I Backed Out

I haven't written here in so long. It seems all I write about faithfully is my travel. The sports writing has taken a backseat to my Youtube channel, which just got to 500 subscribers, I'm so proud of hitting that milestone. 

By the way, if you are interested, here is the link. Please like and subscribe...

https://youtube.com/@wa2k99

But I will get personal for a moment.  I was supposed to run the Shamrock 8k this morning in Virginia Beach. I had trained for six weeks. Waking up early, downing pre energy, pushing myself through difficulty, long distances, numerous miles. 

But all through the process, it never felt quite right. I mean that more mentally that physically. While training, I didn't feel I had my old burst from years before, especially before COVID screwed everything up. Maybe it's age, maybe it's time off, maybe it's the shoes, it could be all of them?

I don't know if I'm going to run another competitive race; not that anyone would notice outside of the few friends and family I have who know that I do this. I'll still work out, but I think about the 90 minutes it took to drive on Friday night to get my race packet, then the hour drive home. Then waking up at 5:45 to a steady rain and 45 degrees. But still I gulped down 2 Dave's English muffins topped with almond butter along with a banana and made the 45 minute drive to the oceanfront. 

The free parking had been relegated from a large open public lot to a little grammar school. I couldn't get a free spot, and somehow that fueled my disgust with the whole process. It wasn't the only reason I did what I did, it just pushed me over the cliff. So...I left. I never ran my race. 

Instead, I went and did a bunch of deliveries. After, I came home and did 4 miles on the treadmill. I know, it sounds ridiculous. I guess I did it out of spite to feel like I had some something. I tried to go fast, around 8 mph, but it was hard to get to 5 miles. Maybe I didn't even want to get to 5. Because that's what I was scheduled to run this morning. I did do 4 miles in 30 minutes, if that means anything. 

But other things just get to me now. There was a girl in Raleigh I tried to get to know from Facebook, she's an admin in a singles group I participate in. Native Hawaiian too. But when i asked for a phone call, she said she wasn't emotionally available and cut me off.

And there's the mysterious bitch at work who thinks I went to fast at work for her. She reported me and now I'm in trouble with my boss. I have absolutely no idea who it is or what I did wrong. Funny thing is I can do so many great things, no one will talk about them. But one person... one person. That is all it takes to jeopardize a life. 

So you know what? Fuck that bitch for trying to ruin my life. My business is personal and if someone tries to mess with my living, they are messing with my identity, my ability to live. Does that sound like too strong a statement? Think for a moment about my state. I'm a single guy,  41 years old, living in a middle to lower class area where I am a minority. 

It's even affecting church. Where I live, it's damn near impossible to find a church with people I can relate to. Mom has a good one now in Durham and I'm happy for her, really happy. On the peninsula of Virginia, you get the ghetto people, you get the rednecks, you get the military families. I would probably have to drive 45 minutes east or northeast to find relatable people. But... deep down, it's being around people who already know each other. They have their relationships established. And me, well I'd just be some pitiful charity case. I'm single so something must be wrong with me. I don't want pity. I just want to be useful and appreciated. 

So for the last few months, I've been watching online messages every Sunday just to recreate that church feeling. I was blessed to experience some of the greatest churches possible when I lived in Chicago. It's hard to have that again. And yeah, I shouldn't compare. But I can't forget those great days when I was in my 20s. Damn it, let me have old Willow Creek back if it means Bill can keep doing improper things,  even if they were never proven. 

I know now I don't want to be around people as much as I used to. I was always the person who was reliable to show up on time to every event. That's not the case anymore. As old singles groups dissolve due to marriages and bureaucracy, friends disappear. And as we get older, people have families and that understandably becomes their world. But where I am, it seems social media is most of my social life, aside from the Virginia Jets Fans group. And social media really can set me off because it truly exposes how stupid some people are. And God didn't give the ability to ignore stupidity.

I now am realizing I'll never get married or have kids, so there isn't anything more important than my ability to work and have a little enjoyment once in a blue moon. 

I may have become more self centered than I was. I can tell because of how much I work and forego a lot of social opportunities. And that was never my aspiration. But hey, people don't seem to be as social as they used be either. And I think long term. Once my parents are gone, there will be no one in my life. No siblings, no kids, no one. 

By the way, of course Edwin Diaz hurt his knee celebrating a stupid, meaningless World Baseball Classic win. Only the Mets, would that happen to. 3 or 4 bullpen guys already hurt, a starting pitcher will be out 4 months, Brandon Nimmo hurt his ankle sliding, he's out at least a month. This Mets season is already cursed. 85 wins. Maybe. Steve Cohen can inject money. Can't inject health.

As I write this, I'm sitting on my back porch for the first time in the 4 plus years I've been living in this apartment. The ledge actually comes up to my eye level, so I can't see much except blue sky,  barely leafed trees, and the triangular tops of other buildings. But somehow it feels like an escape from everything. From the hateful people, from the fighting, from the oppression, from the judgement, from the societal need to be perfect. 

Oak Ridge Boys setlist

Everyday

You're the One

Leaving Louisiana In the Broad Daylight

Dream On

Y'all Come Back Saloon

Calling Baton Rouge

Did I Make a Difference?

Sail Away

Fancy Free

Thank God For Kids

Elvira 

Bobbie Sue 

Jets-The Co-Pilots: Burgess Owens

Ask any Jets fan who the greatest players are in franchise history, and you'll get a lot of similar answers: Joe Namath, Don Maynard, Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin, Wayne Chrebet, Darrelle Revis. There might even be a little love for the likes of Matt Snell, Marty Lyons, and Mo Lewis. Well that got me to thinking, is that all there is to our history? Do we only have about a dozen players who are worthy of celebrating? Conversely, are there Jets who played well for the team for a long period of time through the leaner years, but don't get the recognition they deserve, likely because they played on a lot of lousy teams? 

Well, I would argue we have many players who fit said description. And so in this series, titled the Co-Pilots, I will profile the careers of various New York Jets players who made notable positive contributions to this franchise but have flown under the radar in retrospect. And for my first profile, I have selected safety Burgess Owens.

Owens played college football at the University of Miami in the early 1970's, where he majored in Biology and Chemistry. He was the third of four black athletes recruited to play at the U and the third black student to earn a scholarship. He was named a First-Team All-American defensive back, Most Valuable Defensive Player of the North–South All Star Game, and MVP of the Coaches All-American Game. 

The Jets selected Owens with the 13th pick in the first round of the 1973 draft. He wasted no time in making impact plays. During his rookie season, he recorded his first career interception against Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers. In his next game in Denver, he returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. This turned out to be the Jets' only touchdown scored on a kickoff return during the 1970s. He earned the respect of his teammates to where he was named defensive team captain for three straight years. He led the Jets in interceptions five of his seven 7 years, amassing 21 total, and returning two for touchdowns. Only eight Jets have recorded more interceptions than Owens. We don't know his tackle stats as tackles did not become an official NFL stat until 2001.

Unfortunately, he never got to experience prosperity as a Jet, as Gang Green finished .500 or below during each of his 7 years with the Jets. Before the 1980 season, he was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a mere sixth round pick. The thinking at the time was Owens was the team's representative for the NFL player's union and the Jets had a tendency to appoint players to this position and quickly move on from them. It may have been management not trusting the players or vice versa or both, but the results were swift. Between 1980 and 1985, Owens, Clark Gaines, Kenny Schroy, Greg Buttle, and Marvin Powell were all gone within two years of taking the player rep position. 

 

In a 2019 interview on Thursday Night Tailgate, Owens reflected on how his time with the Jets prepared him for this run with the Raiders. 

"All the losing was well worth it to get there. I came out of high school losing in my last season, went to four years of University of Miami losing, seven years with the Jets losing. Twelve solid years of losing to get to that 13th."

That 13th season was his first with the Raiders and he played a big role in helping them win the 1980 Super Bowl, recording a game-high seven tackles. But even before the big game, he picked off Dan Fouts in the AFC Championship game in San Diego. 

In 1982, he led the Raiders in interceptions, recording four in just eight games during a strike-shortened season. He was selected as 1st Alternate to the NFL All Pro-Bowl. After 3 years with the Raiders, he retired following the 1982 season.

Owens ended his 10 year NFL career having played 137 games, recording 30 interceptions, 13 fumble recoveries, and four pick-6 touchdowns. He missed only 3 games due to injury. 

Today Owens is a Congressional representative in Utah, having won his election in November 2020.

Nashville, Day 4

It wasn't easy to wake up for check in at 5am for my expectant flight to DC the next morning. But it looked like my best option to get home. I think I dozed off for another 90 minutes. Our windows were closed, but mom sleepily opened her phone and said in stunned disbelief that it was snowing outside. I thought it was a joke until I raised the shade and sure enough, flakes were falling from the gray Music City skies. 

Well we knew what that meant. The trolley was being canceled yet again! So there is still so much of Nashville I haven't seen from the Parthenon to the State Capitol to Midtown to the Gulch. Maybe next trip. 

I hit up the gym and ran 2 miles, which was kind of fun as I watched the snow falling on the other side of window. Honestly, it's getting tough to run. Maybe it's the shoes, maybe it's that the gym was hot as hell. But after 17 minutes, I had enough. After a few minutes of lifting, it was off to one last quality breakfast. Still can't believe how good that yogurt was with the berries and granola mixed in. 

The focus was finally getting to the Country Music Hall of Fame, my first time there in decades and I knew it had been fully renovated. Well I think this a museum where you really need the audio option to really appreciate the music. One thing I didn't understand is that there was a lot of space dedicated to temporary exhibits for people who aren't inducted yet. Martina McBride, Chris Stapleton, even Florida Georgia Line... for reasons nobody knows.

The current main temp exhibit is the Lis Angeles and West Coast influence on country music. The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, the Eagles, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin, Desert Rose Band, Los Lobos, etc. That's simply some of the greatest music ever made. Maybe not the most popular or famous, but definitely among the most influential. 

They also had a large section dedicated to new artists, which I guess I didn't really mind since it gave a glimpse of where country music might be heading. Sadly there was some woke shit with Brothers Osborne. The sign said love is a terrible thing to hate? It's really sad how people use love as an excuse to sin. 

But probably the highlight for me was the recording studio. I sang Wagon Wheel and got to keep my recording. That said, I did have a few issues. First, how can there only be 4 songs? Second, how is one of those 4 songs by Queen?

There was even a place to make an electronic version of a Hall of Fame plaque. And that sounded awesome. But... after the machine took my picture, I could only select from eight pre-determined names for the plaque. How in the world can they not figure out how to customize our name on the plaque. What a letdown.

The rotunda with all the plaques was probably the other highlight. Hopefully the likes of Steve Wariner, Eddie Rabbitt, Earl Thomas Conley, Clint Black, and Restless Heart will get their day to be inducted.

We had a little time before our 5:48 flight and through a google search, we discovered a place called The Goat in Sobro. Whereas the other restaurants had been north of the hotel, towards Broadway, this one was south. 

It reminded me of a renovated warehouse with the high ceilings and open steel interiors. But it was still warmly decorated with vibrant colors and contemporary furniture. We started a baby kale salad; mom just wasn't going to not order that. I guess we hadn't eaten too healthy on the trip and she was making up for it. But I'm sorry, when then temperature is down to 20 degrees, I'm not in the mood for freaking baby kale. Ok I confess, it was a nice salad, the sugared pecans added some much needed texture.

For the main course, we split the sweet tea brined chicken, buttermilk biscuit, hot honey, and greens with a side of mac and cheese. We really didn't know what we would get, but it was basically divided on plates: 2 chicken tenders served over a biscuit with ahot honey/Asian glaze with some southern greens in between. Very well made, quite creative. Can't say I was full afterwards, but it was pretty satisfying. 

We took an Uber to the airport, and even though we were four hours early for the flight, it seemed to be necessary. The check in line was crazy. It was almost impossible to figure out ticket lines were for American, Alaska, Southwest and Allegiant. That airport is way too small for the amount of people that fly in and out. There was no doubt there would be issues with so many cancelled flights with the extreme cold. But what bothered us was the gate agents were not giving any information. We were at our gate C15 by 4:30 for the 5:48 flight. 5:30 came, no info. The Philly flight left instead. That one took priority over ours and thats fine, but they could have at least told us there would be a delay. Instead, we boarded an hour late and sat on the damn runway for another hour before departing. 

Now why was I even flying to Raleigh when I live in Norfolk? Because I couldn't get an open flight to Norfolk on Monday or Tuesday, everything was either booked or oversold both days. So we took the nonstop to Raleigh, and we were very thankful to get on. Think of the alternatives, it would've sucked to spend 300 bucks plus on a rental car or get a hotel room for overnight. Although they made us sit on the plane for an hour before we left. Couldn't they at least have served us drinks? I mean, I was in first class!

And then there was Emily in Row 3. Now for context, I'm in Row 4 and Mom is in Row 1. But Emily took all the attention. She kept yelling at the flight attendant about when we take off and how it wasn't fair because she was going to be late for work. Because clearly, the world revolved around her. The guy next to me, Emmanuel, he and I couldn't stop laughing. We didn't want to make fun of her, but after all the travel BS we had been through that day, we appreciated the entertainment Psycho Emily was putting on. And we know her name was Emily because she was on the phone with her grandma panicking over HER problems. And she was still on the fucking phone even as the plane was taking off. And the flight attendant wasn't doing a thing to stop it. I wanted to scream at her, "Bitch, turn the damn phone off!" 

But he and I had a good chat about everything from liquor to air travel to football to music. It was really freaking cool. And I got him into the greatness of whiskey gingers on airplanes.

Anyway, we landed, mom took an Uber to her place and I attempted to sleep in vain on the couch. The next morning, she drove me 3.5 hours to Norfolk and then drive the 3,5 hours back to Cary. If I haven't said it in the 15 years of writing this blog plainly enough, I will say it now. She is a good mother.

Nashville, Day 3

Breakfast time at the hotel on Christmas Day and the temperature was still below freezing but at least it was double digits. Most of the guests were dressed in their crazy pajamas, it's just never been something I've embraced.

We walked the Pedestrian Bridge from Symphony Drive in downtown in the east direction to Nissan Stadium. It wasn't a very pretty walking bridge like they have in Pittsburgh. There were a few weathered Titans flags hanging from the top and I thought it was pretty symbolic of their current standing after 4 straight losses. Torn, beat up, struggling to hang on. Ok, not much different than the Jets.

We headed back to the room and I watched the first half of the Packers vs Dolphins game in the hotel. It just wasn't a day be outside. I even jumped on YouTube with Jeremy for a few minutes. Now as far as Christmas dinner goes, about the only options are the super bougie places and the Waffle House and Cracker Barrels of the world. So we headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe on east Broadway where we watched the rest of the game from the bar. With the Jets really needing the Dolphins to lose, it was cool seeing a couple of Packers fans sitting next to us. We didn't eat, and I just had a subpar local beer from Yee Haw. The couple next to us mentioned how good Jason Aldean's bar is, and it opened at 4. So we hung out at HRC for another 90 minutes and then walked a block west. We found two seats at one of the 3 or 4 bars inside the establishment, and of course the barback is a John Deere tractor. Points for creativity. I ordered a mule made with apple whiskey just for something different; I really didn't want another beer at this point. 

For food, they only had 7 or 8 items available for Christmas. The redneck nachos were one heck of an app with potato chips queso PLUS cheddar, pork belly PLUS bacon, and bbq sauce. I'm impressed mom was able to eat as many of them as she did. They had live music with a really cute girl from Minnesota and it can't be ideal to perform on the holidays. But I guess that is part of the deal for trying to make it in the music business. I also liked the industrial feel of the establishment, it felt very welcoming and contemporary. Great bar to visit on Broadway.

I was feeling a little restless, just wanting some down time where I didn't need to make sure I was on my game to make sure mom and I were cool. But she stayed with me and we went another block west to Dierks Bentley Whiskey Row. It was a good deal darker and this wasn't an acoustic set, this was a loud 5 piece band. I was a little alarmed about 20 bucks per request as a suggested tip. So yeah, I kept my money to myself. But maybe I should have paid them 20 to not play any Underwood. 

For drinks, I had two spicy margheritas with Don Julio, and they impressed me. The rim looked like it had some cayenne pepper on it. For food, we just got sliders: I went with the cheeseburger and hot chicken. Nothing short of excellent, and usually sliders are pretty ordinary. But the chicken was crispy, the beef was thick and juicy, the rolls were fresh. Very impressed by these bar bites.

OK, let's fast forward. The next morning, I set a freaking alarm for 5 am so I could check in for my expectant flight to DC the next morning. It looked like my best option to get home. Our hotel windows were closed, but mom sleepily opened her phone and said it was snowing outside. I thought it was a joke until I raised the shade and flakes were falling from the gray Music City skies. Well we knew what that meant. The trolley was being canceled yet again! So there is still so much of Nashville I haven't seen from the Parthenon to the Opry to the State Capitol to Midtown to the Gulch. I may have to plan another trip for the rest of the city.

Nashville, Day 2

We woke up to the disappointing news that the trolley tours were still canceled. But at least the temperature is up into the twenties which is pretty much what I would call tanning whether right about now. I did 30 minutes in the gym and then got breakfast in the downstairs lobby. The breakfast spread is pretty impressive with seasoned scrambled eggs, sausage links, waffles, breakfast potatoes, vanilla yogurt, berry compote, varieties of fruit, breads cereals, and pastries. I guess if anything the orange juice could have been better but then again, I'm used to being disappointed by orange juice, kind of like I am women.

But anyway, that aside, we went to the African American music museum, and for $25, I was really impressed. It had separate halls for jazz, blues, R and B, gospel, and hip hop. And it was so interactive, there were multiple places to create your own hip hop groove, sing with a local choir, participate in a battle rap, produce a track. But one of the best things was going by different eras and being able to take songs and add them to an online playlist which was saved on a provided wristband. And then all those songs are getting emailed to me. So it's an amazing way to find new music and learn how one artist influenced another artist. We spent 2 hours there and I could have easily spent a 3rd discovering more music.

Getting hungry after 2 hours in the museum, we headed literally to the upstairs of the same building to Assembly food hall. I've always been a fan of food halls, at least the ones that are of good quality. And this is one of the best I've ever been to. We went to Prince's, which is the original Nashville hot fried chicken. 4 medium tenders and they were perfect for me but a little too hot for mom. Thank goodness for the white bread, pickles, blue cheese, and honey mustard. We even had a little bit of sushi afterwards, not my usual thing, but after all the barbecue and fried chicken I've had, I needed a come down. And they have a free refill coke station in the hall, although after my second cherry Coke, I was ready for a gallon of water. I still don't know why they didn't have any iced tea or lemonade at those stations. Excellent variety of food, clean floors, places to plug in your phone, a good amount of space to walk around, multiple TVs. What a cool addition to downtown Nashville.

One of my favorite things about downtown Nashville is how close so many things are together. The museum was downstairs from the food hall, which is right across the street from the Ryman Auditorium which is right behind the beginning of Honky Tonk highway, which is loaded with all kinds of great live music venues.

There's also a lot of premium shopping at the site too. I went into an Ariat store and I actually bought a pair of boots. They're the most I've ever spent on shoes. But they're low cut with the look of a dark brown cowboy boot; I guess they're really weathered work boots. Mom called them haggard so I'm calling them my Merles. Oh and the store offered free phone charging, very cool!

We made one stop in Nudies to hear some music and have a drink. I tried the Bearded Iris homestyle IPA, a fantastic balanced IPA that I hope will be available near where I live.

I knew we were going to Church of the City for Christmas Even service since one of our old pastors at Willow Creek is with this church now, although at a different location. Pastor Smallbone had an excellent message about the relevancy of Christmas and why it's worth celebrating.

Then came dinner at Merchant's, a Nashville staple on Broadway. I liked the old school feeling with the black and white wall tiles and the waiters and bartenders dressed in bowties. We split a Caesar salad to start, which was fine, that Parmesan was very well aged and freshly shaved. But the jambalaya that mom had was too tomatoey and came to our table lukewarm. We actually sent it back and got the shrimp and grits instead, which were much better. The server was very apologetic, not that it was his fault or anything.

I made out a little better with my entree; I had the sweet tea brined pork chop with mashed Yukon gold potatoes. Well seasoned and nicely cooked. I wonder how good it would have been if had been served with sweet potatoes instead. And I still think there should have been a vegetable served like green beans or asparagus. And sadly no bread was served.

Back to the room, it had been a long day and it was cooold.

Nashville, Day 1

I woke up at 3:15 in the morning and stumbled my way out of the apartment around 4:15. I had just finished my 30 minute drive and parked my car in the Norfolk airport garage and had started to step away from my car. And I realized I was only dragging my suitcase, I didn't have my backpack. I went back to my car with this sinking feeling, and sure enough, I realized I had left my backpack on the sofa at home.

So that meant I was traveling for 4 days with no books, no printed itinerary, no pen and paper, no tablet, but worst of all, no phone chargers...and my Samsung Galaxy 9 is not exactly known for its battery life at this point in its existence. Thankfully, mom had not left Raleigh yet and was able to bring an extra charger. I made my flight to DC with no real drama, I didn't even have somebody in front of me in the security line. It was the 1st time I have ever connected through DC Reagan and I really like the great hall which opens into each of the 5 individual concourses. The American flag is large, and there were several enormous Christmas trees displayed. I had about a 2 hour layover so I decided to get away from the terminal and go over to the chapel, which I don't believe I've ever done before in an airport. I found a small daily devotional book and I began reading it. All of a sudden a brown skinned guy in basketball clothes, maybe early to mid twenties, comes in. He immediately takes off his shoes and I know exactly what he's going to do. He gets a blanket from the corner, unfolds it, and lays it down and does the whole Muslim kneeling prayer ritual. I would guess he was out of there in about 3 minutes. And I thought to myself I admire his dedication and discipline but does he do this because he wants to, or because he is supposed to? It has nothing to do with judging another faith, but I am curious how different faiths affect people's mindsets.

I did give in and buy a pair of wired headphones just to have a little bit of sanity. But I have to admit I felt a little bit hollow, a little bit naked with no backpack on because it's an absolute staple when I travel.

So I headed over to my gate and I was 5th on the standby list out of 5 people which immediately gave me a bad feeling because I knew they were only about 4 or 5 open seats. As they were boarding the flight, I immediately dropped to 7 of 7, and now I really had a negative vibe about making this flight. But I guess these other folks either didn't get through security, their connections didn't work out, or they upgraded. Because the only 2 standbys that I know of that got on were number 5 and me. Last seat in first class, and I can testify that the morning screwdriver went down well. 

As the plane descended through the dark gray clouds and began to see the greater Nashville area, it was pretty surprising to see it covered in a shallow blanket of white. It was 0ﾟ and very windy outside and there was so much bad weather going on that it took us 30 minutes to get from the runway to the gate. But mom's plane from Raleigh took over an hour to get from the runway to the gate so I guess we got a better deal. 

And the Nashville terminal is rather small but quite nice with multiple restaurants bars and live music options. There may not be a whole lot of places to sit, it definitely needs to be expanded but it's a good place if you're waiting on a delayed flight.

It took about a 1/2 hour for the luggage to come through, clearly this crew is not used to dealing with freezing weather. But there were no real issues aside from time, and then we got an Uber to drop our luggage off at the Hyatt house which is on the Southern part of downtown Nashville. And then we had the driver take us to lunch at Puckett's and we tipped the driver 15 bucks for it.

Puckett's is a pretty well known barbecue and Southern style restaurant located on Church St downtown. We ordered the whole farm which was a mixture of brisket, pulled pork, baby back ribs, a smoked half chicken, baked beans, skillet macaroni and cheese, and Cajun corn cake. That's not too bad for $35.

And then the Presley parfait with vanilla wafers, banana pudding, peanut butter mousse, and whipped cream. And it's served inside a Mason jar. Oh my goodness, was that ever indulgent. Definitely the best dessert I had on my trip.

Service was a little bit slow on a cold Friday afternoon when the restaurant was maybe 20 percent full, I didn't mind the food taking some time since it is BBQ. But the servers were a little slow on drink refills, and it took time just to get an extra glass of ice.

We then started walking down Broadway which is the Main Street in Nashville. I even went into a couple of boot shops to see if there was anything worth buying, but it's a little hard for me to imagine spending more than a $100 on a pair of shoes if they're not running shoes. I didn't wind up making a purchase, at least not yet.

Yet with the weather being so inclement, a lot of tourist attractions had already shut down for the day, which wasn't a good omen because we knew a lot of places would also be closed Christmas Eve as well as on Christmas Day. But the Johnny Cash museum was operating so we went there. I still remember the shivering cold walking through downtown Nashville on Christmas weekend, it was actually reminiscent of downtown Chicago. But it was a great museum, just because it was Cash and I give them credit for being open on a day when a lot of businesses shut down for the day. 

There were so many awesome artifacts such as guitars, family furniture, army discharge papers, Bibles, and plenty of Cash recordings to listen to. They even had a producer's exhibit where you can adjust the volume on different songs, messing with the vocals and the instruments to create the sound you want. Of course my headphones weren't working, which was pretty disappointing because I am a big fan of interactive museums. And I know nothing about producing music, but this is my opportunity to give it a try!

We headed out the door and back into the freezing cold; the wind was whipping in our faces and our cheeks were getting bright red. It was hard to walk more than five minutes without stepping inside for a reprieve. With the ice all over on the ground, it was not easy to make quick foot traction. I really tried to walk slow for mom, but I was dying to start running to escape the frigid atmosphere! But we got back to the hotel, huffing and puffing, and settled in. 

We made the choice to go to a Nashville Predators game since prices had been plummeting and I'm willing to bet the weather had something to do with it. Oh and the Bridgestone arena is only 3 or 4 blocks away from the hotel. The arena was really nice, very well laid out, very inviting. The one thing I didn't really like was they needed more escalators, I think they only have 2 in the whole building. I would also say the hot dog bun could have been a little fresher. But oh well. I did get my commemorative puck which I do for every single hockey game I go to. And the game was very tight and competitive, with the Colorado Avalanche winning in overtime 3 - 2.

As for the hotel room, it is nice but incredibly small, so much so that the way the lamp and night stands were set up in between mom's bed and my sofa bed, as I opened up the couch, I had to move the lamp out of the way and the nightstand all the way over next to her bed so there would be enough room for the sofa bed to fully open. We are incredibly tight on space, it almost feels like being in a hotel room in Europe or something. But at least we slept well.

New Jersey (from September)

I woke up at 4:15 AM to catch a 6 AM train from Williamsburg. Now I can't remember the last time I took this long of a trip on Amtrak so I figured I would get there about 45 minutes early to be on the safe side. I woke up at 4:15 AM to catch a 6 AM train from Williamsburg. Now I can't remember the last time I took this long of a trip on Amtrak so I figured I would get there about 45 minutes early to be on the safe side. I probably could have arrived 5 minutes before the train arrived and still would not have been a problem.

The total train ride took 7 hours. The sky changed from black to powder blue with not a cloud in sight. And it's amazing moving from the mid-Atlantic to the northeast. The smokestacks of Virginia to the small towns outside DC to the inlets of Delaware to Philly itself to industrial south Jersey. Not everything may have looked pretty, but I still admire how this country has so many distinct parts to it. 

Without a doubt, the last hour took the longest. But the ride was worth it to shock Jeremy. He never ever knew we were coming. Lots of hugs. Ten weeks of waiting was well worth it. 

 And the 1st place these 2 bozos took me to was a dispensary in Woodbridge. I know nothing about this stuff, I've never smoked a thing in my life.  Well aside from pork butt. And no I did not try anything. 

 We worked our way into downtown New Brunswick where there was a pep rally going on for a records football game on Saturday. Trying to find out a street parking space was next to impossible. But we settled in the deck and then walked down two blocks to the Tavern on George.

I really liked the Kane high head IPA. Very citrusy with a faint taste of hops. Eventually my father and his girlfriend showed up with their dog a shih tzu named Rummy. Very low maintenance and cool dog. Also Mark, Dom, and Pete joined as well. Gunny and his wife, unfortunately, got stranded in Chicago as their plane got delayed and they were rerouted from Newark to Laguardia.

 After 3 hours of eating drinking and laughing, I headed with my father over to the apartment where I immediately fell asleep for about an hour. We watched wrestling and a little bit of pathetic Mets baseball and I settled onto the sofa bed around 10 PM.

On Saturday morning, it was a 7 mile run on the treadmill followed by a lot of scrambled eggs, thick bacon and rye toast. Nick and Mark picked me up and we headed to Coney Island to meet up with the rest of the Jets gang.

Did my first roller coaster

Cyclone was a thrill, but I didn't have a burning desire to do it again

Nick got a parking ticket, I gave him some cash to help

L and b spumoni garden

Remarkable pizza

Vanilla and pistachio gelato

Shopping at Dicks for merch with Iowa

Tailgating Sunday 

Pork roll egg and cheese

The hangar club

Jets get beat by Baltimore

Rutts hutt

Deep fried hot dogs

Getting wasted 

430 am train back home

Locked In?

 Damn I haven't posted anything in two months. I doubt anyone would care to notice anyway. 

I'm honestly too depressed and down to write anything of deep thought or anything brilliant that might change a life. I doubt I ever could. So WTF, let's just write a few points down. And maybe one day, I'll finish the travel posts from September that still aren't done in early November.

1. Sami Zayn/Uso is so freaking entertaining!

2. The Jets had a nice start to their season. 5-2 before that appalling loss to New England. With Buffalo coming up and road game in Foxboro, they could easily be .500 in a couple of weeks. If I had to guess, they will finish the season 8-9. Losing Breece Hall and Alijah Vera-Tucker is just too much for this offense to overcome.

3. I haven't even posted since the pathetic Mets choked away the NL East to that evil franchise in Atlanta and then lost the wild card series to San Diego. I never thought I could be so unexcited for Mets playoff baseball, but I had no juice for that series. None. Looking ahead, I would sign Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz first and foremost. I don't think Jacob deGrom wants to be in New York. With that extra money, I would keep Chris Bassitt and Carlos Carrasco and sign one other starter in free agency. And the bullpen needs more help than I know what to do with. This team won over 100 games and yet it feels like they have to start all over just to be competitive in 2023.

4. As for the Knicks, well, they're just another team. Average, nothing more, nothing less.

5. I'm not ready to freak out on the Rangers, despite their lackluster start. But I don't think this team can overcome injuries, they do not have the cap space or depth to overcome them. And already, we've seen injuries to Filip Chytil, Ryan Lindgren, about 9 or 10 injuries to Vitali Kravtsov...it can get scary.

6. I'm still doing the YouTube stuff and that has taken priority over writing or just about anything else. I've passed 250 followers and we'll see how much it can grow. I'm just not comfortable going live because I don't know if I'm engaging enough or likable enough to keep dozens of people interested or entertained for an hour.

7. My mountain retreat was nice on Friday. Humpback Rocks was pretty challenging, but the views were pretty sweet. Of course, Crozet Pizza decided that day not to open till 3:30 and I had arrived at 11:30 am after 3 hours of hiking. Thanks for nothing guys, you'll never get my money. I did hit up 3 breweries and a winery in the afternoon. The Brewing Tree Oktoberfest was probably my favorite. Malty and full bodied, yet easy to drink. And they had hammocks. Beer + hammocks + mountain views = ultimate relaxation

8. Budgeting used to be fun. But thanks to the asshole occupying the White House who stole it from President Trump, it's becoming painful. Every time I go out, I wonder if I'm about to go freaking broke. I know it's my stupid paranoia, but then I get my car insurance bill or my fucking rent increase and I wonder how I'm even able to save money still.

9. Rao's is making frozen pizza now. I can't bear to buy one...it'll ruin me if I like it. And at $13 for a pizza that I could wipe out without blinking, it's probably not a wise investment. 

10. The Crawling Crab 5k was ruined for me. I trained 8 weeks for that stupid race. And then it got cancelled because our area got the remnants of Hurricane Ian. I had planned to sign up for the Norfolk Harborfest. Now, I have no interest. I'm still registered for the Shamrock 8k next March, but beyond that, I don't know what I'll do. My feet can only handle so much, and truth be told, I feel I look better when I'm doing my dumbbell circuits.

11. I used to really be a social butterfly. I was all about the next event, the next good time. I'm not that way anymore. I have been so hurt and let down by people. I'll go to places where I'm in a comfortable setting. But if there is the possibility of me feeling lonely or embarrassed, I'm out. I was reminded of that tonight. Square dance in a community center. I already was a little uneasy knowing my lack of ability to dance unless alcohol has been consumed. I struggled to find parking and by the time I was going to enter, the instructor was already barking orders. I knew I was not going to catch up and I'd look like a fool. So I did the only logical thing, I drove to Harris Teeter and spent $85.00 on groceries, and close to half of that was on alcohol. Maybe the years of rejection, deception, and bullshit have finally caught up to me. Maybe I'd almost rather be alone. But deep down, I know that's not healthy. I've been blessed in years passed with wonderful social groups. Now that I'm 40, that's over. I'm supposed to be married by now apparently. I shouldn't need friend groups. I guess I failed somewhere, because why else would I still be here in this apartment alone?

12. Thank God for music. It'll never turn away from me or reject me. I call on it, and it doesn't judge, it doesn't walk away, it is reliable and true. People will never be that way. Never.

13. I'm going to make enemies in my life. Why? Because I feel I have to stay true to my beliefs. If I don't have my integrity, I truly have nothing. 

14. Shipt is such a joke now. We lost Lidl and Harris Teeter delivery only orders. And yet they keep on hiring more and more people. I used to make $1,000 a month part time. Now I'm lucky to get $400. They got a deal in place now with Food Lion and yet it rarely comes up. Time for this company to fire a few shoppers who suck at it.

15. Midterm elections are in 3 days. Like any of it matters. The Democrats will still them anyway. And as long as the likes of Brandon are in office, we Americans will continue to suffer.

16. These Manscaped products are pretty unbelievable.

17. Apartment has new blinds and new windows. Pretty nice. Of course, my smoke alarm has been beeping for a full month and they still haven't come to fix that....

18. I do like Life church as an online church. Granted the music is your typical overproduced stuff. Oversinging the words, too much production. But Pastor Craig gives good relatable messages. 

19. I went to the first Virginia Beach Seafood Festival in October. Had a great time there. Thankful for Yelp for getting me access to places like this. The seafood boil, the fish tacos, the crab dips, the jumbo shrimp and andouille sausage skewer, the orange crush drinks from Watermans. Good times!

20. I'd love to have a dog again. I just can't bear to leave one alone for 8-9 hours a day while I am at work.

Joe Nichols setlist

Brokenheartsville

Hard to Be Cool

The Impossible

Good Day For Living

Dance With the Girl

Big City

What Have You Got Planned Tonight Diana?

I've Got Friends That Do

I Want to Be Your Tonight

The Shape I'm In 

Screened In

Don't Rock the Jukebox

I'll Wait For You

She Only Smokes When She Drinks

When You Say Nothing At All

Size Matters (Someday)

What's a Guy Gotta Do?

Yeah

Gimme That Girl

Rooster 

A Country Boy Can Survive

Sunny and 75

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off

The Blues Man

The End of August

Gosh I've been silent for a month on here. I don't know if many people would've noticed. But let's reflect a little on this month and look forward to the future. 

I knew I would be getting a rent increase.  With this disgrace of a White House administration, everything is going up in price except for hot dogs and rotisserie chickens at Costco. I can live with that, I plan to ask my job for a raise, which I don't think I've ever done before. My problem is they won't let me renew it for me than 3 months. It's always been 1 year and now I'm nervous they're going to jack it up again. I can't go back to my job and ask for two raises in 3 months, as stingy as they are. I guess I should just appreciate that while I've had to reduce the amount of money I'm saving, I can still fly find my Roth IRA and put money in another 401k and mutual funds. 

And while we're discussing work, we got through the August 29 start. Even though Jim had the nerve to quit in the middle of August, and there are still more people to get packaged, the worst seems to be behind us. We wound up getting 150 starts, and the admissions goal was 141.

But the pressure to get people packaged remains ferocious. Even people starting in January, the powers that be still want them financially packaged in 10 days. It's just a never ending cycle of unrealistic expectations while still trying to deliver great customer service. And some days, it's easier than others. 

It's not that I'm spending more really. Well taxes went up. Especially since I have to bail financially irresponsible people who passed their student loans over to me. But what's hard is the income has gone down. The delivery business has been cut in half. I used to make $1,000 a month doing Shipt and that was with gas costing half of what it does now. Now I'm lucky to pull in $500 a month. 

Actually let's move on. I'm not going to vent anymore in this post. So obviously, sports can't be a topic.

I'm attending Life Church online now and it's pretty good. Craig Groeschel is a very good speaker. And I like the current Peace of Mind series, which is focusing on anxiety, worry, and depression. The messages are a little more topical as opposed to simply preaching the Bible. But at the end of the day, changing lives is the most important thing and if this series can do that, I'm all in favor of that kind of church. 

I wish Adam Cole could go back to WWE.

Raid fly strips are a gift from God. Living in the woods with no hallway between outside and my apartment, it gets filled with flies. Sprays only do so much and the water traps I've used aren't effective.  The strips may be sticky and unsightly but they are effective. I've put up 3 throughout the apartment and each one has caught at least 30 in 3 weeks. 

I've been running 5 days a week for 3 weeks. I'm not really losing weight but I certainly feel better. Hips, knees, and calves are doing great. The balls of my feet are getting more calloused, but nothing that's inhibiting my training for the 5k in October. I know I'll do the Shamrock 8k in March but I'm not sure about doing anything between now and then. I think I will do the Norfolk Harbor run in November, but I'm not sure if it'll be the 5k, 10k, or both. 

I'm proud of my Youtube channel, NY Sports WickerMedia. I've worked my way up to 119 subscribers and it hasn't been easy to get there. But I'm going to keep posting content and grow this thing as much as I can. I'm proud for learning how to edit video, add music, includes subtitles... and I'm only going to get better with time. 

And as I write this, I'm traveling on a train from Williamsburg VA to Iselin NJ. I think I'm somewhere around Ashland, 90 minutes into a 7 hour odyssey. It'll be my first time back in Jersey in maybe 5 or 6 years. And I get to meet so many people from YouTube Jets shows, I get to meet some of my subscribers, and meet some people I subscribe to. 

There is the sense of youthful wonder and adventure inside of me. Often times, I suppress it. But when I'm doing this kind of traveling, when I'm getting back in touch with a part of my past, I feel closer to that boy who left New Jersey in 1997. And he had to go because his life was going nowhere. 

My car battery died Thursday morning. And I'm thankful for it. Why? Because if it happened just one day later, I would have missed my train. My friend Nick was right. Timing really is everything. 

Why Are Some Women So Vile

So I have been in a Dave Ramsey singles group for a couple of years now, but I've never really engaged myself and tried to interact. About three weeks ago, I saw a humorous post about parking rituals, so I decided to join in.

Before long, I started noticing a blonde lady from central Ohio, whose name I will not mention, but SF are her initials. And we began messaging that night. Messages turned into voice memos; voice memos turned into her giving me her phone number. 

The connection was immediate, she was a working nurse, I work at a medical college. Faith, money values, love of travel, enjoying great meals, extroverted personalities. Only two issues. She has two kids, 10 and 11, and she's 3 states away. I felt the odds were long, but I wanted to get to know her slowly and see if it was something to explore deeper.

The conversations never got sexual, but they could get flirtatious. We both wanted to take the getting to know you route. I asked her if I asked her out, what would she say, and she said yes. It hurt, because I wanted to have a fair chance. 

She even had a trip set for Mexico with her ex-boyfriend and the group was going to host a contest to see who would go with her. And the contest included this ridiculous questionnaire. There were questions from opinions on crocs to what your ex would say about you to favorite song to dance to. I was thinking to myself she should also be required ot answer the same questions and I will decide if she's a match for me! 

We spoke on the phone Sunday night for over an hour as she was on her way from Charleston SC to Ohio. No awkwardness, it was rather enjoyable. And then Monday afternoon, she messaged me that she doesn't have it in her to do distance again, she likes how we get along, but she wanted to be clear.

I said "Ok." I didn't want to get emotional or anything, so I kept it simple.

Later that night, I went through Facebook and I got to the People You May Know section. There was an attractive blonde I had seen a few times so I requested her, she happened to be a mutual friend. 

Then Wednesday afternoon came. Around 4:30, SF messaged me. I didn't have a chance to read every word. Because within 15 seconds of her sending it, she blocked me. But she accused me of going through her friend list and trying to add all her friends like I was a stalker. She called me not mature enough to handle the truth...and that was about all I was able to see. She did not ask what I was doing. Rather, she accused me, insulted me and reamed me. I immediately blocked her back.

I went right to the group admins and explained what happened. This guy asked me if I had been hacked. I realized what was going on. They were taking her side, probably because she is female, cute, perky, and outgoing. They wanted to know why I sent the friend request, like I had some ulterior motive. 

Although I tried retrieving her vile message to me, I couldn't. And she obviously wouldn't submit what she said to me over to the admins. So hopefully this is the end of it. I don't want to think about her, I just want to move on.

This will not break my heart. But it just breaks my faith even more that there are good women left in the world. I'm no pride advocate by any stretch, but after dealing with so much shit like this, I can almost almost almost understand why some men decide to try the gay route. 

I didn't deserve to be treated that way. Bottom line.

41

I'm about to begin year 41 on planet earth in 36 hours. I'm feeling a little down, I just have a few quick things to say. 

1. The loneliest feeling is to be surrounded by lots of people and feel as if you don't matter. 

2. I feel powerless to keep this country from going to hell. I miss having talk leaders who cared about our people first. They may not have been the nicest people ever, but they got the fing job done. 

3. I dread losing my mother one day. No one else has known me as long or as well. I can talk to get about things I can't with anyone else. But I'm thankful for the 4 plus decades we have so far, even though we fight more than I wish. 

4. If it wasn't for sad songs, I don't know how I'd cope with my hurt. I don't know if I can change as a man anymore. My habits seem to be my habits, good or bad. So I guess I will take the bandage on my disease. Won't cure it but I'll at least take the temporary cover up. 

5. At work, only our campus president knew it was my birthday. No one else knew or said anything. It's not that birthdays are that important. It's just that it means someone actually gives a damn. 

Sorry for the sad theme, but that's all I have in me tonight. 

If you are interested in my sports articles, it's nysportswickermedia.blogspot.com

Myrtle Beach Days, Part 2

On Sunday, which felt like a Saturday, I woke up and hit the gym to work my arms. It was good finally having access to 20 pound dumbbells for overhead tricep extensions, since my apartment complex still hasn't replaced the stolen 20s. Or the stolen 35s. Or the stolen 50s. Of course the air conditioning still wasn't working, so I was done after about 20 minutes. I then headed into the lobby for a breakfast of scrambled eggs, turkey sausage patties, and two mini waffles. And I made sure to bring the dark roast coffee up to mom while se was sleeping.

Our first destination was Mt. Atlanticus minotaur goff (not a typeo), one of the top rated courses on the Grand Strand. They have two 18 hole courses, we just had time for one and we went with the Minotaur course. The course really goes high, there are a lot of stairs to climb, but it has some nice waterfalls. It wasn't the hardest course, I was able to sink four holes-in one, it's more about the decorations than the actual golf itself.

After that, we went down south to Pawley's Island, where I first visited in 1997 with my high school to do mission work. Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal church was building a larger church and we had to help clear the back baseball field. And we did that, though getting the batting cage out of the earth proved to be challenging. Also, there is a free medical clinic on site, and we assisted there too, we actually stayed on site for a full week.

And they have their new building now, well, it was new at the time, but I guess it has been up since 2000 so it's not exactly new now. But it was my first time attending service at Holy Cross inside their new building. 

Now I thought it was a biracial congregation, it was actually as white as South Dakota. The service was very liturgical, incredibly ritualistic. It wasn't quite experiencing Roman Catholicism again, but it felt like its first cousin with the Lord's prayer, kneeling, etc. The sermon was over in about 10-12 minutes; I would say 45 minutes of the service was hymns, prayers, and recitations of Scripture. I joined in everything except the prayers of the people, since I couldn't relate to the people in their congregation or the government officials of South Carolina. 

Then it was onto lunch at Local, a new restaurant located in the Hammock Island shops. It was kind of a gastropub, except they also serve brunch on the weekends. We started with their Sedona salad, with greens, chunky pico, grilled corn, avocado, carrot, black beans, shredded cheddar, fried tortilla strips, chipotle ranch, and we added pan-seared shrimp. The shrimp stole the show, nicely seasoned, and they tasted so fresh, that authentic Low country taste that you just can't find anywhere else. Great veggies too, I definitely salute the kitchen on this one.

Then we had their Sunday chicken, which was half a fried chicken. I asked for sides of their Peri Peri hot sauce and their ale honey mustard, and they delivered both in small metal ramekins. I could really taste the beer in the mustard. So from what I hear their batter for the chicken has pickle juice and beer in it. I can say this, the chicken was definitely juicy and that skin was quite crispy. If I had one criticism, I would I could have tasted more seasoning. When I eat bone in fried chicken, I want to taste some paprika, some cayenne, some garlic, not just the breading.

They did a great job on the sides. The Yukon gold mashed potatoes were creamy, simply seasoned, and very fluffy. The vinegar cole slaw was a great palate refresher, it was not mayo based, thankfully. I'm thinking there was a little cider vinegar in it.

We had a manager and a chef come out to ask how the food was, which we really did appreciate. It's a staff that cares how they are doing and that matters to me. Great experience.

While mom was shopping for clothes, I got her a bottle of Eureka lemon olive oil because I knew she would appreciate it. The hammock shops don't have a lot of stores that would appeal to me as a guy but I'll always take time to relax in a single cotton hand woven hammock.

Then we went back to the hotel and I got ready to visit the satellite location of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Broadway At the Beach. I put on my Jets t-shirt and back Jets baseball cap. I'm a die hard Jets fan, but I've never been to Canton to visit the actual Hall. So after paying about 25 bucks, I was able to enter a scaled down version. 

They have a couple of interesting exhibits including pioneers of the game, history of race in professional football, sports science, and single season records. They had a few interactive exhibits such as an instant replay booth where I got to watch plays and determine if the call on the field was correct or if it should be overturned. There were also hand prints of quarterbacks on footballs, Warren Moon, Jim Kelly, and Troy Aikman, as well as leg outlines from Jerome Bettis and Gilbert Brown. Suffice to say, my thighs are not quite that large.

But the highlight for me was the Super Bowl theater with player jerseys arranged in a semi circle, and the Lombardi trophy right in the middle of the room. The room would go dark and a film of NFL highlights played. It was easy to get entranced by the experience. They featured Joe Namath's Super Bowl jersey, which has a couple of holes in it now.

I checked the small merch store and they have t-shirts featuring various NFL team legends. They had a Jets version, so I bought four Jets legends shirts, which are exclusive to the Hall of Fame, for my local club that we will give away in raffle prizes. And the manager even gave me ten percent off! 

From what I was told, the Hall will remain in its current location until next July and then a decision will be made if they stay or not, it just depends on business. Hopefully, they will stay around for a long time.

I arrived at 3 pm on a Saturday and the line to get in was immense. Thankfully, I was able to score a seat at the bar. I ordered the Who's To Blame margarita on the rocks and with salt. It had Margaritaville Gold Tequila, Margaritaville Triple Sec and the house margarita blend. Well balanced, very refreshing, not too strong.

I really like how they have uniquely shaped tables, for instance there is a giant boat in the middle of the restaurant and they have a 5-person table at the mast of the boat. Super creative. And right near the center of the restaurant, there is a giant margarita bottle that repels from the ceiling at certain times and fills up an oversized blender.

While sipping on my drink, I could see the dark gray storm clouds forming in the distance, so I knew I had to head back to the room. It was about a ten minute walk, but I made it back inside just as the sprinkling was starting. Within five minutes, the sky opened up and a monsoon was under way.

After cleaning up, Mom and I headed for dinner at Umberto's at Barefoot Landing on the north side of Myrtle Beach. We arrived at 5 pm, right when they opened, and at least 30 tables had already been sat. I guess we went to a popular place!

This is a classic old style Italian restaurant, in that they feed you actual food before they even take your order. We started with a bowl of Italian beans with a little macaroni, not too bad. Then a basket of bread with salted butter. It reminded me of moderately crusty bread that I would have eaten on a sandwich at Primanti Brother's. I enjoyed the tomato, cucumber, and onion salad in a zesty Italian dressing with a lot of red wine vinegar and herbs. After that came the bowl of angel hair pasta in their sauce. We were a little disappointed with the taste of the sweeter marinara. It may have been from using carrot, in the mirepoix, or it may have been too much sugar. But it wasn't great sauce, I especially didn't like having that watery excess in the bottom of the bowl.

For entrees, we did an order of chicken eggplant parmesan, I really like having a combination of both and they obliged. I got two eggplant slices and one chicken breast topped with provolone and marinara. Chicken breast was a good size, cooked well, eggplant was fine, still crispy, not that greasy. The other entree was the Chicken Antonio with prosciutto, provolone, mushrooms and a lemon butter sauce. The dish was cooked well, but the overall product turned out dry without the lemon butter sauce.

Sadly we did not order the Bravo Franco, the meat extravaganza I described in a previous post, with a  strip steak, two pork chops, and sauteed peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Mom wasn't feeling it and I wasn't about to push her in that direction.

Of course, two tables away, I saw one guy digging into a couple of pork chops that must have been 2 inches thick. I began feeling the regrets. 

Is this the best Italian food I've ever had? It's not. But they gave us good service at a fair price and that does go a long way. Would I come back? Perhaps, but I would have to change my order to something more meat-centric. 

And we still haven't ordered a single dessert yet.

We were both a little fatigued after all that food as well as splitting a bottle of Pinot Noir. And the rain was picking up, so we headed back to the room. I think we both fell asleep, for a while. But around 8, I woke up. I wanted to head out and drink, but the rain had turned into a complete storm by this point. So I went down to the lobby, began writing the post you are reading, while gazing to the left where the front window of the hotel is to see if the rain was letting up. Close to an hour later, I'm still writing!

Epilogue:

I sat in the lobby for an hour before the rain let up enough where I walked the five minutes to the Carolina Ale House. I had a 22 oz Sweetwater 420 and a 16 oz Wicked Weed Pernicious. 

The next morning, we drove out to Wilmington, a town I never need to visit again, and made it back to Cary around 6 pm.

Myrtle Beach Days, Part 1

I haven't set foot in Myrtle Beach in maybe 15 years, but I probably went 3 or so times in about a ten year span. After our travel plans to Annapolis and Ocean City proved to be unaffordable, the Grand Strand stretch of South Carolina became a viable alternative and we were able to score two nights as a Fairfield Inn, one of which was free.

We began the drive down from Cary early on a Saturday morning, it took a little over three hours. On the way, we stopped at McDonald's so she could get coffee and there must have been 30 cars on line. It was in one of these tiny towns and I guess that's the place to hang out. No wonder the average weight of those people was about 285 pounds. Our initial destination was the Market Common, a brand new shopping area in Myrtle Beach, just south of the airport. There was a lot going on, a farmer's market, a classic car show, and a National Little League baseball tournament. They had restaurants such ass PF Chang's, the Brass Tap, Tupelo Honey, and Gordon Biersch Brewery. Mom was rather surprised to see such a nice area in the middle of Myrtle Beach.

Our first planned stop was Pedego bike rentals, I had arranged for us to take a guided tour on their electrics. It was actually my first time riding an electric in the USA; the only other time I had ridden one was in southern France. It was us, our guide, and one married couple, probably in their late 50's. After a tutorial, we began the electric bike ride through local neighborhoods, eventually getting to the pier at Myrtle Beach State Park.

During our break, I took a picture of the other couple. Turns out the guy we were riding with was a Jets season ticket holder for 20 years. And he said his kids love podcasts so I told him about NY Sports WickerMedia, Jets Chaos, Green Bean, etc. What were the odds?!

At one point, I was able to get my bike up to 20 MPH. Gotta love those throttles. They make the ride so much easier. It was $64 for a guided two hour ride, and it was well worth it. I'm not a fan of bike riding, but if I lived in an area conducive to bike riding, I would consider investing in an electric.

By 12:30 and after being awake for 7.5 hours, we were ready to go eat. I picked the Sea Captain's House, located right on the beach. And right next to the restaurant was a hotel that had a very high outdoor waterslide, it must be interesting for patrons sitting just 20 feet away from a bunch of screaming kids dripping water! 

We started with the fried oysters with remoulade, they were amazing. Sauce had the right amount of spice, the oysters were crispy and not greasy. For entrees, we had a broiled crab cake sandwich with fries and a salad of tomato, avocado, boiled and chilled shrimp, and fresh crab meat. Both were fantastic, the seafood was fresh, the produce was high quality. Of course, they came with a basket of hush puppies and a ramekin of honey butter. God, no wonder so many people in the south weigh so much. And major credit to the staff, they were friendly and food came out very promptly, so credit to the kitchen staff. Great place to visit when you're in the Grand Strand.

Then we checked into the Fairfield Inn. The location was great, a ten minute walk from Broadway At the Beach, a major entertainment complex that I'd visited a couple of times before. We also had a Brazilian steakhouse and Carolina Ale House right next door. I wish we could have done the Brazilian place but it doesn't make sense for Mom to go to an all you can eat establishment.

The hotel was fine, although the air conditioner was broken in the gym. I quickly figured out with 90 degree heat, I was not going to be doing much cardio. And no bar, but at least they had a free hot breakfast.

After about an hour of setting up, we drove thirty minutes south to Murrell's Inlet, where Mom really wanted to go. This area has about nine major restaurants, but they are all right next to each other on both sides of a two lane road. So the traffic gets a little crazy, as does the parking.

We went to the Claw House, I thought they had a great Happy Hour and the Yelp reviews impressed me. I ordered a couple of local draft beers and we ordered the crab nachos for $12, since all apps are 30% off from 4-7 pm every day. So these nachos are made up of fried wonton chips, lots of crab meat, a spicy cheddar cheese sauce, half an avocado, mango salsa, pico de gallo, and green onions. These nachos were piled super high, they are the type of nachos where you order them and other customers stare at them with their mouths gaped open. And the flavor was so great. The wontons were crispy, and a lighter tasting alternative to traditional tortilla chips. We had plenty of fresh crabmeat to go around, there was just a touch of heat from the cheddar sauce as well as a little jalapeno in the pico. And the combination of salsas were so flavorful and vibrant. And they looked beautiful with all the different colors, the orange of the mango, the green of the avocado, the pink of the crab, etc. If you're on the Grand Strand, you have to order these, especially if you have a hungry person with you.

Sadly, we were too full to order anything else! And were given very prompt and friendly service, this is definitely a place to visit. Of and they have a blonde bartender who is a school teacher except during the summer, when she bartends. And she was so engaging and funny.

We could have gone to the Carolina Opry for a Highwaymen tribute, but I guess we didn't want to spend the 55 bucks per ticket. So instead, we went to Crocodile Rocks, the dueling piano bar at Broadway At the Beach. It was ten bucks to get in and we grabbed two seats at the back bar, giving us a perfect view of the stage. I ordered a Jack and ginger and sat down for the show.

We were among the first people in the club when it opened at 7, but by 8, it became super loud and crowded. The chief culprits was the bachelor party, probably about 10 or 11 guys. And in addition to paying for requests, they also have a board called "3 Words Or Less." It starts at $1 and if you pay more than the amount on the board, you can request any message on the board that you want. And it turned into "Let's Go Brandon," "Hunter Eats Ass," "Hunter Eats Anal." Of course, I had no issue with the political aspect. Then it turned into messages about popping certain things and what should be done to other things in reference to certain women in the audience. The sexual stuff was a little more than I would've liked, but it  was adult humor and no one was getting hurt or anything. But sitting next to mom...yeah, that got a little awkward.

With the bar getting more and more crowded, we left around 9:30 pm.