Not All Who Wander... (part II)
When I arrived at my cubicle for work this morning (Tuesday) after the long weekend, I turned to face my desk and saw the note I had left co-workers Thursday before I left for my vacation day and road trip. I had taped it to my computer screen and it read: "Gone Forever. Leave a Message." I laughed out loud at myself, forgetting I had put the note up.
(Yes, that is a picture of Winona Ryder under my computer screen at work)
In my last posting, I left off with me leaving Baltimore.
On my way out of the city, I noticed another sporting arena and quickly took a picture.
A short drive (less than an hour) later, I arrived in Washington, D.C. I found meter parking pretty easily a block away from Hard Rock. I headed straight for Hard Rock leaving my guitar in the car for now. I figured I'd scope out potential busking spots first. There weren't many people on the street at all. In fact, the city felt somewhat deserted.
I went back to my car -- after buying two more pins, of course -- grabbed my guitar, and went to look for a park or something where there might be people to play for. After a few blocks of wandering, I came across the Washington Monument. This is as close as I got to it.
And after a few more blocks, I took this picture:
Which may or may not be the white house... I couldn't tell and didn't want to walk that far.
At about that point, it started to sprinkle and I hadn't seen any places with enough people to bother busking. I started walking back toward my car. The closer I got, the more it started raining and by the time I was on the same block as my car, it was pouring. I put my guitar in my car, grabbed my laptop, and entered the Barnes and Noble that was right there. I used the free Wif-Fi to check the weather for Washington and Baltimore. Weather dot com said that it was going to continue to rain in Washington, but was going to be cloudy with a ten percent chance of rain in Baltimore. That fact and because I liked Baltimore a lot, I went back to Baltimore. (And, hey, if it's going to rain while you are in either Washington or Baltimore, it might as well be Baltimore because I get no answers/And I don't get no change/It's raining in Baltimore, baby/But everything else is the same -- Counting Crows.)
So, I drove back to Baltimore and when I arrived, there were a lot of neon lights in the harbor area:
I hung out in the harbor area for a little bit, walking as far as one could walk and enjoying the breeze off the water on an otherwise warm night. It was a perfect night and I soaked in the atmosphere. It was refreshing in a way that can not be explained, only experienced; and, it is a type of refreshment that I really desire more often than I am rewarded with.
I walked down a street away from the harbor in which I saw more neon lights. There was an area there called "Power Plant Live!" and it is basically a bunch of clubs and bars, etc. all in one area. In order to get to them, you have to walk into this fenced in area outside of all the bars and stuff. I was carded to get in and once in, I noticed an outdoor bar with tables and chairs and couches around. Essentially, it was like an outdoor bar and a gateway to the other bars. You could drink outside or wander into one of the bars -- one of which had a stage and a band playing live music, another had club music, another had a strict dress code, then there was a lounge and an eatery and a sports bar. It was an eclectic mix of places to drink and socialize. I grabbed a captain and coke at the outdoor bar and hung out on one of the couches for a bit. There was a DJ playing a plethora (like that?) of styles of music. At one point Journey came on and a particularly fun girl sang along at the top of her lungs. I joined in for a duet. I also danced with a group of girls to Tootsee Roll by the 69 boys, which is easy to dance to because the words are just excessively repeated instructions on what dance moves to do... I have little shame.
The last thing I took a picture of was this random door in the middle of the outdoor area:
I found loads of entertainment hanging out near the door. Lots of drunk people struggled to open it (there was latch on the bottom of the door), knocked on one side while a friend on the other side said, "who is it?" in a goofy voice, had their picture taken by it in various stupid poses, and fell through it when trying to open it and the person on the side found the latch and released it."
Some time after midnight, I had finished my drink and decided that I didn't want to drink anymore (being alone and so far from home), so I wandered back to the harbor area, sat on a bench near Hard Rock, and dreamed until I felt tired enough to try to sleep.
I walked back to my car (which I had parked in a parking garage for an insane amount of money), changed into pajamas (yes, next to my car in the garage), climbed in the back seat and closed my eyes. I opened my eyes shortly after, sweating profusely. I tried to sleep for about 20 minutes, but was not successful. And I realized I wasn't even the least bit tired. In fact, I was wide awake! So, I put my clothes back on, made a sandwich, hopped in the front seat, and started driving home. I drove for about two and a half hours before I started to feel sleepy. I pulled off at a rest area in New Jersey and parked about four spaces down from two other cars that suspiciously appeared to contain sleeping passengers. Then I tried the sleeping thing again. This time, it worked and I wasn't nearly as hot.
I woke up at about eight o'clock and I WAS hot, the sun baking everything in my car. I forced myself to wake up. Got coffee, made another sandwich, and drove off. I made one more stop once I got to the New York State Thruway. I napped in my car again (this time for about an hour), got another coffee, and drove off again. I got home sometime after 4pm.
Overall, I had a great time. Sleeping in the car was somewhat rough, but I would do it again to save money. I'm looking forward to the next road trip. I plan to say "yes" to any friend who invites me on one and I plan to plan my own, as well.
There are a lot more Hard Rocks out there that I haven't visited yet. I can make another short trip to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and other points nearby.
First, I need to save some dough...
(Yes, that is a picture of Winona Ryder under my computer screen at work)
In my last posting, I left off with me leaving Baltimore.
On my way out of the city, I noticed another sporting arena and quickly took a picture.
A short drive (less than an hour) later, I arrived in Washington, D.C. I found meter parking pretty easily a block away from Hard Rock. I headed straight for Hard Rock leaving my guitar in the car for now. I figured I'd scope out potential busking spots first. There weren't many people on the street at all. In fact, the city felt somewhat deserted.
I went back to my car -- after buying two more pins, of course -- grabbed my guitar, and went to look for a park or something where there might be people to play for. After a few blocks of wandering, I came across the Washington Monument. This is as close as I got to it.
And after a few more blocks, I took this picture:
Which may or may not be the white house... I couldn't tell and didn't want to walk that far.
At about that point, it started to sprinkle and I hadn't seen any places with enough people to bother busking. I started walking back toward my car. The closer I got, the more it started raining and by the time I was on the same block as my car, it was pouring. I put my guitar in my car, grabbed my laptop, and entered the Barnes and Noble that was right there. I used the free Wif-Fi to check the weather for Washington and Baltimore. Weather dot com said that it was going to continue to rain in Washington, but was going to be cloudy with a ten percent chance of rain in Baltimore. That fact and because I liked Baltimore a lot, I went back to Baltimore. (And, hey, if it's going to rain while you are in either Washington or Baltimore, it might as well be Baltimore because I get no answers/And I don't get no change/It's raining in Baltimore, baby/But everything else is the same -- Counting Crows.)
So, I drove back to Baltimore and when I arrived, there were a lot of neon lights in the harbor area:
I hung out in the harbor area for a little bit, walking as far as one could walk and enjoying the breeze off the water on an otherwise warm night. It was a perfect night and I soaked in the atmosphere. It was refreshing in a way that can not be explained, only experienced; and, it is a type of refreshment that I really desire more often than I am rewarded with.
I walked down a street away from the harbor in which I saw more neon lights. There was an area there called "Power Plant Live!" and it is basically a bunch of clubs and bars, etc. all in one area. In order to get to them, you have to walk into this fenced in area outside of all the bars and stuff. I was carded to get in and once in, I noticed an outdoor bar with tables and chairs and couches around. Essentially, it was like an outdoor bar and a gateway to the other bars. You could drink outside or wander into one of the bars -- one of which had a stage and a band playing live music, another had club music, another had a strict dress code, then there was a lounge and an eatery and a sports bar. It was an eclectic mix of places to drink and socialize. I grabbed a captain and coke at the outdoor bar and hung out on one of the couches for a bit. There was a DJ playing a plethora (like that?) of styles of music. At one point Journey came on and a particularly fun girl sang along at the top of her lungs. I joined in for a duet. I also danced with a group of girls to Tootsee Roll by the 69 boys, which is easy to dance to because the words are just excessively repeated instructions on what dance moves to do... I have little shame.
The last thing I took a picture of was this random door in the middle of the outdoor area:
I found loads of entertainment hanging out near the door. Lots of drunk people struggled to open it (there was latch on the bottom of the door), knocked on one side while a friend on the other side said, "who is it?" in a goofy voice, had their picture taken by it in various stupid poses, and fell through it when trying to open it and the person on the side found the latch and released it."
Some time after midnight, I had finished my drink and decided that I didn't want to drink anymore (being alone and so far from home), so I wandered back to the harbor area, sat on a bench near Hard Rock, and dreamed until I felt tired enough to try to sleep.
I walked back to my car (which I had parked in a parking garage for an insane amount of money), changed into pajamas (yes, next to my car in the garage), climbed in the back seat and closed my eyes. I opened my eyes shortly after, sweating profusely. I tried to sleep for about 20 minutes, but was not successful. And I realized I wasn't even the least bit tired. In fact, I was wide awake! So, I put my clothes back on, made a sandwich, hopped in the front seat, and started driving home. I drove for about two and a half hours before I started to feel sleepy. I pulled off at a rest area in New Jersey and parked about four spaces down from two other cars that suspiciously appeared to contain sleeping passengers. Then I tried the sleeping thing again. This time, it worked and I wasn't nearly as hot.
I woke up at about eight o'clock and I WAS hot, the sun baking everything in my car. I forced myself to wake up. Got coffee, made another sandwich, and drove off. I made one more stop once I got to the New York State Thruway. I napped in my car again (this time for about an hour), got another coffee, and drove off again. I got home sometime after 4pm.
Overall, I had a great time. Sleeping in the car was somewhat rough, but I would do it again to save money. I'm looking forward to the next road trip. I plan to say "yes" to any friend who invites me on one and I plan to plan my own, as well.
There are a lot more Hard Rocks out there that I haven't visited yet. I can make another short trip to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and other points nearby.
First, I need to save some dough...