On the road again...

We have found ourselves in a La Quinta Inn in Moon, PA on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, and hooray, the internet is finally working. Yesterday we set off from Philadelphia, and after a day of driving through sun and rain (and sometimes both at the same time--the weather was weird yesterday) we made it here.

It's not so different from the last time we took a major, longer than a long-weekend road trip. Oh wait, yes, it's very different, because an inanimate Phanatic isn't the only passenger in the back seat. That's right folks...

FYI: The Visitor's Center on the Penn State campus is a great place to stop for lunch,

and they totally don't mind when you drool all over their enormous floor map.

We're traveling with an eight-month old baby.

An eight month old baby who is currently wailing her face off in the next room, because going to sleep in a dark different place after being completely off schedule and overstimulated is terrifying and stupid and WHY ARE YOU THE WORST PARENTS IN THE WORLD? WHY WON'T YOU JUST LET ME ROLL AROUND ON THE BIG BED??? I WAS HAPPY AND CUTE AND EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME. Don't worry, Mark is calming her down.

This is awesome! Cribs are for chumps.

For the most part, Anya has been amazing. She was either sleeping or babbling or gnawing on a toy for the entire trip (eight hours, door to door) from Philadelphia. Oh did we mention that she's also teething? But she's coping. Perhaps not right now, but she's been pretty terrific up to this point, smiling at bookstore employees and not barfing on their floor. We couldn't be more proud.

Today we found ourselves back in Sewickley, home to the Penguin Bookshop and the scene of our last tour event two years ago, when we arrived, exhausted and wearing clothing of questionable cleanliness, after over two weeks of hard touring. This time it was our first stop and we brought a cute baby, so our former disgustingness was forgotten (hopefully). I started the day off at Osborne Elementary, where the kids made drawing and now I'm kicking myself for not taking photos. Hey, kids, send me photos of your work! They were really terrific. Then an event in the store and now I think, I think Anya might actually be asleep which means that I get to eat takeout dinner without the background music of Miserable Baby. Here's hoping...

Tomorrow we'll be in Hudson, OH, at a library event hosted by The Learned Owl Book Shop. Will all the bookstores that I visit on this trip be named after birds? Tune in next time to find out...