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Published: December 26th 2008
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Good morning!
I wanted to upload some pictures in my awesome hotel room last night but Motel 6 charged $3 for Internet and I would have had to walk ALL the way around the building to the front desk for an access card. Forget that. It is Friday morning and I am sitting in a cubicle at the Kanawha Public Library using their Internet for free! Gotta be smart 😉
So, first off, I want to say there are several disadvantages to starting a road trip on Christmas Day:
1) Gas stations that claim to be open "24 Hours" are not open 24 hours. My first gas stop scheduled for Hershey PA. got pushed back four exits as I went 0-3 on my first three gas stops (I pulled a Melky Cabrera). Each one was closed and I sure felt like an idiot when I got out, swiped my card, put the nozzle in my vehicle and no gas came out, only to have a mid-60s couple in a CRV scream out, "Hey, son, there ain't no gas here!" Oh, well... but challenging the red on my first gas fill up was definitely not the plan.
2) Forget gas...
where are the people??? I made a stop at Morgantown, WV which is a bustling college town that boasts a population 30,000 and one of the largest universities in the mid-Atlantic region (if you can consider West Va in that region). Anyway, as you will see from the pictures below, Morgantown was a ghost town. One pub was open and one Chinese take out spot was open. Suffice to say, my first meal alone was a Guinness at the bar and take out Chinese while I walked around with my camera. I did get a chance to bring a little Jersey into Morgantown (put Bon Jovi on the JukeBox of course!). But, seriously, I know this is West Va. but where are the people!
3) This has nothing to do with traveling on Christmas but I had to share... so I come across the Pennsy border (the Mason-Dixon line officially entering the south!) and I am driving West-bound on Highway 68... It is not dark and hard to see but I see a sign for Allegheny County, which in my mind meant Allegheny river which only runs in Pa and West Virginia... so I thought I was in West Virginia.
I had this great plan to switch from whatever music I was playing at the time to John Denver so I could put Take Me Home, Country Roads on a repeat loop at least 3 times. So, thats what I did and I belted out COUNTRY ROADS!!! TAKE ME HOME!!! TO THE PLACE I BELONG!!!! WEST VIRGINIA!!!!.... Turns out Allegheny County is in Maryland. I was living out my West Virginia fantasy that I had envisioned for weeks leading up to the trip 45 miles east of the West Virginia border in Maryland. That's right ladies!
Ok... that's really all I have for now. Charleston is a really cool town and you will see some pictures from last night driving around the town. I am spending the rest of the morning here... going to pop into some of the cafes, hit some stores, walk the river, check out the historical sites and then its on to Bardstown Ky and ultimately Nashville, Tn for another night.
For those of you who were around for "send offs" yesterday, thank you for everything! I must say, leaving two houses filled with people was a very hard way to leave for a
Goodbye at Casa de Paz/Brennan
Missing Rock Band right about now. trip where I will be all alone but I wouldn't have had it any other way!
P.S.- Caught 4th qtr of the Lakers game last night at the bar in Morgantown. Awesome finish by the Lakers and Pau Gasol looked to be in rare form. If he can keep that level of play up, watch out.
P.P.S.- This trip is as much about the music as anything else. I am working album-by-album across the south. Here is yesterday's playlist:
1. Flogging Molly- Within a Mile of Home- Pulling away from home, it just seemed fitting to start with an album like this.
2. Fleetwood Mac- Rumors- Wow... amazing album when you're flying through farm land
3. Allison Krauss and Union Station- So Long, So Wrong- its all about the fiddle!
4. Traffic- The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys- This album is incredible on its own, but while driving towards a sunset, its pure poetry. Steve Winwood is the man!!!
5. Tom Petty- Full Moon Fever- Good pick me up as darkness and hunger started to tire me out.
6. Greg Graffin- Cold as Clay- Simple folk
7. Brand New- Deja Entendu- more pick-me-up as I headed into
Morgantown.
8. Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon- Again, planned for after dinner driving through the dark and lonely roads. Totally worth it! I got scared at one point and I swear the stars were exploding in the sky!
9. Rush- Greatest Hits- AWESOME! AWESOME! Got me singing again
10. Gordon Lightfoot- Rhino Hi-Five- 5 song sampler and perfect ender to the long drive.
Take care! More on the City of Charleston later.
One more thing- the map feature on this site is really bad... sorry about that. But its generalized to show the route.
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Tracy
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This is fun....
Matt, I like this....I looked forward to received your first travel "blog". Sorry we weren't their in person to give you your send off but we were thinking of you. I hope you are enjoying yourself and know that we miss you already. Be safe and I look forward to your next posting. xoxo