Sleep in?  I wish!  I got up early and ran a few errands before I started loading the car. We didn't end up getting on the road until 10:11! The drive was very slow and frustrating. It took more than four hours to reach Maryland House (about 90 minutes longer than usual).

We decided to grab a bite to eat from Phillips Seafood. I ordered a crab cake with fries and Matt got fish and fries. Our total was OVER $30.00 and we didn't even get drinks! Matt's fish was yummy, but my crab cake had a bunch of filler and neither of us liked the fries. I expected more for the price we paid.

As we got closer to Rhode Island, I started looking for a hotel room. Using an assortment of websites, I tried to find a room close to the drop zone. I started with Smithfield and there were no rooms. After calls to a dozen hotels, it quickly became apparent that finding a room in Rhode Island might be like winning the lottery. There was nothing in Providence, Pawtucket, Johnson, Cranston, or Warwick. I focused on places south of the drop zone because I didn't want to do any extra driving. I was getting extremely frustrated.

Eventually, found a room for $103.00 using Hotwire. I didn't know exactly where the room would be until I purchased it, but it was our only option. After I purchased the room, I received a confirmation.  We'd be staying at a Best Western in West Greenwich, RI - only 30 miles from the drop zone. I put the address in Waze.

Estimated time of arrival at the hotel was 8 PM, but that time did not factor in a stop for dinner. Speaking of dinner - where would we stop?

Neither one of us wanted fast food. After our disappointing lunch, we decided to treat ourselves to a "real" meal. I found a Bertucci's along our route just minutes away and very close to the highway. We were seated quickly, but it took forever to get our entrees - over 30 minutes! On the plus side - the food was super yummy!  We left Bertucci's with full bellies.

Our new arrival time -  9 PM. Not bad compared to our other trips. For once, we'd be able to enjoy our room and watch a movie before getting to bed. With the exception of some crazy drivers, we didn't encounter any trouble on the rest of our drive and we arrived at the hotel just before 9. 500 miles in roughly 11 hours - time to relax!