The trip to Dee Dee's

I talk a lot about going to Dee Dee's farm (the kids call Bill's mom Dee Dee) and because we live in the boonies, you may be thinking Dee Dee is nearby. But she's not. She's on the OTHER side of Maryland, all the way by the Delaware border. Also known as the Eastern Shore.  If we move again, the Eastern Shore is on our short list of places to consider because it's very pretty  (and flat!). 

We've always lived at least 2 hours away from Dee Dee and we've always driven to Dee Dee's for family functions. Over the years she has moved farther east starting in Annapolis, then Queenstown and now her current home which is a stone's throw from Delaware (she swears she's not trying to get away from us). 

When we tell people  we're driving to the Eastern Shore for dinner, they look at us like we're nuts. Which I suppose we are since it takes about 2 1/2 hours to get to her house now (barring traffic issues), and that becomes a 5 hour round trip...for dinner. But we've always just done it and it's normal for us.

The kids are used to it, but then they've never just gone across town to see her so they don't know any different.

And the cool part is we cross The Chesapeake Bay Bridge to get there.

Picture by me in a moving car. Not so good

Now I'm not all Polly Anna about this bridge. Personally I think it's a big pain the behind because unless you're passing through at 2am, there's congestion at the toll plaza. And people get crazy at toll plazas. As in homicidal crazy.

Add to that the fact that the one who does most of the driving has a particular driving quirk that causes the passenger to keep a death grip on the 'Oh Dear!' handle and a foot on the imaginary brake. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

But occasionally we get to see a big tanker  go under the bridge. And rotting sitting in traffic is slightly less horrible when the sailboats are out and the seagulls are zipping around (unless a seagull takes an enormous dump on your windshield that sprays up over the roof past the sun roof, which would be blessedly closed in this hypothetical situation, and down onto the side view mirrors).

Huge ships in the huge Chesapeake Bay

See? They don't look like they're being tortured, do they. Dee Dee has soda AND candy at her house so they'd probably be willing to walk there if necessary.

 Here's a real live professional picture of it. Pretty cool, huh?

 photo credit Google Images

 If it has to be a long car drive, I'm glad it's at least an interesting one.