Beach Day Chincoteague VA

The Beach
Oh boy it was sunny and fine but everything did not go as well as we wished. Up early and out to breakfast at a small place behind Ledo's. We were seated near the Faux Newscast blaring on the TV and had to ask to be moved away to the other side. Then the breakfast buffet was not very good. So not happy we headed out for the day. Elisa and Joy went off biking while I walked to the marsh and lighthouse on Assateague Island. Later we went for lunch at Mr. Baldy's and it was great. I had my first crabcake sandwich and although not my favorite it was pretty good. While on that part of the island we came across a Giant Viking. The Giant Viking It was great! I have always liked these roadside attractions so this wasa pleasure. I would later drive back to it with the camera so I could have a picture.
Elisa wanting more riding headed out on her bike while Joy and I went to play minigolf at a local arcade, The Refuge Golf and amusements. On the par 53, I payed a 54 while Joy blew up in the last five holes, going from par to a 68, ouch!
We headed out to the beach with Elisa after this and were eager to swim again but unfortaunately in the night millions of jellyfish filled the water and it was too creepy to swim. We walked on the beach and enjoyed the day but there was no swimming.
Elisa and Joy
It was our last night so we went out for dinner at The Village restaurant. It was buy but the food was good and I got to have a nice clam chowda and crab cakes. We got up very early for what turned out to be a 13 hour drive back. DO NOT TAKE 95 EVER! NY through CT was just a disaster. Still we made it home safe and sound and ready for our POKERPALOOZA disc golf tournament at our home course at Borderland State Park in Easton MA.

Driving to VA and Trap Pond

This morning we headed away from Carla's after some great times with carla and Tom. I will miss the nights watching the Orioles with Tom laughing and enjoying baseball. The drive from Boonsboro to Chincoteague is about five hours, so to break up the day we decided to play a disc golf course that was sort of on the way. Trap Pond State Park in DE has a long, 7587 foot course cut through an old spruce forest. A beautiful peaceful place. We saw maybe two people while we were there. This is not a course for the casual player, it is long and much is narrow, with 11 holes over four hundred feet long. Elisa gave up after 14 holes and she was playing the short configuration of 7081 feet. Joy and I stuck it out on the long playing to scores of 81 for Joy and 70 for me. I had one great hole on 16, a 520 foot narrow fairway, I got a three which made my round. I have to say staying on the fairway here at this course is the most important thing. Not that you can't chip back to it but because the forest is filled with spiders in webs. We probably saw seven different kinds of spiders strung across the trees. Hundreds of web in all. If you like the arachnids this is a place for you. It freaked Joy out a bit, leaving her swearing that she will never go back there.
We continued on to Chincoteague VA a beach resort town on the coast of Virginia. Settled into a room at America's Best Value Inn which looks better on the website than it does in person. The room was adequate but not as clean as we would like in a motel. We headed out to the beach on Assateague Island, where the wild ponies live for a swim. The water was warm and the waves fun.Big Ed at the beach Actual wild ponies We headed back into town and had a mediocre pizza meal at Ledo's Pizza before settling in for the night. Unfortunately that was delayed by a couple of stained sheets on one of the beds. We had to complain to the management and have things changed out. No wonder the room was such a good deal.

Washington DC

The Capitol Building Today we took a trip to Washington D.C. You can not cover this incredible place in one day so we decided on a few things to do. First we parked at Union StationThis place is a marvel to see. From there we walked to the Hart building, where Barak Obama has his offices. Elisa had the idea that she would give him a book about election fraud, forgetting the Senate Rules against gifts. So she wrote him a nice note about it and we moved on to the next thing.
Elisa outside his office
We grabbed a cab to the other end of the National Mall and the ESPN Zone restaurant. This was a treat just for Joy who has been wanting to go there. We had a sort of nice lunch and then headed down to the game room to play games. It was a nice air conditioned break from the high 80's heat outside.
Refreshed and fed we headed out walking to the National Gallery with the purpose of seeing the Afghanistan Exhibit this was great and we found ourselves wishing that we had a whole week to spend at this FREE admission museum, free except for the tax dollars we pay that is. Richard met us there so we could hang out.
Eddie, Elisa and Richard outside the National gallery and then we went off to see his apartment in V and 13th street. While there we went to a great restaurant called the Utopia Bar and Grill really great food with a relaxed atmosphere, our waitress Christina was attentive and pleasant. Good all the way around. We headed back to Boonsboro with the last day before Chincoteague VA in the books.

History Day

Us at the visitor's center
Today was history day for the family. Carla took us to Antietam Battlefield The Girls biked while I drove the tour route meeting them at certain points. The history of this battle is an interesting one. Besides the bloody day with 23,000 Americans dying on the field, the draw was decisive in ending the Confederate plan to invade the north changing the course of the civil war.Soldiers at sunken road More on the history behind the field. It was a hot but dry day 88 degrees so the biking and the picnic was a bit short. There were Marines getting ready to ship out to Iraq there and it was an experience to see the psychological effect of this battlefield on them. The Marines obviously know how to pull the right strings to get soldiers ready for combat.
Visitor's center
After eating lunch by Burnside Bridge we headed to West Virginia and Harpers Ferry.This town at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers was significant in the raid by John Brown on the Armory there. Today it is a National Historic Site with many of the building preserved and actors participating in sharing what life was like around the civil war. We were not lucky enough to see the actors as Monday is there day off. So things were slow there but we could still walk in and see the exibits. Carla was particularly helpful though having been a fifth grade teacher she had taken students here many times and loved the place. It was like having a personal guide to Harper's Ferry.
After the tour Joy and I headed back while Elisa went with Carla who needed to teach a Yoga class in Middleton MD. Joy and I stopped at Nutter's for Ice cream in Sharpsburg MD. Now I am writing this and will be helping Tom make dinner a bit later. Tomorrow Washington DC!

Llamapalooza

Well that last two days have been busy as can be. Yesterday Joy and I took the car to PA and played in the Llamapalooza Disc Golf Tournament. This was our first tourmament in thei state and Joy and I were looking forward to it. The first problem was just following the directions from Boonsboro MD to Lewisberry PA. Driving through western Maryland is beautiful at 6 in the morning but every road looks like the last. Rolling hills corn and potato fields, and then more. We made our way to route 15 north and then cruised, stopping at the Sheetz for breakfast sandwiches. Finally we found the tourney at Gifford Pinchot State Park It was a well organized PDGA event. Llamapalooza registration Joy played in the advanced women division against one other woman and I played the Adv. Masters division against 5 other men.
The first round was in the boulder Rocks course, a short course on with a very small footprint. This created several Mandos to avoid walking paths or fairways for other holes. Playing a course without ever seeing it is difficult but both Joy and I played okay. I shot a 58 putting me in second four shots behind the leader. Joy tore it up throwing a 66 and taking a significant lead in our side bet. Our side bet was handicap play against each other. Joy got 12 throws handicap per course, so at this point she was ahead by four throws.
Round two was played on the newer Quaker Challenge course, a long 7900' foot wooded monster. This was a much bigger challenge. I played pretty well shooting a 76 and getting into a tie for first place in my division, unfortunately Doug Williams (No not the NEFA one) beat me on the second hole of the playoff. Damn that's the second time I have lost in a playoff. The course was hard and rugged going up down and across a big hillside. It was challenging but I felt by the end of the round just too much of the same thing. 9 holes over 400' through the woods, all of it blurring into a nightmare of trees and briers. Joy was dominant in her division up by like 40 throws. She finished with a 90 winning the handicap sidebet by a few. I would have the results up but they have not been posted yet. Look here to see if they are up yet.
We were pretty tired by the end of the event Joy first and Ed second drove all the way back to MD and to our pleasure dinner was waiting for us. Grilled steaks and potatoes and fresh just picked garden salad. Showers and some Olympics before hitting the sack

Oh what were we thinking?!

Starting a road trip should be a time of Joy, it is for this reason tht you should never start your road trip at the beginning of rush hour. Back in the planning stages of this trip I brought up to my wife that because of timing she should tke the Friday off so we could leave at off traffic hours. Her work as a therapist did not allow this so we started this trip at 3:15 pm. I know most of you are thinking that doesn't sound so bad, well let me tell you if you live on the Rte 128 belt in MA you know this is not good. From the moment we hopped on 128 to go the mile to the Mass Pike it was bumper to bumper. Apparently a lot of people were trying to get places.
Heading west on the Mass Pike was no better, Rte 80 west is the number of the road. It was awful! It took an hour and a half to travel thirty miles, hell the 50 minutes it normally takes to get out by Worcester was just double time. Finally after almost 3 hours we were on Rte 84 south heading through Connecticut. This is when the rains came.
Not your pitter-patter rains but the full blown torrential downpours that make you see a lot of break lights. All the way through the great state of CT we were again dragging our wheels not making very good progress.
In the vehicle the atmosphere was a bit better with a combination of Joy's music, a country rap and rock mix sure to get most scratching their heads. Elisa's turn was a book on CD called Plato-Platypus-Walk-into-a-bar Understanding Philosophy through jokes. Some funny stuff but I found myself wishing we could spend more time with each idea. Still it was entertaining.
I went with the recent podcast of Filmspotting A great film review show that I religiously listen to. While we waitedin George Washington bridge traffic we listened to thurs. Democracy Now! broadcast about the fabrication of information connecting Hussein and al quieda(sp)
Still it was a brutal first day with a 4 and a half hour drive taking 6.5 hours, so here is the lesson for all of you. DO NOT leave at the beginning of rush hour.
We visited with Alexis and Ariella, and a friend for a half hour or so then I was really tired and wanted to sleep.
Arriving in orange was a good thing and an even better one was having my own pillow, there is nothing more comforting in a strange bed than laying your head on your own pillow.
This morning morning conversation about the trials and tribulation of the family mixed with breakfast and some internet time is making this is a good start to the day. We are getting ready to leave and we will be off to visit old friend Ron O'Rielly in Ringoes NJ before heading off to Boonsboro MD to see Carla and Tom.

Getting Ready for the Friday Launch

Thurday night and so much to do. I took a day off tomorrow just to give myself time to get everything ready. I have the maps and directions done and a first aid kit to travel in the car with us. Still there are a ton of things to do. All this and trying to watch some of the Olympics....sheesh!

Road Trip Maryland

Well the plans have been in the works for a few months now and we are pretty set for a little family roadtrip. August 15-22 we will be traveling to the following places...

Orange NJ - To visit Alexis
Ringoes NJ - To Visit Ron Oreilly
Boonsboro MD - to visit Carla
Rossville PA to play in the Llamapalooza disc golf tournament
Washington DC to visit Richard Floodman
Chincoteague VA to look for wild ponies

Very excited at this point, I have my journal and camera ready to go, so look for more bloggging soon.