Additional Day 1/2 Details

Ed's post below pretty much covered everything. Let me first elaborate on the bit about the police intervention... It was either the euphoria of Ed actually allowing me to drive or the excitement of Harry Potter's 6th-year quidditch tryouts... or simply that I wasn't paying attention. In any event, I got pulled over for going too fast in a construction zone. And I felt pretty cool about that.

Once we got to Chicago and on the train, Ed's description of the Kentucky and West Virginia scenery was spot on. Although it does look the same as any place else when viewed through one's eyelids. Following up from the end of his post, there were hours and hours on a train after that. The trip ended up being much longer than anticipated--a full 28 1/2 hours! (MJ was right... gin and tonics do help.) We managed to finally arrive in Philadelphia and make it to our hotel by around midnight. The only thing that detracted from our excitement to see actual beds in our room was the loud party that began next door an hour or so later. As I was groggily trying to get back to sleep, I thought I heard Ed proclaim, "We're cursed." But after sleeping in until 9:30 or so, we remain optimistic and are ready to explore Philly.