Tomorrow is the famous Nicklin Christmas Party so tonight Dominica and I are traveling down to Maryland in preparation for the event. This morning Dominica took Oreo to daycare to drop him off for the weekend.
The weather was actually quite warm today. So warm that when walked down Wall Street I had to carry my jacket and I was still very, very warm.
For lunch today one of my clients took me out for pasta at a really cool pasta place near the office. It was a really good lunch. I generally just eat at my desk when I am on Wall so that was a nice change.
The day was busy but wrapped up on the early side and I was able to run out of the office at a quarter after five to catch the train back to Newark. That was quite the break. I got home and Dominica was already there and just about packed.
We were on the road just a little after seven. It takes just under four hours in good weather and with low traffic to go from our apartment in Newark, New Jersey to the Nicklin house in Arnold, Maryland. We have definitely learned that the fastest path is to take interstate 95 south to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and then to catch MD301 south from the first exit in Delaware and that takes us right across the Bay Bridge and into Annapolis allowing us to bypass all of the worst traffic areas.
So we rolled into Arnold just after eleven having stopped to eat on the road. We stayed up for about two hours visiting. We haven’t been to Maryland in an entire year – since the last Christmas party. This is the first time that we have gone this long without making a trip down. It has been a crazy year for all of us. There are so many people that we basically haven’t spoken to at all this year. Madness.
Normally there is already a small party in progress when we arrive in Maryland but this year it was just us and John and Michelle. Tomorrow is going to be far easier on all of us because for the first time the party is being professionally catered which is very exciting.