Sunday, April 30, 2017

Driving home

It's a great grandson.  Cute, three weeks old as of Friday.  Eats and sleeps well.  Doesn't fuss much, and well he does, picking him up and walking around the house quiets him right down.  Likes to nap in parent's (grandparent's too) laps.  Laps are better than cradles, ask any new born.  Has nice fine hair, looks to be blond or perhaps red.  Not unusual considering the both mother and father are still blond. 
  Drove back from DC on Saturday.  I took the scenic route.  Picked up old US 1 off the Baltimore beltway.  It dwindles to a two lane route thru Maryland farm country and gets over the Chesapeake Bay on top of the old Conowingo dam.  Must have been low tide, the down stream side of the dam was going dry, lots of mud flats all across the bay.  Upstream seemed to have plenty of water.  Crossed the Mason-Dixon line in the Pennsylvania, and US-1 widens into a nice 4 lane divided highway, light traffic, clearly a 1950's road project.  Zipped thru/by Chadd's Ford, the Wyeth art museum, Brandwine battle field, Longwood Gardens and picked up old US 202 for West Chester.  PA has finally gotten some infrastructure finished.  The construction on US 202 around King of Prussia is finally (after 10 years!!) finished.  And they have fixed a bunch of bottle necks/bad spots along the way to NJ.  They repaved using that old purple asphalt which looks nice and you don't see much of it around. 
   Got to Tappan Zee bridge at noon.  The new Tappan Zee bridge is still under construction, although progress has been made.  They have the steel girder work up clear across the Hudson, and the towers to support the cable stayed high center section are up.  The old bridge is still there, traffic was moving quickly, all 10 lanes.  The toll booth on the eastern shore is gone.  I zipped right thru, no EZ Pass, either I got thru for free, or they got my license plate on a well hidden camera and will mail me a bill. 
   All and all, the scenic route is nearly as fast as the straight-thru I95 all the way route.  Straight thru took ten hours in the rain.  Senic route was only 10 1/2 hours in good weather.  Saves about $20 in tolls. 
   Good trip.  Got to love the grandson.  Mom (Karen) and Dad (Justin) are looking fine and enjoying their first child. 

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