The four of us spent one more day in Maryland, shopping for school clothes for Zoe followed by a swim in a friend's pool, a trip to Jimmie Cone, and a game of Quiddler to end the day. On Friday we rose before six a.m. to drive to Maine so we could drop off Zoe and grab a few items from our storage unit. Zoe was delivered to her grandmother's apartment, and the rest of us went to stay with our dear friends, Rafi, Anne, and baby Cecilia (whose cuteness borders on obscene; I wanted to take her home with us). We slept in till nearly noon, then we walked down to the farmers' market where we saw a few more friends. The dreaded storage unit visit went remarkably well; the things we needed were nearly all within reach and didn't warrant the complete emptying like we'd feared, and we (and our winter clothes, Social Security cards, and contact lenses) were in and out within twenty-five minutes. We then swung by the Peavey Memorial Library in Eastport to return a few books - The House of Leaves, which I'd borrowed and left in Alaska last summer, and the copy of Persepolis, that had found its way into Rob's sister, Jana's, bag when she visited us in May.
That night, Anne, Cecilia, Rob, Olive, and I walked down to the Pickled Herring for dinner, and Rafi met us there after attending to a prior engagement. The food was delicious, as usual, my sweet & spicy salmon accompanied by a surprise peach salsa that Gary, owner and friend, added. Olive, as she'd been doing all summer, commenced squawking shortly after we arrived. Dining experiences with her have been less than relaxing, and she ends up being passed around from person like a hot potato. She did manage to fall asleep in my lap after a short nursing spurt, taking a cue from Ceci. Afterwards, once we'd put the girls to bed, the four of us sat down for a game of Spades, one of our favorites games we used to play together. Rafi and I lost, as we have for the past several games we've played, but I was reminded of how much I miss living so close to good friends. We went to bed far later than we should have, and dragged our feet getting up again in the morning. Our friend, Robert, stopped by with his and Amy's two darlings, Cora and Ellis, before we left, then Rob, Olive and I had lunch at the made-over Blue Iris Bistro, where Amy was our waitress. As Olive was being her normal hollering self, I decided to try quelling her with a new taste: a dill pickle spear. From time to time, we'll introduce a new taste to her curious tongue, though it's almost always a sweeter, more child-friendly fruit - canteloupe, plum, pear. I couldn't believe how readily she welcomed the sour saltiness of the pickle...a sophisticated palate has our little one, I suppose.
The trip back south took a bit longer - 15 1/2 hours - than the drive up, though Olive was a better traveler, sleeping most of the way since we left much later and were driving through the night. Traffic was surprisingly congested for most of the trip, from southern Maine through Connecticut, and the rainy conditions didn't help. Rob probably wished me asleep, as I tend to be a bundle of nerves when riding in the rain, and I was constantly requesting that he slow down despite the fact that he was rarely going above 70. I suffer from an exaggerated fear of hydroplaning, and I should probably look into taking a mild sedative before going for a ride in the rain. At any rate, the rain stopped once we hit New Jersey, the home stretch, though the same can't be said for the traffic. We finally pulled into my parents' driveway at five a.m., as the early morning commuters were leaving for work.
Yesterday was spent packing the CR-V, doing laundry, stripping diapers, cleaning our room, and setting up utility services in our names. Ben came over one last time to say goodbye to Olive (since it'll be a while before he see us all again when he comes to visit in Pittsburgh in two weeks), then Rob and I played Quiddler with my folks (I won).
We're nearly finished loading the two vehicles (my parents are once again loaning us the van for transporting larger items), and we hope to be off by noon. It's a wonderful feeling to have our days of traveling diminish for a few months. I just want to feel settled again, now the the novelty of living out of my suitcase has worn off. I'm also looking forward to living so close to my nephew and nieces, if only for a short while.
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