Third time's a charm

Last night, I was thinking about how strange this dragon year has been for me. I keep falling, for one. The more pleasant part of it is that I have been able to visit Cleveland THREE times. Today's drive was so much better and manageable than I had feared (and WOW was I up there on the anxiety scale). After all the car rental wrangling, traffic to get out of NY, fueling in NJ (I find full service so strange), and adjusting the steering wheel, I finally calmed down in Pennsylvania. For one, the foliage is on full, splendiferous display. What a show, the entire way! For two, Tina Fey guided me for the bulk of it and Bossypants was brilliant as an audiobook. This was the best way for me to lose my audiobook virginity. When I was not laughing out loud, I was definitely less freaked out about my performance on the road (I still worried about accidents and being pulled over, having experienced both of those things and not ever wanting to repeat them). I especially loved when she talked about driving thru PA on I-80W to OH!!! As I was doing exactly that.

I took a lunch break (where it took about 5-7 min for me to figure out how to turn on the headlights) at halfway, and pulled over again two hours later because I felt sleepy. I even saw a couple I had already seen at the last rest stop, doing the same back massage and stretches. Instead of laying down in the front seat like a dentist's chair, I curled up in the back seat for the briefest of naps. Thank goodness I did, because I realized when I got back in front to drive that I had been so sleepy when pulling in that I parked in the spot reserved for state troopers. One more stop after the Ohio border for gas and I was ready to do the last stretch and pull into the driveway with my host mom right behind me. Great timing! We caught up and she fed me banana bread and tea, then got goodies for dinner. We had wine and pre-bday cupcakes, since I probably won't see my hosts the rest of the week with this crazy schedule. I also got to meet Lenny, pictured above (he is about 10 months, Bernese Mt., w/the toy that he decimated tonight). Cowboy, the cat, is also in the house (and why I am well stocked with Claritin and Benadryl). I love my Cleveland home and am excited for a good night's sleep before tomorrow's birthday celebrations.