3 posts tagged “travel”
i dont really have any real pictures to share, so i think im going to document the growth of my hair. i just got it cut today, it was pretty much the only thing that occurred. plus, even though i plan to blog everyday, we all really know that means like, once a week. so itll be noticeably different each post. we could probably do away with timestamping my posts and just judge it by growth and cuts.
im super excited! im leaving for north carolina tomorrow, and this starts my constant travel plan which continues until july! ill be gone thurs – sunday, home for 2 days, leave for california wed – wed, back for 3 days, leave for a swimming roadtrip to lynchburg sat – tues. then i have a break where nothing happens for a weekend, and then we go into long course championships which means a meet every weekend for 3 weekends in a row. unfortunately it also means ill be missing todds bachelor party. such is life of a swim coach.
so i bought an ipod. 80gb, black, classic ipod. it should have arrived on tuesday, but it didnt make it into virginia until last night. and i was unfortunately not available to sign for it today. i left a release waiver on the front door, but i didnt know the screen door was locked. who does that? anyways, hopefully itll come tomorrow morning, otherwise i wont be able to play with it until i get back from nc. it sure would have been handy to have for this trip where im driving... but at least ill have it for the flight to ca. california! im excited! even though i have to sleep in a tent :( im still amped just to get out there and spend some time on the left coast!
so last week i walked into a target to pick up some random things and saw a wii just sitting around, so i bought it. its pretty awesome. i picked up smash bros with it, and im loving that. i just wish my friends were more nerdy so they would join in my electronic excitement. they werent even interested in the fact that i have all the playable characters.
so if you havent heard about muxtape, go ahead and check mine out! its a really neat, simplistic site that takes mixtape sharing to a bigger level. make your own and leave me the address!
during march, i spent most of my time away from my house. the first two weekends, i was out of town doing swim stuff. senior champs at uva, and age group champs at gmu (manassas). that was pretty good, except for the whole respiratory distress thing going on –spending four days on a pool deck really kills your lungs. it makes you all snotty and congested and generally a mess. they just dont account for prolonged exposure when they do ventilation. fortunately it was super nice outside during age groups so they kept the doors open which was a huge help. anyways, during senior champs, i managed to do ok. 23.00 in the 50 free, 51.00 in the 100 free. nice, even times. not as fast as i should be, or could be, but you know; its alright for the amount of practice i do. id like to say that im happy with those times, but im really not.
as far as accommodations went, the motel we had in charlottesville was pretty crappy; but the hotel in manassas was really nice. like, totally makes up for charlottesville and having to work that weekend nice. and when i got back home, i went to house-sit for jay who went to junior nationals in florida. i crashed at his place for two weeks basically. it was long enough for me to take my computer over there. but im pretty partial to my computer.
now im back in my house, and its kind of ... annoying. not that i actually spend lots of time here, but still. i guess ill just have to pass the time playing wii :)
i desperately need a gps. i apparently cant go anywhere without getting completely lost. i forgot to make a post about new jersey and the swim clinic, but the only important story about that trip was getting lost on the drive up.
so im driving my car with two passengers, the head coach and a kid, riding with me. everything is fine leaving virginia, all the way up the eastern shore and into maryland. we have a slight misguidance in delaware taking a small detour on the business route, but nothing that takes us out of our way or throws us off track. we cross from delaware into jersey, and upon landing on the jersey side of the bridge, we get lost. like, off the fucking grid lost. it happens so fast we dont even know were lost until the streetlights just disappear. we were using google map directions, and it was at hitting the jersey turnpike that things just got all sorts of messed up. well we work back to the turnpike and find our way back up to where we really needed to exit (28 miles later). so we get off at a more appropriate exit and are working our way through the directions and towards cherry hill when all of a sudden the highway dead ends into the delaware river (i assume). well, we must have just missed our turn, so ok; we uturn and try a different direction, trying to find the right street. well, that is just the wrong fucking street. we go from a touristy/business harbor straight into the ghetto in 2 blocks. and not only do we hit the ghetto, but we get stuck there. in trying to turn around, we end up on a dead end street that empties into nowhere. i have to uturn in the dirt shoulder to head back. we cross where we originally exited the highway and try the same street, other direction. well, this is more promising, we recognize the street names from gmaps, but its still not making much sense AND were still in the middle of the fucking ghetto driving further into it. we finally hit some major roads take them the wrong direction and since its jersey, have to drive for a few miles before we can make a turn to go the other direction because jersey has no left turns. well, we finally make it to the hotel; and we NEVER leave it. not really. there was a wegmans a little further down the street. we had to hit that as many times as possible before leaving. when we did leave, we were doing just fine until right before the delaware memorial bridge where the signs get all weird and we did a full cloverleaf because jersey was trying to SUCK US BACK INTO HELL.
and thats the story of the swim clinic in new jersey. this weekend i went to blacksburg. you know, the place where i lived for 4 years, and a place where ive driven to/from at least 12 times just this semester. well i was taking 460, and i got lost. i missed the exit from 85south to 460, and didnt realize it until i was in mecklenburg. granted, it was more because i woke up at 6 than being actually lost, but it added an extra hour plus to my drive time. also, i had to rummage through my glove compartment to find a map and figure out where the fuck i was and how i was going to get to blacksburg. fyi, i could have taken 58 straight out of suffolk and not driven through the chain of dead towns that is the trail to petersburg. is it weird that virginia has so many ___burgs? anyways, i took 58 from mecklenburg to danville to martinsville where i caught 220n up to roanoke. bam. back on track. it was actually a pretty nice drive once i woke up and the weather brightened.
moral: buy me a gps. or at least an ipod so i have music while im lost in the middle of nowhere.
