Dual Travelers : 🍁🚗 CRAZY 8 NEW ENGLAND ROAD TRIP

Well, our Crazy 8 New England adventure has officially begun!

I was up at 4:45 Wednesday morning and Michael followed at 5:30. We were determined that the Browns were going to get an early start.

That was the plan anyway. 😂

Before we even backed out of our driveway, Michael discovered black stuff all around the knee of his CLEAN pants. And somehow my suitcases were immediately accused of something. He went back inside, changed his pants, and off we went.

Once we got to Mark and Susan’s, Michael investigated a little further and discovered the real culprit — the weather stripping on the back of our car.

MY SUITCASE WAS REDEEMED! 😂

We actually hit the road around 8:15, so despite the pants incident, we didn’t do too badly.

Our first day took us from Virginia, through Maryland and Pennsylvania, and eventually into New York.

We had a really nice drive and made our first stop outside Leesburg for a bathroom break and, of course, snacks. Then it was on to Gettysburg, where we stopped for lunch at the Gettysburg Family Restaurant.

And we definitely did not leave hungry!

Susan and Freida ordered salads and WHOA — they were huge! But they were loaded with protein and all kinds of good stuff, not one of those giant bowls where you dig around and discover you basically ordered 14 pounds of lettuce. 😂

Grace and I had the fried haddock. Opps no pictures of our plates! Michael had his heart set on liver and onions, but they were out, so he went with a pork chop. He also had a cup of the Chicken Barely soup. Mark had turkey and dressing, Wayne chose a chicken salad sandwich, and somehow I missed taking a picture of David’s lunch, so I have absolutely no idea what he ate. Eek!

Then came our first great controversy of the trip:

WHERE ARE WE STOPPING FOR ICE CREAM? 🍦😂

Susan and Grace were riding in the van and found a creamery that even had affogatos. Apparently we were only about a mile away, which we knew because Susan was texting the important ice-cream information over to Freida and me in our car. 😂

Unfortunately, Mark and David weren't interested in fighting the traffic to get there.

Let's just say the ladies in BOTH vehicles were not particularly pleased with that decision. 😂

So onward we went until we eventually stopped at Blue Ribbon Farm Dairy in West Pittston, PA

And guess what?

We ran into traffic getting there anyway! 😂

But here's where it got even funnier. As soon as we got off the highway, David realized where we were. He and Grace, along with Wayne and Freida, had stopped at Blue Ribbon Farm Dairy on their Vermont trip last year!

We hadn't planned it at all. Just one of those funny little coincidences that happens on a road trip.

As we were going in, we met a lady coming out who told us it was the BEST place for ice cream. She said she had been coming there since she was a little girl — and she wasn't exactly a little girl anymore — so between her recommendation and our four returning customers, I figured we had landed in the right place!

Everyone else got dishes of ice cream.

Michael and I?

Well, apparently we had to be bougie. 😂

We split a warm apple dumpling with ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream and dark cherries.

OH. SO. GOOD.

Then came one of those little road-trip moments I love. After starting our morning in Virginia and traveling through Maryland and Pennsylvania, at 5:26 PM we crossed the state line into NEW YORK! 🗽🍎

Of course I got a picture of the sign. 😂

Four states on Day 1 — Virginia ✔️ Maryland ✔️ Pennsylvania ✔️ New York ✔️

Back in the car, Michael and I spent a little quality marital time fighting with Apple CarPlay, trying to convince the car that we wanted HIS phone connected and not mine. Eventually we won that battle and continued on to our hotel in Woodbury, New York.

After everyone got checked in, the men and I headed over to the Woodbury Diner for a little something to eat.

Michael ordered fried chicken, and it was really good. Mark and I both had grilled ham and cheese. David was actually the one who put the grilled ham and cheese idea in our heads — and then he abandoned us and ordered tuna instead. 😂 Wayne had roast turkey.