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Published: March 16th 2009
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I set sail on my next adventure on Tuesday morning. First destination: North Carolina. A mere 10hrs away (plus an hour for the time change - yes, it’s central time in Pensacola) and I was pulling into my cousin Meem’s driveway. While she graciously stayed awake for me (it was 11:30, which is apparently really late for old people haha), little Nicole, Gianna, and Stephen woke up for me (or more aptly, I think I woke them up). Wed I spent a day in the life of a stay-at-home-mom. One, in particular haha. It was a nice day hanging out with the kids. I have to give Meem props for dealing with that every day, though. After one day I was exhausted. I don’t think I could do that every day. Might have to rethink my family planning… I started off that afternoon for my next stop: Maryland. After only 1 ½ hrs of sitting in stopped traffic on I-95, I managed to find an emergency vehicle turn around and head back the other way for an impromptu detour. The truck fire was only another 4 miles ahead, but since I had averaged about 1.5mph over 1.5 hrs, I figured I
Gaithersburg
Chris, me, Ben at the bar didn’t want to sit on I-95 for another 3 hours. With a short detour around (too bad it took me 1.5 hrs to get to the turn around!!) I was back on my way and made it home that night, if a little late. A nice night out with friends, and I was sleeping at the parents’ house. It was nice to be home! The next day was much the same - time with the rents, going out with friends at night, sleeping at home. And repeat. Friday I made it down to base for a much-needed (and missed) swim at the gym. Something about peace underwater, rhythmic breathing, and rhythmic motions, it’s exactly like meditation. It’s so relaxing yet still a good workout. If only I had a pool in Pensacola to use… Friday night was some shopping with mom (girl time!) then off for the night with friends for one last fling.
I left Sat morning for NY (naturally about 3 hrs later than I wanted to) and made pretty good time up to NYC (until I hit the bridge on 278, which was undergoing gentrification). I made it to my hair place just before 5 and
The Statue
From the Staten Island Ferry hunkered down for the next few hours. I’ve been going to this place for years to get my hair straightened. It had been a while, but I was due. Not only did I get my hair straightened, I got it cut too. I’m not sure if I like it yet - I have to see how it sits after I get to wash it (has to stay dry for 72hrs for the straightening process to work). Right now it looks like a helmet - pin straight and very thin. Just kind of hangs. The big downside of this is that, because of the time difference, I won’t be able to wash it until midnight on St Patty’s Day. That means I’m going to be running around with greasy hair for 2 days in Dublin. The upside is that, since it rains all the time, I won’t have to worry about getting my hair wet - it’ll just dry straight! Even though it was 9:30 by the time I was done, I headed back to Long Island (from Queens) to meet up with my friends Rob and Jeff for dinner. I couldn’t believe it but they waited for me (for hours!) to get dinner. What good friends! It was a nice night (despite a really gross meal at Chili’s). On Sun I got up and just barely made the train into the city (thanks Rob!) The long-awaited slice of NY pizza was waiting for me. I met my cousin Paula at Penn Station and we walked to a nearby pizza place. It was good, but somehow I still haven’t found the perfect NY pizza. I’m not really even sure what I’m looking for - maybe a piece of my childhood? I might have to venture to Brooklyn next time. We chased it down with some Pinkberry (which was fabulous!) If you’ve never had it, check online and see where the nearest one is. It’s frozen yogurt, but it’s actually YOGURT, not some concoction of chemicals mixed together. They’re toppings are fantastic too. There’s a Red Mango (same thing, different company) just up the street that we might do next time. Being in NY, I realized that the city really is like it’s own country. New Yorkers (from the city) have their own culture. They may seem rude to outsiders, but it’s really just how they interact. Abrupt, fast-paced, and to-the-point, I am definitely a New Yorker. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it. I think the people are as much a reason that NY is a top tourist destination as anything else. I mean, let’s be honest: what else is there really to see in the village or Soho besides the people. Talking with Paula, I realized there are still 2 things I haven’t done in the city: Spumoni Gardens and … crap I can’t remember the other one now. Well, at least I’ll try to do Spumoni Gardens next time I’m there - which should be in exactly 8 days.
After leaving Paula, I did another one of the things I haven’t done in NY yet - the Staten Island Ferry. I met up with my niece Keely and half-sister Netty when I got to SI. We had a decent dinner and pretty soon they were dropping me off at Newark airport for my 9:45 flight. Now I’m sitting on the plane (when I should be sleeping) on a 6 hour flight to Dublin. I land at 7:30 (an hour earlier than planned for!) which is actually 3:30am our time. I hope I can get a couple of hours of sleep because I’m going to try to be off and running after checking into the hotel. My next writing will be either after a long full day of sightseeing in Dublin, or after a really long nap in the hotel. Time will tell…
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