Friday we hit the ground running having breakfast at 6:00am, and checking out of the Residence Inn by 6:30 and hitting the road. Traffic wasn't an issue at all but it took almost an hour to get clear of the city. We used the Chicago Skyway which gets one out fairly quickly with, however, some nasty travel tolls.

On the way back through the states you drive past South Bend, home of Notre Dame. It would have been nice to stop, but we were worried it would cost us a bit too much time. The trip across Indiana was peaceful - but it costs you another hunk of toll as you leave the state. Emotionally it costs us another hour lost in the time change!

As we entered Ohio, we decided that we would try and get to Steve and Jen's in Connecticut. The trip took us through Pennsylvannia, New Jersey, and New York to our destination. Pennsylvannia was cheaper than Indiana / Ohio, but we were held up by a couple of construction sites. We probably lost about an hour. Oh well. We did stop in Danville and ate at a Friendly's. It was pretty good greasy spoon- add an Ice Cream! Danville to Fairfield was a long haul with some more construction. We broke in the MacKenzie Motel at 11:15pm. Very nice to have friends!

We slept in 'til 8:00... Seemed like a bit of a treat. Got to sit back
and chat a bit with Steve and Jen in the morning... then we went on a bit of a shopping jag. Jen was amazing! She whipped me into shape (and into a new suit) at the Syms store. Peter bought some fancy jeans and a snazzy hat. Monica bought a couple of cute dresses. We said a final farewell to Aunt Jen, shopped a bit more at the Fairfield Kohl's, and headed for Maine.

A number of toll stops slowed the travel time down between Connecticut and Maine, but there wasn't a lot of construction on a Saturday. We stopped to eat at a Cracker Barrel Country Store Restaurant. That was a neat experience. Good food and CANDY as you leave!

Janie got lucky with those Room Saver coupon booklets. After calling
several Portland and Bangor hotels (that were filled) she hit a vacancy at the Holiday Inn in Augusta for $83. She thought it a bit of a remdeemer for the Trenton accommodations! There was a heavy duty Walmart next door for provisions! Also tried a nice beer called Killians Red. A great sleep.

A great trip should end with a healthy feeling of "Can't wait to get home!" - the Lumsdens had hit that point Sunday morning. Snacks were packed to provide road grub until stopping at one of our favorite stops - the Salisbury Silver Fox Big Stop in New Brunswick. After a huge mug up it was the run for home... after an almost 5400 km return trip!!!