Along the Appalachian Trail near Mount Rogers
Backpacking in the Mount Rogers area of the Appalacian trail was a awesome time.
Always Another Voyage Just Around the Corner
Averaging 2,000 Miles/Month
I got my car worked on this weekend and right now I have 117,000 miles on it. As of July 2nd last year, I had 91,052 miles on my car. That equates to a whopping 25,948 miles in the past 13 months… Which (if you allow me to round the numbers) would mean 26,000 miles in 13 months.
Average Mileage per Month = 2,000 miles. How ridiculous is that??
Coming to D.C.!
I’ll be coming up to the D.C. area yet again! I leave tomorrow morning and will be coming to the D.C. area by way of Blacksburg, VA. I’ll be in town until early Saturday morning (the 15th) when I’ll drive my parents down here to South Carolina to check it out! It will add a little over 1,000 more miles on the car. I’ve got a bunch going on, but if you’d like to hang out, let me know! Right now I’m really only free possibly on next Wednesday, Thursday and possibly on Friday.
July 2009 – 12 of 12
The majority of the time…
I’m driving, According to my 2009 12 of 12 stats (3 of 5 including this one). Approximately 1150 miles of documented driving on the 12th’s of the month in 2009!
Driving
- THIS MONTH’s ~ 500 Miles from Arlington, VA to Greenville, SC
- June 12 of 12 ~400 Miles from Greenville, SC to Ashland, VA
- March 12 of 12 ~250 Miles from Blacksburg, VA to Greenville, SC
Chillin’
- April 12 of 12 – in VA
- February 12 of 12 – in SC
July’s 12 of 12
1 of 12: 10am – Coffee to get me started. [Flickr]
2 of 12: About to get on I-395 South in Shirlington [Flickr]
3 of 12: Passing Potomac Mills [Flickr]
4 of 12: This pretty much sums up Richmond, VA. A SunTrust and a 7-11. [Flickr]
5 of 12: Diet Coke in Richmond [Flickr]
6 of 12: Quiznos Sub for Lunch right before the North Carolina Border. Diet Mountain Dew not shown. [Flickr]
7 of 12: Still trucking it on I-85. [Flickr]
8 of 12: Mebane, NC – Sheetz Iced Coffee, Caramel. Delicious. [Flickr]
9 of 12: Intersection in Charlotte, NC. I always saw signs on the interstate for “Cook Out” but here is one! [Flickr]
10 of 12: Diet Dr. Pepper for the last leg! [Flickr]
11 of 12: South Carolina! [Flickr]
12 of 12: 7:30pm – Back in Greenville, SC! Had to take Kristen to pick up her car, and we recycled on the way, how green we are! [Flickr]
What the heck was this 12 of 12?
It’s something that I saw Brian doing, and I started doing too. The idea came from Chad. Check out his site for more info.
Did you know?
Milepost 159.15 is where the chesapeake bay watershed ends on I-81.
Foreign Affairs
What is foreignaffairs.us? Exit 213B on I-81. I would guess an auto shop?
On my route to Greenville,
On my route to Greenville, SC via I-81, I pass Greenville, VA | Blacksburg,VA | Blacksburg, SC | Greenville, SC. Whoa.
Home is where the heart is
Total Mileage From Home -> Home… 12,538.7
This included the following States:
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Wisconsin
- Minnesota
- South Dakota
- Wyoming
- Montana
- Washington
- Portland
- California
- Nevada
- Arizona
- Utah
- Colorado
- New Mexico
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- North Carolina
And Canadian Providences:
- British Columbia
- Alberta
Last night I was surprised by Rich who pulled up at around 10pm at our house and asked if I wanted to go to the call of Duty Release shindig at Pentagon City. At that time I was through piece 47 of 162 pieces of mail that had accumulated during my trip, and had to pass. I would have loved to have gone and hung out with him, but I think this week will be mainly dedicated to making my room livable, considering I had just THROWN stuff in here before I left on my trip.
Anyways, here is what I missed… and of course, Rich titled the image “CODPinupgirls.jpg”, which I figured was “Cash on Delivery Pinup Girls”, and asked if it was a virus. It was not… it was this:
Ahh, life is good.
So, my last day in Blacksburg was yesterday and it was a good day. Busy with a teleconference at work and such, and then saying my “goodbyes” to people. My favorite response to me heading out for this trip was “Dammnnnn” and was appopriately by Chris E, as well as “Don’t get eaten by grizzlies!” from others. It was nice getting good luck wishes (thank you for them!), to chat with people for a few before leaving town, and to reflect on all the friendships I’ve made in Blacksburg.
On the drive back I started reflecting some about life in general. In my mind I pictured the path I was driving on the road as like one of those measuring tapes that retract themselves. (I know, my mind is strange) I was getting pulled closer and closer to home, and farther from my 7 years of Blacksburg college/working life. I looked out the window and saw a pretty sunset, and was just thinking about how thankful I am for life being as good as it is.
I am:
- Healthy
- Finacially stable (til near the end of my trip) but then I will be working again for the same great company when I get back!
- Got a great family
- Got a great girl
- Leaving for one of those trips that people always say they’ll do, but only few follow through with in 8 days
- Got my pilots license in the past two weeks
- A camping trip with TONS of friends this weekend
- The mindset to keep looking forward and up
Just to show off how awesome my momma is… she sent me an e-card today and the note said:
“When you were little you said that homeless people should
just bum a quarter and call their families to come get them
and take them home. I hope your entire life stays cozy.”
just bum a quarter and call their families to come get them
and take them home. I hope your entire life stays cozy.”
I thought that was mighty cute, and it’s nice to know you can bring up a kid to be soo innocent. In any case, life is good and I want to thank everyone who is a part of it and say thanks for all the birthday wishes.
Cheers!