When we drive a long distance we usually get a very early start — 5:00 am when we drive to Illinois. This time, however, we had other things to do in the morning and didn’t leave Bethesda until just after 2:00 pm. Oddly, Dean drove the whole way. Usually I drive for a while after lunch so he can take a nap. We brought our aged cat along — we had a pretty bad health scare a week or so ago (she has/had pancreatitis, it turns out) and I wanted to keep an eye on her. She’s a good traveler — she loves being petted and with 12 straight hours of attention, she was very happy indeed.

We arrived in Elgin around 2:00 am and didn’t get to bed until at least 3 but were rudely awakened by the trash collectors at 7:30 am.

We lazed around the house (well, the kids and I did — Dean visited his brother who lives in a nursing home a block or so from my mom’s house) for most of the day — Andrew had fun looking through Mom’s garage that is full of such exciting things as a CB radio, several toolboxes of varying shapes and sizes, and even a vintage hand-held massager.

That evening we headed to the “Big House” (Dean’s other brother’s house) in Hampshire for the rehearsal dinner for Dean’s youngest nephew, Nate and Marissa, his bride-to-be. It was fun catching up with all the family news and meeting Marissa’s family. Marissa’s grandparents told me I have a doppelganger in Arizona who works in a coffee shop they frequent.