Wed -- Wake up and do ab ripper x. Ok, on schedule. Drive to Atlanta. Gas the car up, drink some Dos Equis Amber, drop Sissy off at the NKOTBSB concert and then drive to all3sports for some retail therapy. Got a 310xt, foodpod for it, the new K-Swiss waterproof shoes, and some other odds and ends. The bill hurt, don't ask. Then went to the mall/Barnes&Noble and chilled till 10PM. Went back to Philips Arena to pick Sissy up. Did I mention that Sissy's phone had died and I couldn't reach her? Well, I parked and hung out for about a hour till she came out. No biggie. You can ask her what she thought of the concert b/c it went in one ear and out the other. Drove just outside Atlanta and got a room for the night.
Thurs -- Wake up. No exercise in AM. Drive to Greenville, SC and visit Carolina Triathlon.
I didn't buy anything. The Sizzler got a sports bra. Drove through Brevard so Sissy could see her mom's grave (we made it to the grave but took the non-scenic route by mistake). Ate lunch at the soda shop, and had a chocolate milkshake. Brevard is pretty cool.
Made it to Asheville and parked downtown and looked around. Downtown Asheville is pretty cool. Trendy, hippy, cool. Man I could get into so much trouble there. Not many hotels though, and the only ones there are min $250/night. We tried to get a room but they were booked (we needed 3 nights). Took a break to eat Mexican (fish and chips not as good as the Filling Station here in Tally).
So from about 2-9:30 PM, we looked for a hotel room w/o any luck. I literally drove the entire perimeter of the city. I kept asking what was going on and the only response I rec'd was "This is just how Asheville is from early summer till the leaves fall." Damn. Note to self -- reserve rooms earlly. My only goals for a room were: (1) not a shit-hole hotel; and (2) all three nights in the same room. Finally found a room at 9:30 -- Comfort Suites. King bed and a whirlpool tub in the room for $116 a night. Outdoor pool, free access to a 24hr gym next door. Bike shop next door that sells Cervelo tri bikes. Mall next door. Sweet. Too tired to exercise today.
Fri. Wake up at 6, gear up and eat a quick breakfeast. Plan is to do a 2-3 hour ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway (1.5 miles away -- sweet). I check the droid, and it say no rain. I get 50 yards from the hotel and... rain. #$%^$$%^^&%$%^&&!!!!! My phone slipped out of my hand and fell and broke. So I turned around and went back to the hotel. We ended up going to Starbucks, Liberty Cycles, and Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore was awesome, lots of new stuff other than the mansion.
Filed an insurance claim for a new phone and I won't get it till Monday, so no droid for rest of vacation.
Sat. Did what I meant to do Friday and rode 2 hours on BRP. Incredible. First 2 miles were straight up, non-stop hill. I went through 3 tunnels. Downhill was scary as hell. I learned that a 20 minute climb translated into a 5 minute descent (distance, 2 miles). Did not make it near as far as I thought I would. Mountain miles are a looooot different than Florida miles.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95278214 Once I get done for IMFL, I definately want to start doing some mountain riding -- do some centuries up there. We then went back to Greenville, SC for Sissy's aunt's bday. After that, went by Sissy's mom's grave again, then went to visit Sissy's -- well, sister or niece, take your pick depending on how strictly you want to ahere to the law. Met Jena and her fiance, Scott. They were cool. We drank beer and ate wings.
Sun. I woke up and decided to have a try at Stand-Up Paddleboarding. Found a place 10 min away and off we went. Took a 1.5 hr lession for $45. AWESOME!! I have got to get a stand-up paddleboard. Way, way, way cooler than a canoe or kayak. And a soooolid core workout. Finished up and had lunch with Sissy's sister and then drove backroad to Brevard, then Highlands, then south to Atlanta. On the way I stopped at a gas station and found some interesting bottled water.
Outside atlanta, the storms hit (the storms that were were hearing emergency alerts). High winds, enough to cause the car to swerve, lightning, hail the size of my thumb, rain so bad I could barely see anything. Storm lasted from north of atlanta perimeter to south of atlanta perimeter. Damn. We stopped for the night so we could watch the season premiere of True Blood. A note about Hilton Garden Inn sleep # beds -- the suck. Stiff as a board on every setting. No exercise at all.
Mon -- woke up and drove back to Tally. Picked up the dogs from Robin Hood Kennel. I may do a easy spin or gentl run tonight. May take Sally (my German Shorthair Pointer) with me on the run, b/c she it getting heavy and can't even jump in the back of my truck anymore. Must take after her daddy.
Will post pics as I put them on my computer and if I can pull out of the sd card from my dead droid.
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