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Days 108-110: Back in Bethesda (again)
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
Day 105: I missed the water
Location: Newport News, VA
Miles Driven: 334
Total Miles: 25,006
I left Cary after 10AM and began to head east towards the North Carolinian coast. I was headed towards the Outer Banks area (a place I had visited for the first time back in June), but I was going to a northern section of the Outer Banks to a city called Duck.
good weather heading out to the coast
It was after 4PM when I met up with friends Frances and Gary at their beach house. From their deck were some outstanding views of the ocean:
It was hard to not just lounge on the deck for the next several hours and listen to/watch the ocean. The cool breeze from the water made the air much more comfortable than I had found back in Raleigh.
A little after 5PM, we all went to dinner at a local cafe. More outstanding food.
Crab bisque soup. Never had crab bisque soup before. Sooo good
My entree: southern scallops. very tasty
After dinner, we headed to the other side of the land to go walk by Albemarle Sound. There was a boardwalk right above the water and our timing worked out well…sunset was slowly approaching.
Great views by the Sound.
Relaxing by the water
We returned to the house along the beach, and I was able to snap a few more pictures of the water before I got back on the road.
kids dwarfed by the Atlantic Ocean
Some real nice homes by the water
Thanks again to my friends in the Outer Banks for a nice break in the driving (and for the delicious dinner). I was very glad to be back by some water again. The last time I was near any major bodies of water was back in Alaska.
I got back in the car and headed north toward Newport News, revisiting my buddy Chris I saw here back in early June. Chris and I hung out in his backyard for several hours, sitting by a fire. Chris was suprised it was my first legit “campfire” for this whole trip.
No worries, this fire was under control
Chris by the fire
Great to hang out with a good friend once more. This is probably the last time I’ll get to hang out with Chris before heading overseas in January, so I’m lucky to have this chance again. Big excitement for Chris coming up…he has a baby on the way this coming December. At the very least, I should be able to see some pictures before I head out.
Come Sunday, I’ll head north to Maryland where I’ll spend a stretch of a few days visiting with some friends one last time in the area I used to live. Most of the drives from this point forward should be fairly quick (in the neighborhood of three hours or less). No, I’m not sick of driving, but a few less hours in the car would probably do my legs and lower back a favor.
joe
P.S. In other news, you’ll notice above I just barely surpassed the 25,000 mile mark with today’s driving. Before I set out on the trip, that was a higher estimate of the ground I’d cover (good call, Melissa). Crazy
Days 99 and 100: Comfortable in Carolina
Location: Raleigh, NC
Miles Driven: ~470
Total Miles: ~24,160
In a clean, reorganized car, I left Acworth on Sunday morning to head north towards North Carolina. It was tough saying goodbye to the “family” back in Georgia, but I know there will be another chance to meet up down the road, even if it’s not in the foreseeable future.
See ya next time, Marba. What a good dog
GoogleMaps said my drive to Raleigh would be about six hours. Relatively speaking, that’s not a great distance to travel in terms of this trip. It was a pleasant and uneventful drive. Had clear skies the whole way, too.
Notice the big peach thing on the left. But this wasn't Georgia, this was in South Carolina
The leaves already are starting to change color a bit in North Carolina. Time flies.
The timing of my arrivial in Raleigh was pretty fortuitious. Family friends Saba and Aaron had their child just last about 10 days ago (last I saw them, Saba was a few months away from delivery). I was happy to meet Eli Jacob. Very cute kid.
Touchdown!
The timing of my arrival worked in another way, as well. Saba’s brother, and my friend, Sam, was in town along with his mom. Great to see all these friendly faces once again. I last saw Sam in NJ, and it’s been several months since I saw his mom.
Sam and Eli
I was able to spend a couple hours hanging out with Eli and the family before heading out to dinner with their friend Jen, who I had last seen at Saba and Aaron’s wedding back in 2007. I happily introduced her to korean bbq. Man, I’ve been eating far too well on this second east coast leg of the trip. Great meal and great company.
That brings us to Day 100 of this roadtrip. Wow, hard to believe it came up so fast. When I originally planned this trip, I figured it would be over and done with by Day 90. But here I am at the century mark, and everything is still going great.
Was able to spend a larger portion of the day being lazy, as well as taking pictures of Eli once again.
cute kid
Jen and Eli
Uncle Sam and the little guy
What a way to celebrate Day 100 – hanging out with the newborn, and then getting to eat some nice home-cooked meals. There were hotdogs, hamburgers, cake, and Arabic pizza:
very tasty
Being an uncle is hard work. Gotta keep the body fueled-up
Looking forward to spending the next few days here in Raleigh with friends.
Only about 12 or so days remain in this trip. The first 100 have been nothing short of spectacular, and I’m optimistic we’ll be able to hold that line for the remainder of this journey.
joe
Days 56 and 57: A second home in Portland
Location: Beaverton, OR
Miles Driven: ~215
Total Miles: 13,904
After 8AM I was on the road, heading Northwest in the direction of Portland. I felt a little more relaxed than the previous night after the close call with the deer, and took my time heading towards my brother Mike’s home in Beaverton (suburb of Portland).
More scenic Oregon
I arrived shortly after noon. I hadn’t seen Mike and his wife Heather in over a year, and some things have changed since I last visited. They now live in a nice new home, and now there’s a new addition to the family, baby Nolan. Nolan was born in January, and is my second-oldest nephew after Nico (who you met during my stay in Houston). Another very cute kid.
little Nolan
Lucky timing for me, Heather’s aunt, Kathy, was hosting a party on Saturday for all the July birthdays in the extended family. I just happened to arrive the same day of the party, so after a few hours of seeing Mike’s house and visiting with Nolan, we headed over to the party and enjoyed some BBQ with Heather, her family, and relatives. The folks here in Portland have always treated me as one of their own since my first visit out here around 2006, and I consider this place another second home. I’m always made to feel very welcome here (and commensurately, always eat very well).
Burt grilling some oysters
Burt grilled up some of his famous jalapenos-wrapped-in-bacon-stuffed-with-cream-cheese, and I quickly devoured several of those shortly after they came off the fire. Willie, Kathy’s husband, also grilled up some delicious burgers and hotdogs, and I enjoyed those along with all the delicious sides people brought.
Great time at the party. Played with baby Nolan some more, and got to visit with some of the relatives I hadn’t seen since last Spring.
Mike and Nolan
look at those big eyes
Me with the parents and the little guy
Nolan with his Great Aunt Lorraine
Nolan with Grandma Marilyn
Nolan and Grandpa Burt
Nolan was certainly the star of the party, but the star right behind him was the food at the party. Absolutely delicious.
Tasty Marion Berry pie
Thanks to Kathy and Willie for hosting a great party!
The next day, Sunday, was a lazy day. Everybody got naps, especially the baby, and then later in the day we made our way to Heather’s parents for some of Burt’s famous grilled ribs. I was spoiled once again with some great food, and enjoyed relaxing at their home. It soon was Nolan’s bedtime and we had to head out, and I made sure to grab a last few photos with the folks here.
Mike and me
Here with Heather's family - Marilyn, Burt, and Chrissy. These guys always treated me like one of the family
After putting Nolan to bed, Mike and I headed out to the movies along with Chrissy and her boyfriend, Chris, to watch Inception. Wow, what a great film. One of those that really makes you think. Christopher Nolan, the director, has made some great films including Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Prestige (one of my favorites). I didn’t think Inception would live up to the hype, but turns out it exceeded it, in my mind.
And so that wraps up my Sunday in the area. I made a car appointment at a local Mazda dealership here for Monday. I need an oil change, plus I wanted to get everything looked over before I continued the journey further North. I’ve covered just under 14,000 miles on this trip and haven’t had a single car issue (outside of my carelessness in Utah draining the battery), so here’s hoping some preventative maintenance will keep things going strong for the trip to Alaska.
joe
Trip route – Summer 2010
Joe's Roadtrip 
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