a cross-country journey

i will tell you a few things i learned over the course of the past two days. we're not home yet, we can't meet our new landlord at the house until tomorrow morning, so we're staying in a hotel in hagerstown, md for the night. we've driven over 1,000 miles. we're both exhausted, and when we're both exhausted we like to keep a (very) safe distance from each other to help lessen our affinity to fighting (nay, tensely chatting). joey's taking a bath right now, which for those of you who know him is typical. you don't have to tell me about hotel bath tubs. i already know, and he already doesn't care. joey would take a bath in a horse trough if the water ran clear and lukewarm. i'm happy to have a second to get rid of the tension riding in my shoulders (and everywhere else) after two straight days on the road. yesterday was 13 hours, today was 10. the uhaul (pictured above) is terrible on the hilly roads that brought us into pennsylvania, through west virginia, and into maryland. we averaged 40 mph. i like to go 70 (okay, 80). i don't always get what i want, but at 26 weeks pregnant, my body was screaming at me to get somewhere fast so we didn't have to spend another second trapped in the car. i told my body to shut it approximately 70 billion times, and drove 40, diligently following the train of uhaul-pontiac all 1,000+ miles while it struggled to chug up every steep incline and slow way down for the slightest decline. god forbid we use the grace of gravity to speed the ship up a bit (oops, sarcasm seeped out a little there). this (un)comforting lag and lull repeated every 5 miles while we were aggressively passed from the left and right by gigantic semi trucks and frantic sedans anxious to get past the weaving Minnesota mobile polluting their hwy. it was as relaxing as you're imagining. i feel better now that you know where i'm coming from (even if you don't care/think i'm a baby/hate me for complaining). back to my list. 

things i have learned:

1. no matter how much i wish it wasn't true, virginia really is (explative) far away from south dakota.

2. pennsylvainia/west virginia/maryland's tree soaked hills along i-70 are absolutely breath taking.

3. i will never live in indiana.

4. my husband continues to be the most patient, thoughtful, determined man i know.

5. road trips are much more exciting/tolerable without child. 

we're going to get some rest/not kill each other. i'll update again when we're finally home!