Day 3.24: Kent, OH to Syosset, NY

We got up early to leave by 9am. Aaron woke up to say goodbye just as we left, but Liz did not in fact join us for the farmer’s market. We got on the road for a long drive through the entire state of Pennsylvania, which took us hours. We did pass a sign for Punxsutawney, which got Arielle excited.

After passing many Sheetz locations, we finally found a Wawa and couldn’t have been more excited. We each got a banana cream smoothie and Arielle got her huge iced coffee. Abe ate the leftover tagine and we continued along, crossing into New Jersey, where we began to hit traffic. We slowly crossed the George Washington Bridge, entering New York, and miraculously made it to Long Island by 6:30pm.

We dropped our stuff off at the home of Pop-Pop, Abe’s grandfather, and went out with him to Butera’s, his preferred dining establishment. Arielle got an eggplant rollatini appetizer and a Caesar salad, and Abe got a steak.

For dessert, we enjoyed a chocolate chip pie to go with ice cream on the side (packaged tightly in a to-go container). We went back to the house and spent some time together before going to sleep.

Approximate number of miles covered: 461

Day 2.65: Philadelphia, PA to Katonah, NY

We woke up for the final day of our trip, saying goodbye to Becca and Max before loading up our car for the last time. Our most crucial stop of the day was at a Wawa after we crossed into New Jersey, where we filled up on gas and purchased a few items for lunch. Arielle was delighted to get her iced coffee, and we used a free drink reward to get a lemonade. She got a hoagie with egg, cheese, and tomato, and Abe got a quesadilla to go with the banana cream smoothie he so enjoys.

We opted against taking the George Washington Bridge and instead followed our directions up to the Tappan Zee Bridge. The drive was very pretty, and we stopped for a bathroom break and to take in the view right at the New Jersey-New York border.

It only took another forty or so minutes to reach Abe’s parents’ house in Katonah, where we returned after last being there back in November. We brought in some of our stuff and enjoyed a leisurely evening adjusting to life off the road. We had a great dinner with Abe’s parents at Tengda, where Arielle split a sweet potato tempura roll with Nancy, in addition to getting a California Roll and garden salad, and Abe enjoyed the Thai Red Snapper with soy ginger broccoli on the side.

Thoroughly exhausted, we went to sleep, looking forward to staying in one place for at least a couple nights.

Approximate number of miles covered: 255