Well, this weekend Joanna, Tara, Mike, Costa and I took off for Vermont bright-and-early Friday morning. We encountered little to no traffic on the ride up. Though it did insist on raining for the duration of our travels. The whole driving experience was rather painless compared to the return drive which i will discuss at length later in this post...
We arrived shortly after 1 and proceeded immediately to the Long Trail Brewing Company, where we enjoyed our fill of Blackberry-Wheat and Yaki-Wings. The rain forced us to sit inside which was a minor disappointment, but we managed a good time, in spite of the shotty weather. Beer was plentiful and so was popcorn - what's not to like? I also learned that the LongTrail will no longer be producing one of their signature beers "The Pollenator"... though since I have never been a huge fan of this particular brew, I'm not overly disappointed...
Blackberry-Wheat
Light, crisp and refreshing, Blackbeary Wheat is modeled after the spontaneously fermented "Lambics" of Belgium. Real blackberries added to the fermentation contribute a subtle fruitiness to this to this Summer Quencher!
Pollenator
"Pollenator Pale Ale is brewed with a touch of fresh New England honey. Inspired by no particular style at all, Pollenator is free as a bee with no strings attached. A refreshing Pale Ale perfect for casual spring and summer fun and whatever comes naturally!"
... moving on. We acquired our room at the Grand, which was a 2-floor unit with 2 bedrooms which was more than adequate for the 5 of us. After about 2 & 1/2 hours in the pool we grew hungry and returned again to the Outback Pizza House right down the street for some brick-oven pizzas that would later serve as our breakfast the next morning. The night ended fairly early as many of us hadn't slept well, if at all the night before. I believe the official count was 9 hours and 45 minutes between the 5 of us.
The next morning we snagged a few slices of pizza for breakfast and decided to go out around 12:30 for some more food. Against my better judgment, we went to Ppeppers Bar & Grille where we had a gut-wrenching dinning experience that was both poor and unnerving. I will never eat there again.
After dealing with our miserable dining experience, we booked it over to Pico Mountainfor the alpine slide. We took two runs a piece down the slide, with no incident. Ive always been a big fan of the alpine slide. For those of you that don't know its basically like a luge-like ride through a concrete track as opposed to an ice-track. It's really fast and really fun. If you ever have occasion i suggest you give it a try... assuming you are not afraid of heights.
We drove back to the condo, and spent a ‘while in the pool before heading over to the Grist Mill for dinner/barfood & cocktails. Our favorite waitress Jen was working again - it was her last night. After a few rounds of goombays and nachos the band started playing and we gradually switched over to beer before we all ended up on the floor. Tara drank water the entire night as she was our designated driver, but the rest of us had an awesome time sucking down goombay after goombay and pint after pint of blackberry-wheat... Things got rather interesting towards the tail end of the evening. I was approached by an older woman whose method of introduction was quite unorthodox...
<<< dialog between Cork and Older Woman (designated DB) >>>
DB: So what's the deal, you gay?
Cork: No - not that there's anything wrong with that -- But, why would you think that?
DB: Well, You're not dancing.
Cork: You're right - I'm not dancing - I can't dance - because I'm straight.
DB: I like you!
... needless to say I then proceeded to prove my heterosexuality by accepting her invitation to the dance floor. Luckily the band look a break shortly thereafter, and Costa was drug out for the next SET. The night concluded with the mandatory 'twisted-jack' shots and smooches from my older lady friends :). We said our good-byes and look care of our $150.00 bar tab before leaving. I made sure to give Jen a huge hug since she was going to be moving to California in a few short weeks... Mike is convinced that she "wanted" me, but being the pessimist I am, i refused to recognize such assumptions. Nevertheless, we returned to the condo and went to bed almost immediately on account of our alcohol induced haze.
I woke up early the next morning in typical post-drinking fashion... hang-over free and ready to hit the road. Upon checkout, we drove down Rt. 4 to Sugar & Spice, where we had a quick breakfast. Good pancakes, good service, and a quaint atmosphere - THIS is the place for Breakfast. We were then "on the road" back to V-Town. Costa got off at Albany, and the rest of us continued on in the Camry towards the Garden State.
I would have preferred to tell you all that it was a pleasant and relatively uneventful trip back, and it was until we hit Rt 17 through N. Jersey. (here is where it gets interesting) - At approximately 2:45pm, while traveling south on Rt 17 through Ramsey, NJ - a young gentleman in an Audi A4 attempted to cut into my lane rather quickly. After hearing Mike (who was in the passenger seat) yell, "yo, paul". I looked to my right to see a black Audi A4 mere inches away from my vehicle. The evasive maneuver I was forced to execute in order to avoid contact with the other vehicle was beyond the handling capability of the camry which in induced an uncontrollable spin through 3-lanes of traffic, through an on-ramp and eventually into the landscaping of an Volvo dealership... before I go into any more detail, I feel it important to let you ALL know that luckily, none of us were injured in the accident. We all feel very fortunate. The car took all the damage...
... the driver of the other vehicle stopped a little ways up the road, and was approaching my vehicle on foot. He was a younger fellow, maybe 18 or 19 years of age, and seemed greatly concerned. He immediately apologized for having caused such events, but insisted that he too was being forced out of his lane by another automobile. Mike took the liberty of contacting the police. The 1st officer arrived on the scene, just as the kid and I were returning from his vehicle with his "information" in hand. I knew this was not going to be good when he exited his patrol car and exclaimed, "Where is the emergency?". Having just been involved in what I consider a major auto accident, and my closest brush with death to date, i was anything but amused. Leaving out a few details, the officer continued to be astoundingly rude, and verbally abusive to both me and the other driver, who he told to LEAVE. Apparently, officer-asshole felt that unless his car had been struck, the other driver had no bearing on the events at hand...
...Luckily, the local Ramsey police arrived, and put as stop to this insanity, which had driven my from my already mentally delicate state into complete befuddleness. I distinctly remember convulsing and stuttering as I tried to discuss the situation with the unruly officer who was all smiles when I handed him my insurance card, which i was too nervous and distraught to realize was expired. Without asking if I had an up to date card, which was in the car, he, with great delight said, "well, these officers will issue you a summons for your failure to present documents." It was at this point he handed off my documents to a local Ramsey cop who took control of the situation, and dismissed the intolerable county fellow from the scene...
...by this point, two tow trucks have arrived and my car is being rolled onto a flat-bed. While the authorities are dealing with THAT situation, I am finally given a chance to call my Dad - and inform him of the situation. I could only get about 2 sentences out before I locked up and couldn't speak. I was forced to hand the phone to Tara. Rain began to fall, followed by thunder and lightening, as the tow truck took off. The kindly local officer took statements from me and the other driver, and offered to drive us to TGI Fridays where we could wait for alternative transportation options. The Ramsey police were extremely nice, and helpful in determining my next course of action. The recommended I file claim of "careless driving" against the other driver, which I plan to do, once I obtain the police report...
...we waited at TGI Fridays, while my Dad drove up from Voorhees. He arrived around 6pm, and we drove over to the site of the crash. It wasn't until I took in the scene and accounted for the skid marks that I got a clear picture of how we ended up where we did. After checking out the scene, we proceeded to the lot where my car was being kept. After taking in the damage, we decided to empty the car, since it would more than likely be totaled. We returned home with my dad, VERY shooken up, but happy to be ALIVE.
I am so thankful that no one was hurt in the crash. Though the thought of how much worse things could have been keeps irking me. The amount of cars that could have collided with us and DIDN'T during our 55mph spin across the road is just downright bothersome. We were extremely LUCKY!
I have, however, been bothered by other things concerning my mentality, and capacity to deal with the accident. Anyone who knows me, KNOW, how I pride myself on my ability to keep my head in rough situations. It troubles me that I cannot remember a single thing between, turning the wheel of my car, and stepping out of my car into a puddle of transmission fluid. Moreover, I was laughing hysterically for about 5min following the accident, and didn't really connect with reality until a full 10 had passed. I'm a little disappointed with my ability to remain level-headed during and following the accident. I plan to examine these events more closely in future posts.
Ok, I have defiantly gone on too long, but I think you can all appreciate WHY. Sorry to end this all on a downer. I will be posting pictures of the car soon. Hope you all will return for that... in the meantime enjoy my Photo Album of Killington Pictures
“Freedom Feels Good” (Thought I had while having my balls fondled by security)
Chaz needed pictures for his photography class. Since the Eagles weren't playing we decided to go to Independence Hall on Sunday. I don't think I've been there since 5th or 6th grade, and the only thing i remember about THAT trip (class trip) was Jonathan Balsham having 5 packs of cotton candy flavored bubble gum. Every member of our group chewed at least 7 pieces. It wasn't long before our mouths were blue and our tummy's aching. Anyway... (Check Out The Pics In the M0Bl0g...)
They built this big 'ol 'Independence' Museum thing that runs 2 city blocks. To visit Independence Hall one must first acquire a ticket from the park ranger in the museum 2 blocks from the actual Hall. Tickets in hand, you'll then be permitted to enter the Hall grounds through a security checkpoint. All other entrances are blocked by metal fencing, and are actively patrolled by park rangers. Now, park rangers do not intimidate me, but I think the security, besides being completely ineffective, really serves to show how our liberties and freedoms are all being stripped from us. Now, I've never been a big AMERICA YAY person, but I'm also not one to let absudities go by unnoticed. Watching a woman in a wheelchair be hoisted up so that she can be properly frisked before entering the grounds of a monument that exonerates freedom and liberty is, I'm sorry, LAUGH OUT LOUD ABSURD!!!
If the goal of terrorism is to strike FEAR into ones enemy, then never has there been a more effective and victorious act of terrorism than the events of September 11th. If you think that statement is insensitive, then you missed my point COMPLETLEY.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go heat up some Freedom-Bread Pizza.
(You'll probably hear more on this in the future, if John Ashcroft doesn't show up and ship me off to Guantanamo)Posted at 10:00 AM in Current Affairs, Dysfunction, Living, Social Commentary, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)