Day 9: College Road trip!

Seton Hall - Right in South Orange just five minutes away we were able to visit without rush or worry about timing or having the car packed and leaving it unattended. Very nice. The school was very impressive, a small campus gated and access restricted at night, seemed safe as it straddled a not great neighborhood. Facilities were nice and the business school that held the Sports Management program was described as being very good. Our tour guide was an arrogant senior who made several really sexist remarks, but covered the school tour completely giving us all the information we needed. We were able to meet with an admissions counselor after the tour and Joy had the chance to ask any questions she had. The school was certainly one she could get into but the $42,000 all inclusive price tag is a bit steep. I am not sure Joy want to go this close to home but I did like the school.
We headed home after the visit packing up the bikes and hitting the road in the early afternoon. It was a bit of a nightmare getting home with the traffic from the NY border through southern CT absolutely crawling, at one point we went just four mile in an hour on 95. We decided to get the hell off the road after that, after some wandering around we made our way to CT Rte 12 and followed it all the way to Rte 91 but this was no picnic either, stop and go all the way. I have to say I have had many really poor rides through southern CT, I think I prefer the Western route and avoid it altogether. On top of the traffic our breaks started to go, apparently through the pads we were suddenly grinding rotor every time we used them. This was worrisome and lasted the whole trip home. Finally grinding to a stop at about 8pm we had a 7 hour ordeal instead of the 4 hours it should take. Roadtrip over we have the weekend to recover before returning to work. Joy came out of it ranking the schools
1. Mount Saint Mary's
2. Delaware
3. Seton Hall
4. Old Dominion
5. Gettysburg

Day 8: College Roadtrip!

A long day of driving from Norfolk VA to the Universary of Delaware, a tour and then more driving to South Orange NJ. We were up early and got ready fairly quickly. I loved that the hotel had a nice breakfast buffet, it saved time and fortified us for the drive. Leaving Old Dominion behind we headed across the Chesipeake bridge tunnel which is simply an amazing piece of engineering. an expensive on 12 dollars but worth every penny in the time it saves instead of trying to get through the tunnel on 64 and using 95 to got north. 95 passes through too many cities and would be the slower option in this case. The drive was long, past chincoteague where we vacationed for a couple days last year. Up past the race track and casino in Dover and on to Universary of Delaware in Newark DE. It was nice just to be off the road at that point. We found the visitors center really easily, hell the whole town in the University and there are signs marking almost every building. We watched the info media presentation and then went on a tour of the campus. It was a nice time on another nice day, I liked the campus and thought although it was larger than all but Old Dominion Joy could fit in well there. Cost effective even for out of state students Delaware had a lot to offer.
After the tour Elisa drove us to South Orange for another night at Alexis's. We missed a turn again but still managed a fairly smooth trip up the coast. Alexis was home this time and it was really nice to see her for the short time I did. One more college tomorrow, Seton Hall.
Seton Hall a fine school with what looks to be a good program. Joy now has it second on her list behind Mount St. Mary's

Day 7: College Roadtrip!

While the girls got ready to tour Old Dominion I got my disc golf bag and headed out to play some disc golf. I figured I would head about 9 miles away and play Newport News Park The traffic on the bridge/tunnel, rte64 north was light going north but bound up going south. Lucky for me I was going north. The drive was about 25 minutes and I was at the park. I am sorry that I did not take pictures of the course but I just did not think of it. I played the long first figuring I could add a short round if I felt good. Most of the course is in a fairly open but with trees field area. Completely flat in this part of the country. The five or six holes in the woods were challenging because of tight lanes. These were holes 3-8. I played well with a 29 on the front half.
The back nine out of the woods and more open was not really interesting, a lot of similar shots. Finished with a 54 on the long. Score is way too good for a long course. So instead of playing another round here I decided to leave and drive to Williamsburg and play at the New Quarter Park. Again the drive was smooth and I found the park using the directions from PDGA.com.
This course I played the long course again and it was a very challenging place to play. Long field shots into and around forest. Woods holes up and down hills with tight fairways. After my first five holes I had three 4s already and then the fives started. Pain was par for this course and I felt it. It could have been the sunny weather with the temp hovering around 90 but I think I was just a bit tired. The course played 6950 feet, with more than half the holes designed for lefty shots. It was excellent challenging golf. I was beat when I finished my final hole, a 6 on the 804 foot 18th hole. I shot a 72 on the par 62 long course. This is a course I can suggest to play, challenging varied, good disc golf.
Heading back to meet the girls my day was not done. We took the afternoon to drive back to Williamsburg first visiting the Jamestown Settlement and then to the town of Williamsburg itself.
Jamestown was interesting but small, really just a bunch of ruins, foundations and archaeological digs, and a museum. Still I really enjoyed the beautiful sunny day near the river. The little deer wandering around were a treat. The girls went for a bike ride and I wandered about reading about the settlement. Nice afternoon.
The evening was Joy and I out for snacks and the Red Sox at the Sports Pub, then up to the room as the next day will be a lot of driving.

Day 6: College Roadtrip!

Today was a travel day, we went from Boonsboro MD to Norfolk VA. We did make a side trip to Northern VA to visit Elisa's cousin Alice. She trains horses on a couple of farms in that area. Beautiful amazing area, giant estates in the forests and rolling fields. These images are from the farms. Although this took longer than we really wanted to spend it was a nice side trip in some really lovely country. Why were we travelling in this area without a map? Makes no sense! We used my handheld GPS but eventually stopped and got a 3 state map to covert the rest of our trip. It was a long drive but we did it in decent time. We arrived at the hotel on the campus of Old Dominion University in the evening. There was some directions mix up when we got into Norfolk but after about a half hour of traffic driving we found our way.
We took a walk into the university building area as the sun set and got some info about where to go tomorrow for the tour. We went to the Sports bar for dinner right attached to the motel. Food was good and the service prompt. Elisa suggested that she ad Joy could do the tour leaving me free and with the car the next day. So I will plan to get out and play some disc golf.

Day 5: College Roadtrip!

Well we finally get to see some colleges on this trip. This morning we drove about 40 minutes to Mount Saint Mary's University "The Mount is built on four pillars - faith, discovery, leadership and community. Students, faculty and alumni turn these words into action in the never-ending pursuit of becoming more fully realized human beings who seek to make the world a better place." I can't say I am pleased by the pillars being a person without belief but this small school that takes solid B students and gets them active in the community would not be a bad example to Joy on how faith can be positive in the world. It is a very small school a few dorm houses two major class buildings and a major athletic facility. They were very welcoming on the tour of four kids with their parents. We had a lovely day with temps in the 80's and sunny and the tour was not too long. The 1200 students really does mean that class sizes are about 17 students. The cost, all inclusive is about $36,000 a year. Joy loved the place and raved from the moment she stepped on the campus.How we will pay for it is the question

From there we had to drive fifteen minutes north to Gettysburg College who proudly put Bush and Cheney on their website. That is enough to make me gag. The school was beautiful and the tour exceptionally set up with a student taking us around before dropping us at the info session. There a slightly type A admissions officer. The school presents itself as competitive with students who are motivated and have high GPAs. Joy did not seem to like this with her GPA hovering at 2.9 although her test scores were top 30%. ALSO the cost will just be too much at $48,000 a year all inclusive.

Day 4: College Roadtrip

I was up chilled at 5:15 in the morning. Headed out into the morning on a drivepicking up my morning coffee and donuts at the local Sheetz gas station. I drove a long way, out to the west to a gap called the Sidelong Hill From there I headed south and made my way through a good part of West Virginia before getting back to the house about 9:30. Headed up for a nap for a couple hours to make up for the shitty nights sleep. What I should have done was head to one of the other disc golf courses in the area instead of just driving around.
In the afternoon we had a cookout with Tom's family, his daughters and son their spouses and kids. It was a large group and we also met a couple of Carla and Tom's friends. It was good with kids running around and kickball after the meal.
I went back out in the afternoon and played two more rounds at the Middletown disc golf course. I improved my scores shooting a 50 on the short and a 57 on the long. Joy came again and sat and read while I played. My arm was good today!

Day 3: College Roadtrip!

July 4th 2009
Slept better last night on the provided futon, Carla lives in the country in Boonsboro MD and I am happy to say aside from the bugs chirping it was quiet and restful. I got up at 7:45 and sat out on the porch drinking coffee as the sun came up above the trees. Reading the 30th Anniversary Issue of Fangoria Magazine. Today was an off day with the with no visits to colleges until Monday. I decided to go geocaching in the area around Carla's. Found a couple and discovered a very nice little park called the Devil's Backbone county park. Elisa called as I was looking for a fourth cache and I headed back to join the group. While they all went biking along the Potomac river I walked down there and over to Shepardstown WV. The images from this entry are of the Potomac River and the town. We had a rather expensive lunch at a middle eastern tea house called, Shaharazade's The restaurant was good but like I said somewhat expensive with my small salad with chicken on top costing $14 and a $3.50 iced coffee. It was a relaxing activity filled day. Back at the house Joy and I watched the US men's rugby win against Canada, and heard the terrible news of the death of former NFL QB Steve McNair. We have a big day Monday visiting both Mount St. Mary's and Gettysburg Colleges but tomorrow is another relaxed one.

Talked to sister Lee on the phone in Shepardstown, she and I are planning a backpacking trip for my nieces Shawna and Kim. Hopefully her boyfriend Jay will be able to join us. I am worried my back will not be able to handle backpacking. You can read about my hiking trips at Hiking with Ed
In the late afternoon Joy and I went driving, well I was the passenger on this one but Joy drove us to Frederick and we had a comfortable and delicious meal at Casa-Rico There sure are a lot of country music stations in Maryland, we counted like 10 while scanning the radio. We made our way back to the house so Joy and Elisa could go out and watch the fireworks at Antietam Battlefield. I watched the Orioles for a while with Tom before heading to bed early. I did not have a great night sleep though. Elisa came in and repeatedly stole the cover all night. I kept waking up uncovered and had to fight to pull a scrap of sheet over me.

Day 2: College Roadtrip!

We are again not visiting a college on day two but are still in the f=getting to the first place. Today we travel from Orange NJ to Boonsboro MD to stay with former roommate Carla and her husband Tom. This is again a four and a half hour drive. I was up at 5:30 am after not sleeping particularly well. I walked down into South Orange and got a bad cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I have to remember to always check the coffee before leaving the store. I got back to the house to realized my coffee was loaded with sugar. On my walk I saw a restaurant I want to try, Toro Loco I love Mexican food and always am looking for new places. Maybe on the return trip?
We were on the road by 9:45am and that was good. Driving in PA sort of sucks. Their two lane highways are just inadequate, it seems most people do not understand the principle of having a fast lane. We were stuck behind people going 65 in both lanes many times over the the next 4 and a half hours. Complicating the traffic in PA is both of our routes 74 and 81 are heavy with trucking traffic. We stopped for lunch in Susquehanna PA at Sandella's Flatbread Cafe a very decent eatery for a quick lunch. Walked in on some dude taking a shit in the gas station bathroom because he failed to lock the door. Ended up using the women's room because I think out of embarrassment he stayed in the john until we were long gone.
We got to Carla's in the early afternoon, much of the drive we listened to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, on CD. We are about a third of the way through. We went for a walk down to Antietam Creek just to get some exercise. Beautiful day in the low eighties, sunny aaahhh! such a relief after a month of rain in New England.
Since Carla had to teach a Yoga class in Middletown MD, I decided to go along and play a couple rounds of disc golf at Frederick County's Middletown Community Park(off Coblentz Road) I played ok on this big field type of course. You can read about my disc golf on my blog Playing the Game
Shot a 56 on the short course and a 58 on the long course. Joy was a sport, being on the IR with knee fluid and shin splits she waited for me and then went and got us drinks. When we were finished we headed back to the house for a nice pasta dinner and viewing photos of Tom and Carla's recent trip to Guatemala.

College Road Trip - On the Road Again!

The Family, Eddie, Elisa and new Senior in high school Joy are on the road. We started out after Elisa left work at 4pm and were really dreading the rush hour traffic as we attempted our first days drive south. Last time we attempted this trip to South Orange NJ we sat in rain for hours and the 4 hour drive took 6 and a half hours. Surprisingly though we had really great luck, the traffic was somewhat light heading out thew MA Pike. We cruised in the 70s most of the ride down. Yes there was rain and were slowed down several times with the heavy variety. Still though by the time we reached the southern end of Rte. 91 in CT we had partly cloudy skies and temps in the 80's. There was a bit of traffic as usual near Norwalk CT so instead of sitting we got off and looked for some place to eat.
After a bit of wandering around we found the Ash Creek Saloon in Norwalk. This place was very good with an attentive staff and really decent food. Joy had the pulled pork and was thrilled with it. I had a bite or two and it was tasty, also her sweet potato fries with molassas was excellent. I had the Ranch Hand Burger, very good and Elisa was not so pleased with her chicken quesadillas, where the chicken was the sliced coldcut version.
The rest of the ride was the usual, good except that the George Washington Bridge sucks and the traffic is always slow. We also missed our exit right after getting on the NJ Turnpike and had to backtrack a couple miles. Still the 4 hour 15 min drive took just that. Staying at Elisa's Cousin Alexis's beautiful home in south orange was really appreciated even though the bed was a bit hard.