The trip to the East Coast started off poorly. We had decided to attempt public transportation to get to SFO. Unfortunately, I had read the CalTrain schedule incorrectly. We waited for 45 minutes at the train station wondering where the train was. I re-checked the schedule and realized the next train didn’t come for another 45 minutes. We panicked slightly. I got the car, re-packed, and headed for the airport. We parked in long term parking ($11 per day) and barely made the plane.

It was a red-eye which we thought would work out. I got about 3 hours of sleep. I find it incredibly difficult to sleep while sitting up. Plus, little kids wiggle in their sleep. We arrived and took a shuttle to Enterprise. Here, the trip took a turn for the better. We had such amazing service at Enterprise. They literally treated us as well as could be imagined. They didn’t do the hard sell at all. They showed me the cars available and helped me decide which one. They helped pack the car. They spent extra time making sure everything was ok. We love Enterprise now.

The GPS on the Laptop was incredibly useful. We were never lost, even in rural Connecticut.

We arrived at the Hotel and was completely surrounded by Lipkas with their Lipka kids. There were as many kids as adults. It really was very nice.

The Bat Mitzvah was very nice. Abigail gave a speech where, I swore, she was about to denounce the entire religion and then at the last second made a recovery and said it was all good. Very sophisticated thinking, indeed. The party was in a nice restaurant. Great food. We sat with Mike, Linda, Jordan, Bruce, and Nicole. At one point Katie starting smacking me when she realized that Matthew Solomon was the name of one of the murderers in the family. She thought Matt was tainted as a name for our youngest. I disagree. I think it is like Garp’s house. What are the chances of TWO murderers in the family named Matt?

At one point, the DJ had a karaoke dance off thing. I didn’t see the main event. Apparently, Ethan danced while Cousin Noah sang ‘The Eye of the Tiger’. If you have never seen Ethan dance, then you are truly missing a unique experience. It is sort of like Break-dance Fighting meets Napoleon Dynamite. In the end, Ethan and Noah won the contest and beat Abigail. Ethan gave the prize to Abigail.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Everyone was on good behavior. We played football in the yard with all the kids. Abigail lost her earring in the yard, and everyone scanned the yard until it was found. Olivia found the earring to everyone’s joy. Lipka’s can do anything when they put their heads together. Even though she is a Graff. Oh well.

We swam in the hotel pool. We drove all over. We spent a day with Shanna and Nanna. Cousin Elizabeth and Genna are very smart. While Elizabeth was answering all kinds of commands from Mikey, all Matthew wanted to do was butt heads. He is a terror these days. Way too much energy. We need to put weights on his legs.

The flight home was good, although I almost missed the plane. I literally got on the plane as they were shutting the door. We had to be escorted and run through security. When we stepped off the flight, I realized, I left BOTH our car keys in my jacket back at my dad’s house. This made Katie very angry. We got two cabs home, because we didnt fit in one car.

Finally, we are home. It was a tiring trip, but lots of good times. I am hoping our next trip is to meet the family someplace nice like the Caribbean.

I hope I am remembering all the little details. So much fun, so little blog.