My paternal grandparents haven't visited us in Maryland since I was about 8 or 9 years old. This wasn't due to a lack of love, but rather to the many medical difficulties my grandfather suffered from. We would drive up to NJ to visit them multiple times a year... and always around Christmas time! My grandpa died last summer, and while we mourned losing him, we were excited to see the ways in which my grandma might be able to experience a little more activity in her later years. My family decided that one such way would be for her to come down to my parents' house for Christmas this year! Now... a 4 hour car trip doesn't sound like much to most of us, but it was the first time that she had EVER been in a car for 4 straight hours. Grandma has never gotten her own license, and is hardly ever driven around by other people. Therefore, things like car taillights were a new sight for her. She thought that "all the red lights on the backs of the cars" were "quite Christmas-y and festive." We started to explain that all cars have those red lights
all the time for safety at night, but then decided that her take on the lights was much more fun, Christmas-y, and festive!
Another exciting part of our trip was getting to pick my middle sister, Amy, up from the Newark Airport. She is in the middle of her senior year at St Andrews University in Scotland, and due to a major snowstorm, had been stuck in Heathrow Airport/London since Saturday. We were SO excited to have her home!!!!!!! So without further ado, here are pictures of the trip my Dad and I took to get Grandma and Amy :)
Mom's thoughtfully packed "car trip basket" to make Grandma's trip more enjoyable
I am unashamed to admit that one of my most favorite things about road trips is getting a McDonald's bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich and a McCafe coffee. Glorious!
God's timing is sometimes very curious... the alternator in my dad's Jeep broke during the trip and we had to wait 4 hours in a Sears Auto shop while they got the part & fixed it. This meant that Grandma didn't get picked up until hours later than we told her, Amy had to wait for us at the airport, my mom was anxious back home in Maryland, and Dad & I got to eat at O'Houlihans for lunch. At least nothing worse happened!
Finally! We got to Nurk! Amy!
Finally made it to Grandma's house in Union
The sight on my parent's front yard when we got home...
(theme: "O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree")
Colin helping my tiny little Italian grandma
