life would be like without our precious machines. Shit...I sound like Gollum. ...whatever. Gollum never had a Mac. 
About an hour later we pulled up to the house to be greeted by both Leila and Marty. Josh, Pat and Megan were already in the hottub and it took us absolutely no time at all to get ourselves settled in, changed into our bathing suits, and joining them all in the bubbly.It's a quiet, clear night tonight, and I think everyone else has pretty much gone to bed. It's been a long day for all of us, but tomorrow will be the real start of our vacation. I'm looking forward to doing nothing. I'm pretty sure I'm overdue.
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