Even though we didn’t hit bad weather, the hills in West Virginia are brutal to drive through. Especially with just a little bit of rain on the road, and the glaze from other headlights, driving on a 6% grade, is not an enjoyable drive at all. I had made this drive previously, but forgot how bad the hills are.

Taylor’s friend, Kelsey also joined us on the trip. All the kids were great as they were on their ipads and iphones and not really aware of anything else. We only stopped once for a small bite at Chick Fila. After the kids ate, they buried themselves back in their electronic devices.

About 100 miles from Baltimore, we had a bonus and saw the entrance to Ft Necessity National Battlefield and stopped briefly there for some photos. It was good to get out and stretch our legs, and especially for Brody since this was his longest car ride thus far. We really weren’t sure what to expect.

When we arrived into the Sheraton, we were very pleasantly surprised that we had been upgraded to a suite. I had spoken to the Director of Operation, Kate Curtis prior to our trip to understand the arrangement for Brody. I had no idea she would do any of this. We had a nice welcome letter, a bunch of snacks and drinks, and she even volunteered to take Brody to the Downtown Dog Resort & Spa each day we stayed there. Kate is top notch in my book!

The suite literally had a dining room table and chairs, view of Oriole Stadium and Ravens Stadium, kitchen, (with dog food dish and water dish), and even a Sheraton dog pillow next to the bed for Brody. He was overwhelmed with all the space and took awhile to settle down for the night.

It clearly pays for Starwood membership.