Friday would be lost as it was a day spent on the road. A touch over three hours to Boston with Andrew, almost six to New Jersey to Samantha's parents, and then the final leg a few days later to see my parents was just over four hours.

Andrew was fairly quiet the entire way from Burlington to Boston. My best guess is that we were both decompressing from the seven grueling weeks of classroom and evening extracurricular activities. Surely our livers would additionally thank us if we took a few days off from tasting. I turned on the radio at one point and Andrew asked me to turn it off after about twenty minutes. It seemed that he really needed peace and quiet.

When I dropped him off, he thanked me and handed me a fifty-dollar bill. I told him I didn't need the money, but he insisted. As I pulled away he waved, and I saw it faintly in the rear-view mirror.

Samantha was waiting on the steps outside her dormitory room when I arrived. She was more than ready to get out of Boston for a few days. She was also excited to see her parents, and she shared that she was excited to see mine; which made me smile.

As we drove to New Jersey, we sang along with the radio. Neither of us could carry a tune, but it mattered not. And when we were not singing, Samantha was speed-talking. It seemed like she was speaking at a pace that rivaled the miles-per-hour that I was driving. Despite the fact that we talked a few times a week, there was much that I had missed.

The six hours of "windshield time" that we spent together seemed to fly by. It felt like we made it to New Jersey in no time. When we walked in the front door, we were greeted with hugs and kisses. Even I received a "half-hug" in conjunction with the handshake that her father gave me. We decided we would stay for three days, and then head to Maryland for the final four. What I needed more than anything, was a good nite's rest.