Joe's Roadtrip

Location: Bethesda, MD

Time really flies by when there’s a limited amount of time to catch up with friends.  Here it is, Friday morning.  I’ve been here since Monday afternoon and I can’t believe how quickly the week went by.

My time here was mostly dedicated to getting together with friends, though I did accomplish a few things outside of that.  Staying with Matt, I was able to catch up on some laundry (last load of laundry for this trip).  Also, I went to my old regular place in Gaithersburg and got my oil changed.  Now that was a bit sad…I think that was oil change #7 for the trip, and definitely the last one I’ll need before I sell the car to Colleen. Crazy.  As part of the oil change, this place does a standard check on the vehicle for other issues.  I ended up replacing the transmission fluid, as it was due for that again, but everything else was in great shape.  I’m so happy with how well the Mazda6 has performed on this trip.  Over two year’s worth of driving…the near equivalent of driving the circumference of the earth (thanks for that tip, Stephen)…and no issues.

Let’s get to the photos. 

On Tuesday evening, I got together with my buddy Vincent for some pizza in Arlington.  Haven’t seen Vincent since I orginally moved out of the area back in January, so it was great to get together once again.  Vincent is someone I can commisserate with when the Washington Wizards lose…a good friend, and we’re both hoping for some redemption this year now that we have the #1 draft pick, John Wall.

hanging with Vincent at Pupatella

Early evening on Wednesday, I went with Matt and our friend Sean to Great Falls State Park (MD side).  Although it wasn’t that far from my old home here, I’ve only been there once before, but remembered our time there fondly.  We hiked the “Billy Goat Trail” which takes you across a number of boulders along the water.  The hike can be a little challenging at times, as you leap from boulder to boulder, but definitely one of the more fun hikes I’ve ever been on.  Below are some photos from our time there (some photos are courtesy Matt – thanks buddy).

Great Falls State Park

Matt taking a break from the boulder hopping

Great views from the rocks

Sean gets ready to jump

Will I make it??

Made it!

climbing up the steep rock wall

Sean makes it across the log bridge

Matt works his way across

I came pretty close to biting it and falling in the water

A nice day ends out by the water

Matt's pic - a nice shot of the moon and it's reflection rippling in the water

finishing up the hike along the dirt road

Nevermind the KState affliation. Sean is an all right guy

Great hike!  Last hike for this roadtrip is in the books, and it was a lot of fun out there.

That evening I headed over to my friend Christelle’s house to hang out.  Thanks to Christelle for cooking up some plantains and sweet potatoes for me.  Share that recipe some time, Christelle.

Thursday was a very lazy day for me.  Having completed the majority of my to-dos for the week, I spent the day inside playing Starcraft II on Matt’s computer.  Awesome game, by the way. I figure it’s been a while since I spent a day just playing video games, and given that it was raining outside, it worked out well.  The only other thing I accomplished that afternoon was getting some laundry done, as well as doing some pull-ups on Matt’s pull-up bar.  A productive day.

That night I went to my friend Bea’s house for dinner.  Her husband Mike cooked up some authentic Chinese food and I had a great meal.  I also got to spend time playing with Bea’s cute daughter, Haile.  Thanks for a great time, Bea and Mike!

hot rice pudding for dessert. very tasty

A bunch of us met up that night at a bar in Rockville and I got to see some faces I haven’t seen in a long time.  Ashley (who you may recall from a prior visit to Maryland, as well as my return to Atlanta), was in town, too.

Matt enjoys an egg roll

Stephen enthralled by Ashley's story

Not sure what is going on here

hanging with Amelia and Mike

good buddies

group shot

me and Ash

As always, I had a great time back in Maryland.  Went by way too fast.  This probably will be my last visit to the area for a long time, and I’m grateful I had so many friends around to visit with.

On Friday, I make my way north towards New Jersey, where a party is being held for my buddy Sam for passing the bar exam.  Along the way, I’ll visit a friend and a cousin in Baltimore.  This is the penultimate drive of the trip…the next drive after this one will be the drive home.

joe