I know it's Saturday...
I wrote the following Thursday, but never got around to posting it.
Here goes:
Today is Thursday, June 21.
One week ago today, I woke up in Deer Creek, tossed the last bag in my new car (thanks Dad, for letting loose of the Camry!) and headed east.
Most of day one was uneventful. Around 4 p.m., though, I got to see the first of many incredibly beautiful sights on my trip. Her name is Louise Jane, and she is the very definition of gorgeous.
As a huge plus, I got to hold her and there was no screaming, which puts her automatically at the top of my list of all-time favorite small people.
Mom and Dad were, as always, wonderful to spend time with. This was the first visit I had made since their wedding, and I was thrilled to get to see their house.
Laura drew me a fantastic hand-made map to Jackie and Phil's (though on her map, Franklin's just over the hill from Luray... realistic cartography is likely not her calling...), and a little more than two hours later, I arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the whole family had come over for dinner, so I got to see the entire gang. I also managed to eat a really tasty brownie, as I arrived just in time for dessert.
Many, many thanks to my aunt and uncle for putting me up for the night. It's wonderful to have a family I always know I can count on.
Friday morning was the second day in a row I was up at 5:30 a.m. and on the road shortly after 6 a.m. I had never driven past Nashville, so this leg of the trip was new for me. The trip to Knoxville was uneventful, and very, very pretty.
In Bristol, VA, I locked my keys in my car. Thankfully, Darlene has me on her AAA membership, and after about an hour (which would have been much faster had I called them right away and not wasted a ton of time attempting to get myself out of the mess), I was back on the road.
Somewhere in Virginia I decided I'd seen more trees in the previous two days than I'd seen in the first 25 years of my life.
I got to DC around 7:30 and after a harrowing drive to the Verizon Center (whose idea was that anyway???), I found both a parking garage and one of my favorite people in the world -- Rebecca Davis.
Bec and I had seafood for dinner, walked around a bit and then she took me on a driving tour of the city. It's pretty nice having a native as your own personal tour guide. We made a stop at the National Cathedral, which was neat (and huge).
We then followed another friend of ours to her apartment in Hyattsville, MD, where I spent the night. Katie and I managed to stay up until 4 a.m. talking and laughing at each other. In fairness, it's pretty typical for us to sit around talking and laughing, and we hadn't seen each other in a month.
Got up Saturday at 11, and Katie made breakfast. She apparently can't start her day without breakfast food, no matter what time the day starts. :)
Katie, Buddy (her brother) and I went to Arlington Cemetery and saw the changing of the guard, which I think is one of the most moving ceremonies I've ever seen.
We went back to the apartment and Katie, who was about 30 minutes late, grabbed her gear and headed off to shoot a baseball game.
Buddy and I drove to the nearby mall to see Fantastic Four. Then we went to the grocery store and bought eggs and cookie dough. We did almost get killed once on the trip, but managed to come through without a scratch.
Sunday morning we woke up early and drove to Frederick, MD to have breakfast with Bec before I went north.
Sunday was quite a day. I traversed six states, including three I hadn't been to before. Traffic was pretty bad on the NJ turnpike, and I spent a total of $23.50 in tolls, which is a remarkable difference from the pittance we pay on the Kilpatrick.
Driving the Delaware Memorial Bridge was worse than driving over the Mississippi going into Memphis. I have a small but well-defined fear of driving over water which is only matched by driving in tunnels. Driving over the GWB was also stressful, more because traffic was bad than because it was over water. The trip through NYC was quite the adventure, and not one I wish to repeat soon.
Connecticut was beautiful, as was Massachusetts, but Vermont is stunning. About a mile into the state I saw a Moose Crossing sign, which I found a touch disconcerting. The trees and the hills, though, are incredibly beautiful.
I made it into White River Junction around 9:30. I checked in, and called my new editor to let him know I arrived. We went into Lebanon, NH, where the paper is located, and had a late dinner. We also stopped by the office and looked at a couple of old papers.
The next morning I slept in and headed to the office around noon. That evening I shot some local rec league softball. Tuesday was production day. I got in around 10 and went home about 2:30 in the morning. Quite a day when the paper relies on one person (the sports editor) to lay out the whole issue.
Yesterday was another day of sleeping in, then I went to the office and made some calls. Last night Lebanon hired a new football coach, so I spent some time with him and his family taking portraits.
Tonight I'l be shooting soccer and going to bed early, because tomorrow I'm shooting rowing practice at 5:50 a.m. Of course I'm shooting on the river on the coldest day of the week. High tomorrow is only going to be 66. I'll be quite bundled up in the morning.
After rowing I have track, and then who knows what. Saturday is all-day lacrosse and Monday I meet with the local swimming coach.
That's all for now. I'll post some more pictures soon.
ad
****UPDATE****
It's 6:34 Eastern Time and I thought I'd jot some notes while I'm waiting on AAA to come unlock my door.
Yes, that means I have locked my keys in my car twice in the past week, once in Virginia and once in New Hampshire. I'm a real winner. Many thanks to my father for giving me my grandmother's address so I didn't have to explain to AAA why I didn't have it... again.
I'm at the Plainfield School in Meriden and as soon as the locksmith comes I'll be shooting soccer here. It's in a pretty plan surrounded by mountains. Everything smells very nice because we had quite a rainshower earlier.
The game just started, so hopefully I won't miss out on too much. The woman on the phone was optimistic that it wouldn't take too long, as there is a locksmith in Plainview.
In my defense, my keys fell out of my bag as I was pulling it out of the car. I realized what that jingling noise was just about the same time I shut the door. Real smooth, huh?
Here goes:
Today is Thursday, June 21.
One week ago today, I woke up in Deer Creek, tossed the last bag in my new car (thanks Dad, for letting loose of the Camry!) and headed east.
Most of day one was uneventful. Around 4 p.m., though, I got to see the first of many incredibly beautiful sights on my trip. Her name is Louise Jane, and she is the very definition of gorgeous.
As a huge plus, I got to hold her and there was no screaming, which puts her automatically at the top of my list of all-time favorite small people.
Mom and Dad were, as always, wonderful to spend time with. This was the first visit I had made since their wedding, and I was thrilled to get to see their house.
Laura drew me a fantastic hand-made map to Jackie and Phil's (though on her map, Franklin's just over the hill from Luray... realistic cartography is likely not her calling...), and a little more than two hours later, I arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the whole family had come over for dinner, so I got to see the entire gang. I also managed to eat a really tasty brownie, as I arrived just in time for dessert.
Many, many thanks to my aunt and uncle for putting me up for the night. It's wonderful to have a family I always know I can count on.
Friday morning was the second day in a row I was up at 5:30 a.m. and on the road shortly after 6 a.m. I had never driven past Nashville, so this leg of the trip was new for me. The trip to Knoxville was uneventful, and very, very pretty.
In Bristol, VA, I locked my keys in my car. Thankfully, Darlene has me on her AAA membership, and after about an hour (which would have been much faster had I called them right away and not wasted a ton of time attempting to get myself out of the mess), I was back on the road.
Somewhere in Virginia I decided I'd seen more trees in the previous two days than I'd seen in the first 25 years of my life.
I got to DC around 7:30 and after a harrowing drive to the Verizon Center (whose idea was that anyway???), I found both a parking garage and one of my favorite people in the world -- Rebecca Davis.
Bec and I had seafood for dinner, walked around a bit and then she took me on a driving tour of the city. It's pretty nice having a native as your own personal tour guide. We made a stop at the National Cathedral, which was neat (and huge).
We then followed another friend of ours to her apartment in Hyattsville, MD, where I spent the night. Katie and I managed to stay up until 4 a.m. talking and laughing at each other. In fairness, it's pretty typical for us to sit around talking and laughing, and we hadn't seen each other in a month.
Got up Saturday at 11, and Katie made breakfast. She apparently can't start her day without breakfast food, no matter what time the day starts. :)
Katie, Buddy (her brother) and I went to Arlington Cemetery and saw the changing of the guard, which I think is one of the most moving ceremonies I've ever seen.
We went back to the apartment and Katie, who was about 30 minutes late, grabbed her gear and headed off to shoot a baseball game.
Buddy and I drove to the nearby mall to see Fantastic Four. Then we went to the grocery store and bought eggs and cookie dough. We did almost get killed once on the trip, but managed to come through without a scratch.
Sunday morning we woke up early and drove to Frederick, MD to have breakfast with Bec before I went north.
Sunday was quite a day. I traversed six states, including three I hadn't been to before. Traffic was pretty bad on the NJ turnpike, and I spent a total of $23.50 in tolls, which is a remarkable difference from the pittance we pay on the Kilpatrick.
Driving the Delaware Memorial Bridge was worse than driving over the Mississippi going into Memphis. I have a small but well-defined fear of driving over water which is only matched by driving in tunnels. Driving over the GWB was also stressful, more because traffic was bad than because it was over water. The trip through NYC was quite the adventure, and not one I wish to repeat soon.
Connecticut was beautiful, as was Massachusetts, but Vermont is stunning. About a mile into the state I saw a Moose Crossing sign, which I found a touch disconcerting. The trees and the hills, though, are incredibly beautiful.
I made it into White River Junction around 9:30. I checked in, and called my new editor to let him know I arrived. We went into Lebanon, NH, where the paper is located, and had a late dinner. We also stopped by the office and looked at a couple of old papers.
The next morning I slept in and headed to the office around noon. That evening I shot some local rec league softball. Tuesday was production day. I got in around 10 and went home about 2:30 in the morning. Quite a day when the paper relies on one person (the sports editor) to lay out the whole issue.
Yesterday was another day of sleeping in, then I went to the office and made some calls. Last night Lebanon hired a new football coach, so I spent some time with him and his family taking portraits.
Tonight I'l be shooting soccer and going to bed early, because tomorrow I'm shooting rowing practice at 5:50 a.m. Of course I'm shooting on the river on the coldest day of the week. High tomorrow is only going to be 66. I'll be quite bundled up in the morning.
After rowing I have track, and then who knows what. Saturday is all-day lacrosse and Monday I meet with the local swimming coach.
That's all for now. I'll post some more pictures soon.
ad
****UPDATE****
It's 6:34 Eastern Time and I thought I'd jot some notes while I'm waiting on AAA to come unlock my door.
Yes, that means I have locked my keys in my car twice in the past week, once in Virginia and once in New Hampshire. I'm a real winner. Many thanks to my father for giving me my grandmother's address so I didn't have to explain to AAA why I didn't have it... again.
I'm at the Plainfield School in Meriden and as soon as the locksmith comes I'll be shooting soccer here. It's in a pretty plan surrounded by mountains. Everything smells very nice because we had quite a rainshower earlier.
The game just started, so hopefully I won't miss out on too much. The woman on the phone was optimistic that it wouldn't take too long, as there is a locksmith in Plainview.
In my defense, my keys fell out of my bag as I was pulling it out of the car. I realized what that jingling noise was just about the same time I shut the door. Real smooth, huh?
posted by Audrey at 11:44 AM
2 Comments:
Thanks for the post. It was quite a shock to check your blog and see a title other than the one about rattlesnakes! A nice glimpse into what is going on in your life, another look at your writing talent, and pictures to look at too. Everything I would hope to see. Love you,
Dad
Where are you at? What are you doing? Sounds very interesting. Hope all is well.
Post a Comment
<< Home