Road Trip

I'm currently in New York visiting with Erin's family. The trip up was as smooth as we could have asked it to be.

The first day we drove about 7 hours up to Roanoke Virgina to spend the night with the Mathers. We hung out in their backyard in front of a fire pit, drank some beers, and caught up on old times.

The second day was a 10 hour trek to get up to Long Island. We took a very rural highway to drive up and everything smelled like cow manure. We stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel and the whole town smelled like it.

The DVD player worked like a charm. Shannon was engrossed in all things Dora, Blue's Clues, and Jack's Big Music Show. She did a great job in the car and never really whined or sounded off.

My biggest goof of the trip was going in an EZ Pass lane at the Throgs Neck Bridge. There is no one to take your money at these booths so I was essentially stuck with no way to get through. Two Port Authority cops came over to the lane and I played stupid (not too hard for me) and said I was from out of town. The took my money and opened the gate for me.

New York has been good so far. Today it is raining and the Yankee game was cancelled. A bummer for me cause that was my afternoon plans.

Seems like all the interesting things happen at work when I'm gone. Yesterday there was a shooting in the atrium below where I work. With all the people that come through there on a daily basis I'm surprised things like this don't happen more often. Apparently a man shot his ex girlfriend and then a Turner Security guard shot the man.

We are here till Friday morning and then we do the road trip in reverse with another stop to the Mather household. We should be back in Atlanta by Saturday night if all goes as planned.

Sumo Hockey

Buck, Jason, and I went to the Thrashers/Maple Leafs game last night. We had gotten something to eat and drink and were just standing around in the hallway outside the portals. A woman from the Thrashers came up to us and asked if we want to play sumo hockey. So we said sure.

We had to meet her 5 minutes into the first period and they took us into the underbelly of the arena. Jason backed out so we had to recruit a random stranger to be our third. Right outside the players locker room there was a room set up with all the sumo suits. After signing a waiver, we were brought into the room and got suited up for our big game. I was asked which color we wanted to be and I picked blue since the Thrashers marketing push is about Blueland. So I thought maybe we would have the crowd behind us.


The suits were on the floor and we had to crawl into them from a push up type position. Once our helmets were strapped on we were ready to play.

As the first period ended. I shuffled my way out onto the PHILLIPS ARENA ICE to entertain the masses between periods. We played against another set of 3 guys for 4 minutes and it was a great time.

I actually scored 2 goals. The game ended up in a tie. You couldn't see your feet so if the puck was down there you had no idea where it actually was. I didn't fall down but I tried to push the other team over with no luck. If someone falls down it takes two people to pick you back up and gives the other team an advantage.

At the end we shuffled our way back off the ice and back into the dressing room. We got out of our suits and we were exhausted. I was psyched to be out on the ice during an actual NHL game. Very cool stuff and it was a lot of fun.

Yellow Dust Everywhere

This week has officially been the worst week this year for pollen. Every car you see is covered with this thick layer of yellow dust. It gets on everything from cars, to patio furniture, to children's play sets. Basically anything that isn't in constant motion outside is covered in it. It is so nasty. The trees seem to be the main culprits here. Pollen counts are considered high when they go over 100, last night on the local news Georgia came in at a pollen count of 5,200.

Cars everywhere need a good washing and allergy sufferers everywhere wish winter had lasted a little while longer.

Road Trip Rehearsal

This is how much of a loser I actually am. On Sunday I had a packing rehearsal for our big road trip this weekend. We are driving up to New York with a stop to visit Mather in Virginia on the way.

This is the first trip we are taking since we got the Grand Cherokee. So I wasn't sure exactly how much is gonna fit in it. Not only are we taking a weeks worth of stuff for 3 people but we are also taking up a package for Buck.

So Buck came over with his box and I brought out empty suitcases and a few of the things we are taking to see how it all fits. After sizing everything up, we should be all good to go.

The other thing I had to "rehearse" was how to hook up our portable DVD player to the back of the front seat. This working properly is gonna be a huge factor to a successful trip. We need to make sure that Shannon will be entertained for most of the 15 hours up to New York.

I have a case for the DVD player that doubles as a seat back kind of thing but I've never hooked it up before. So after about a half an hour of tightening and loosening straps I finally got the case where I want it.

So when I go to pack the car on Friday I'm expecting a nice, quick, stress free experience. The layout for the luggage is all set and all I have to do is re-attach the DVD player case and we are ready to hit the road.

Walking The Dog

Shannon thinks she is much older than she actually is. This ranges from sitting at the computer and at the kitchen table in a regular chair to helping out with the laundry. Each day she seems to do something else that reflects her maturing.

Every night the family will go for a walk around the neighborhood. I'm the one that usually is in charge of walking the dog. A few days ago while we were walking, Shannon took the leash out of my hand and would hand it over to Erin. Every time I took it back, Shannon would hand it back over again.

The other day I started walking Daisy and sure enough Shannon took the leash away from me. Instead of giving it to Erin she kept it for herself and proceeded to walk Daisy around the block herself.

She did a great job holding the leash but failed to grasp the concept that if Daisy starts moving she has to move as well. At one point Daisy started going and Shannon stood still and Daisy pulled her over. She scrapped up her finger on the sidewalk, but was ok otherwise.

Back To Work

Went back to work on Monday for the first time since the operation. I didn't have any problems doing my job at all. Since I use the right side of my body a lot I thought that I might be a little more uncomfortable.

I get to work this week and next and then I'm on vacation for a week.

Everything seems to be healing fine. I'm in week 3 since the operation. Everything I've read says it takes 4 weeks to fully heal. So hopefully I'll be completely comfortable before our big 15 hour car ride next weekend.

Random Shannon Picture