Feb 19, 2017

I got up a little later than planned of course because I slept at home. I managed to get to French Creek State Park pretty quickly anyway. The disc golf course parking area is closed off in winter so I had to park and walk a bit to find it. I started on hole 18 and eventually found my way to the course. I was not having a good start to the round and it didn't improve all that much. The course feels cramped and tight the whole way, but that could be because I wasn't playing so well. It's not a course I tend to want to return to.

I hurried to Camp Sankanac to get there for doubles at 11:30. Although there were a ton of cars there no one knew about this doubles tournament that supposedly happens weekly. Before several big groups started playing I hopped on and started off on my own. I ended up joining another guy on hole 7 since we were both playing solo and there would be no point trying to pass one another.

The course itself is great. The layout is varied and fun, with all types of shots and lengths. It's challenging but not terribly annoying like French Creek felt. I was glad to have someone to share it with.

When I got back to the first tee there were a bunch of people standing around talking about playing doubles. They asked if I was in so I said yes straightaway and we got to pairing off. The second time around I feel like I didn't shoot quite as well as the first and my partner wasn't a great help at picking up any of my slack. It was still a perfectly beautiful day and a great course to play twice. It was nice to play with a bigger group and get to know some people there. Definitely will be returning to this one.

I decided to go to Tired Hands on my way back to Philly. I sat down next to a guy at the bar and we chatted for a very brief time about nothing of great importance, yet he offered to buy my first beer as he was heading out the door. Really nice guy. I started with the Pink Noise, a raspberry lemon IPA that tasted like grapefruit. I had some good beers and another good conversation with another man that came in and sat on the other side of me. We talked about great beer, photography, travel, and our idiot president. Not a bad night.

It wasn't over yet; I met Christie and Tracy at The Abbaye for dinner where I got my own wings after a full day of salivating about them. We sat outside and enjoyed the nice cool night air with our meal. Since the weather was still nice we finished our beers and walked to Barcade for one more drink before heading over to the Fillmore.

We got inside shortly before Less Than Jake opened with "All My Best Friends are Metalheads" to kick off a really fun set. The place wasn't really packed which made for a nice wide open circle pit to dance in for an hour. I had a really good time and I'm always happy when I get a chance to see them live. It was quite a day and I was happy to get home to bed where I didn't have to set an alarm for the morning.

Feb 18, 2017

I woke up after a nice night of sleep in my car and got right back on the road toward Yetter Park DGC. I thought I had been here before, but it didn't look at all familiar. It was a little chilly out, but I warmed up quickly walking the small hills along the river. The course followed a nice path so it wasn't difficult to navigate and I had the place all to myself so early. The sky was beautiful as the sun came up and the clouds separated into beautiful dots. It was a nice course with a little snow and only one disc that almost ended up in the water. I did pretty well to start.

Next I went to Jordan Creek, where I skipped a couple of holes in the beginning to miss the groups starting there. I figured it would be packed by the time I finished. I ended up having the course all to myself the whole time as well. There was a new hole 5 that was much better than the old one, and I threw nicely across the frozen pond. It was getting warm by the time I finished.

I was getting hungry by that time so I went to Wegman's and got way too much food from the hot bar then headed over to Vegan Treats to get myself some ice cream and picked up a couple of those delicious banana chocolate chip cookies for me and Becca for later.

Little Lehigh DGC was surprisingly not crowded either so I happily got started to beat the crowds I kept expecting. They never came at all and the one small group on the course I passed in the middle. By this point I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt after starting the morning with long pants, a hoodie, and a beanie. I had a lot of fun at this course and the weather was definitely a big part of that.

I played Nockamixon next. I've played it a couple of times, but I always forget which one it is by name. It starts out with a beast of an 800 ft. narrow fairway covered in rocks and trees. After that it is a bit more forgiving, but the landscape improves dramatically. It's beautiful and hilly and there are little waterfalls and steep drop-off shots.

This was the longest course of the day by far, and while I had no holdups, there were quite a few groups out on the course. Toward the middle I came across a credit card sitting in the mud and started playing quickly to try to catch up with the owner. I passed a few groups before finally stumbling upon the card's human and reunited the two. I finished out the last few holes of the game with the two guys who suggested a few good courses and also some good music. It was a happy ending to the story.

I had time for one more course so I went straight to Tinicum Park, another course I've played at least twice and would never have remembered the name of. It was mostly open with a few nice little wooded holes mixed in, including one tight shot through a straight line of trees that I remembered very well. One of my shots skipped hard to the left and I heard a strange sound when I dropped off the edge which turned out to be the disc breaking through the ice. I was surprised there was any ice left since it had been in the 70s all day, but it was thin so I was able to break through and get it pretty easily.

After 5 courses and 90 holes I was done for the day as the sun set. It was a great day and I was really happy that I called the audible to do this. I set a course for Philly and The Abbaye and I was off. I picked up my order and ate the cheesesteak in the car watching Netflix on my phone. I headed back to Millville to see Becca for a little bit and give her the vegan wings and cookies I got for her. We sat and watched TV while nibbling on delicious banana chocolate chip cookies.

Feb 17, 2017

After a morning of hanging with Becca, packing up my stuff, and then unsuccessfully trying to install a copy of Microsoft Office on her computer I headed north on the Turnpike on the way to New York. Quite a while into my drive I realized I had forgotten to put my bike in the car, and that was the main reason I wanted to go to the city in the first place. I took a beat to consider my options and decided to make it a disc golf outdoor weekend since it was supposed to be in the 60s. I went to Greystone Woods DGC, where I encountered a lot of snow and mud. The course was fun, but it was a little too muddy so I stopped after 9 holes.

I went to Whole Foods for dinner and sat there on my computer downloading a few things and watching Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee while I chatted with Ryan about skiing. Next stop was REI, where I finally got myself a patch for my sleeping pad. To my surprise the tape patch worked amazingly well and quickly. I'll be carrying that stuff with me.

I found a rest area along I-80 in north Jersey where I could park for the night and got settled fairly early. It was a nice place to park and no one bothered me. I watched some things including Happy Christmas as I got comfortable and fell asleep in the back.

Feb 16, 2017

I woke up early thinking I would enjoy my hour or so before work. Instead I spent that entire time on the phone with Comcast because they are the worst company ever and the internet was out yet again even though we just got a new modem installed. So after that lovely start my day at Memorial wasn't bad. I only had 3 meetings, but the first one went on for TWO HOURS. I hardly had time to get lunch. At least my last class was an easy one. I went right to PT after that and did the things I always do.

I also saw this dog sitting like a human in the front seat of a van when I left. That made me laugh. I went to Becca's after she was done working. We had some dinner and watched La La Land before bed. It was a pretty good movie. Neither of us had any idea what to expect yet it was surprising.

Feb 15, 2017

I had quite an easy day covering meetings at Vineland Memorial. My light schedule allowed me to get a good amount of editing done in the break room and my long lunch gave me a chance to go to Landis Park for a full round of disc golf on the clock. It was a pretty nice day so I couldn't pass it up.

I went to Becca's later where we made this colorful and delicious scramble-ish thing. Lots of broccoli. We looked some things up for future plans and watched some Californication before I headed home for the night.

Feb 14, 2017

The meetings were nice and easy at Silver Run. I sat in a first grade class while they decorated Valentine's Day bags with hearts. I had about two hours so I went home and had lunch, caught up on some shows, and called Comcast because the internet was out. I came back after lunch for two more meetings and I was done by 2.

I went to Anytime Fitness to pick up some free passes and, since I was right there, I decided to finally get that haircut I've been talking about for a while now. The lady who did it took a long time, but she was nice. I don't think I like it as much as the last time I got it done, but at least I know it will grow fast.

After spending one full hour talking to the Comcast rep trying to get the new modem working I was done and I headed to Becca's to spend the night with Lilo watching movies. I think she enjoyed them. I got into a movie binge starting with Joshy, which I really liked. Subsequently I watched Drinking Buddies and Search Party. I'm enjoying that genre right now. I got to bed pretty late, but it's okay because I napped a little on the couch.

Feb 13, 2017

I worked at Memorial for a science class where we watched an episode of the White Rabbit Project in a couple of classes and I sat around not doing much in the others. I actually did get some editing done during the last block at least. I came home for a little bit before going to physical therapy and going through the motions pinching putty and getting zapped. It felt like it went by quickly this time at least. I came home and had a nap then spent the rest of the night just relaxing.