Thank G-d, the rush hour traffic had come and gone. The trip home was a lot faster. The funny thing is, Zizu was VERY good in her travel case until we started to approach the Lincoln Tunnel. Then she started to whimper. So I had to negotiate unfamiliar streets with a badly aching hamstring injury (I really pushed my poor leg with this bumper to bumper, then highway driving trip), one ear tuned in for Ms. Garmin's next direction and....holding a tiny paw thrust through the travel case bars all the way home from that point onward. My left hand was driving, my right hand was holding the tiny paw. Didn't bother my driving in the least because at that point the traffic was moving well and then I hit familiar streets.
Best of luck to you and Zizu!