Joe's Roadtrip

Location: Haddonfield, NJ

Miles Driven: ~150

Total Miles: ~25,356

I left Matt’s apartment around 10AM to get started with the driving for the day.  I needed gas, so I had another reminder of life near DC again after paying $3.09/gallon.  I used the last of my Exxon gift cards – once again, I owe a big thanks to my friends in Owego for those.

My plan for the day was to make it up to Sam’s area in NJ, but first I’d stop in Baltimore to see some people.

Baltimore

My first stop was to visit my buddy Jon who attends Johns Hopkins University.  The timing worked out well, as I arrived a little before his afternoon class, so he showed me around the beautiful campus.

We took our turns posing for photographs, Asian-style.

It was great to walk around a college campus once again, especially one that looked so nice. Hard to believe you could have a campus looking like this right inside a big city like Baltimore.

Jon took me to the Physics and Astronomy building, and there I got a good look at the Hastings refractor, a large telescope used back in the late 1800s.

And for some perspective on how big this thing is…

And we walked to another section of the campus…

Then Jon had to get going to class, so it was time for me to head out.  Great to hang out with my old officemate, and I’m excited to see where this future doctor is going to wind up in the next few years.  Best of luck with your senior year, buddy.

My next stop was an area of Baltimore called Hunt Valley.  There, I met up with my cousin Devin, and we realized it’s been more years than we could remember since we last saw each other…probably at least eight or so years, if not longer.  He has since caught up to me in the height department.

We grabbed some bbq lunch at a local place called Andy Nelson’s.  I highly recommend this to anyone in the Baltimore area.  Great food.  And be sure to try the cornbread.

my pulled pork sandwich with slaw topping

Great time hanging with Devin…I should see my cousins more often.  Good luck in B-more, man.

And with that, I was back on the road headed towards NJ.  It was an easy drive (pretty much anything under 5 hours I view as “easy”).  Got to Sam’s house, and a few hours later we were off to his celebratory dinner.  Sam is now a full-fledged attorney (I know…hide your groans), and definitely worked his ass of to get to this point.  He has earned that “esquire” suffix to his name, though I told him I’d punch him if he ever introduced himself that way. 

For the celebration, we had a private room set up at the nearby Seasons 52 restaurant, and we all enjoyed a great meal with lots of good stories shared.

Rachel, Sam, and his dad

Rachel ordered some specialized M&Ms for the occasion.  Brilliant idea:

As much as I wanted to preserve those M&Ms, I made sure to take the above photo so they would be remembered forever after I devoured my little baggie.

Just a great party.  Here are some more photos from the night:

Sam's parents

rack of "mini indulgences"

family shot

Sam and Rachel

Thumbs up for passing the bar exam

After the dinner, we headed back to Sam’s place for some dessert.  I never had a Cold Stone ice cream cake before.  Great call by Rachel, it was delicious.

What a great way to spend my last full day on the road, celebrating my best friend’s well-deserved achievement.  Couldn’t think of anything better to do.

Tomorrow, Saturday, is it…I’ll be back home in NY Saturday afternoon. 

joe