For some reason, I thought it would be a really good idea to drive Alec (12) to Florida so that he could visit a friend. Based on the current gas prices, we determined that it would be cheaper to fly, but I envisioned some sort of bonding road trip with my adolescent son - What was I thinking ???

We left Emma (5) behind in Frostburg so that she could go to day camp with her cousin Jack. Gotta love day camp - exercise and entertainment from 8:00 AM until 3:30 PM. Lisa and Joe offered to keep Emma for five weeks. I didn't know how long I'd last without seeing her, but it was very nice of them to make the offer.

Without Emma, I knew the car would be peaceful. No fighting over what movies to watch. No "he touched me". No whining! (Why are girls soooo whiny?) It would just be the two of us on the open road. When I left Maryland on June 21st, I had skydiving on my brain. Three days post jump. Our goal for the day - get to Richmond, VA.

Everything started out smoothly. We didn't have to be in Richmond until 6:30 and we gave ourselves an extra hour for traveling. I knew we'd hit rush hour somewhere along the way. The traffic got heavy right around Fredericksburg...strange coincidence...right where I'd get off the highway if I was going to Orange. Hmmm...I wonder if they are jumping today?

Apparently, I was thinking out loud as my son quickly reminded me that we needed to be in Richmond by 6:30.

But the sky...it was so blue, and the traffic was so bad. If I could just get off the highway for a couple of hours - we'd make it to Richmond before bedtime. We didn't really need to have dinner with Brian, Alex and Molly...did we? The playful little voice inside of my head that was encouraging me to make a break for Orange was quickly silenced by the very loud and dominant one screaming about my parental responsibilities. Yeah yeah...I know.

We arrived in Richmond a little early. Extra time! So, we hit a Blockbuster to grab some movies for in the car. Alec picked out a couple of DVDs. Then, we were on our way. When we arrived at Brian's house, I discovered that my wallet was missing. We called Blockbuster and they had it. What great luck! I went back to pick it up.

The visit with Brian was fun. His girlfriend, Molly, was lovely and dinner was wonderful. Of course, the best part for me was the conversation. They wanted to know everything about skydiving! Great food, wine, friends, and an opportunity to talk about my new love! We had a wonderful evening and Brian said that he'd like to jump! Woo hoo! Another jumper!

I didn't sleep well that night because Alec was not cooperative - long story not worth recounting. I woke Alec up early and we left Richmond around 6:00 AM. At about 8:00, we stopped for gas and food. I opened my wallet to discover that all my cash was gone! I felt sick.

I hadn't even looked inside. When I went back to Blockbuster, I checked to make sure my credit cards were inside, but it didn't even occur to me that my cash may be gone. I wasn't even sure how much cash I had, but I had just been to the ATM to get money for our trip. $250 - $300 - this just SUCKS!

I immediately thought, "That's enough for a jump!" What's wrong with my brain?

I called my cousin, Lisa, to vent and she said, "Didn't you immediately think, that's a jump?" I had to laugh. She understood my insanity.

The rest of the drive was uneventful. Alec watched a couple of movies and then we fought over which CD's to play. For a few hours, he subjected me to an assortment of entertainment. If the lead singer is yelling (not singing) at the top of his lungs, is he still considered a singer? We went from the yelling group on to Weird Al.

Note to self: Road Trips = Bad Idea