Speaking of plans for the TN8, they have been significantly revised – not because of the unexpected arrival of COVID but because I have decided to leave Rusty behind, with my son. Planning hotel stays with a dog – especially an elderly, incontinent dog – became too difficult. So Ooma has graciously thrown out all of her previous bookings and has booked new stays in hotels where we don’t have to accommodate a dog. That will save a few bucks (though less than I will be giving to my son to care for Rusty) and also frees up some precious storage space in the Toyota.
Speaking of Toyota, it is ready to go. The body repair work was more that satisfactory – the cruise control is once again functional – and she is sporting two new Cooper tires on the front. A thorough mechanical inspection at the Toyota dealership revealed no other problems She got a new infusion of oil, too.
The most significant hotel switch is the one in New York City. Ooma found a hotel on Staten Island rather than in New Jersey. I have never stayed on Staten Island before and am looking forward to at least one trip on the Staten Island ferry.
Besides a whole new set of hotels, I have altered the plan to approach New York City via Pennsylvania rather than New Jersey (though, of course, I can’t avoid NJ entirely). I just don’t like the New Jersey Turnpike. Boring, busy and expensive. I would rather approach via the relatively bucolic I-80. But that is just the current plan and routes have a way of changing. We will see.