According to the Energy Information Administraton, the National average for a gallon of gasoline in June was $4.05. This price is significantly up compared to May, and pretty much any other time in the past. When people are feeling pain at the pump I am doing the only thing I can- driving even more.
A couple of weeks ago I embarked on many miles of driving that would take me throughout the Northeast in a quest to see the one band I would sacrifice money for- Dave Matthews Band. This summer I decided to take in a New York area show so I’d have an excuse to see Diana in New York City. I decided on Saratoga Performing Arts Center, three hours upstate from NYC. I figured I could crash at Diana’s place in Harlem and I’d be able to meet up with some friends up there that I don’t normally see a whole lot. The show ended up being schedule the weekend before the show at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow. What this means is that I’d once again being seeing DMB two weekends in a row- nothing I haven’t done before.
What I come to realize as I left Virginia at 9 PM on a Thursday is that New York is not too far away for me to drive up- however as the night went on I realized it was long enough for me to have thought about leaving earlier. Why did I leave so late? I wanted to leave at 7 or 8 but I was in the zone editing the OBX Season 2 Trailer. I got hungry on the way back up so I stopped at Roy Rogers to grab a meal.
I’ve always wondered how the Roy Rogers Chain decided to corner the Northeast Rest Stop market. After a visit to Wikipedia I found out that the chain actually started down the street from me in Bailey’s Crossroads. The chain actually up to 650 at in its heyday- but now they are down to about 50. Well the history of the chain doesn’t make the food any better for me. I don’t think that Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich is the healthiest thing I could of had that night.
Harlem at 2 AM is a very interesting sight. I kinda expected a ghetto hood and that’s what I got, what surprised me was the level of activity that was still going on besides the fact it’s the dead of the night. People were standing on corners, standing outsides shops, or just standing in the middle of the street. Thank goodness I drive such a undesirable vehicle.
My sister’s apartment was pretty small- but that was expected since it’s New York City. They did have a pull out sofa so sleep wasn’t that bad. After a short night sleep I was ready to go on the second leg of the trip to Saratoga Springs. I was going to drive to Schenectady and meet up with my friend Kristen and Alyssa and a bunch of other DMB friends I had in the area.
I arrived into town early enough for me to grab a quick workout and shower before the meeting up for the concert. I went to a nearby Gold’s Gym which was by far one of the best I’ve been too. It had a clean, new, and modern look; the equipment was top notch; and the locker rooms resembled an MLB clubhouse. This location even had a movie theater with cardio equipment where you can watch movies while working out. What a great idea!
After putting in my workout I hit the lockers where I pulled out a protein drink I bought at a nearby Wal-Mart (by the way I am so jealous of Wal-Mart prices in upstate New York.) The bottle was shaped like a test tube. You are suppose to take it like a shot, something I could take quickly before my shower. Well as I am drinking the tube I hear an elderly man say, “You kids and you’re steroids! You know that stuff ain’t good for you!”
I laughed off the man and explained how I wasn’t doing HGH but just protein.
It was so great to see Kristen and Alyssa again- I haven’t seen them since we were all living around 
Boston and it they always know how to have a good time. We all caught up with our lives before the show then we all enjoy a great night under the pavilion. Alyssa and I took advantage of the pretty amateur event staff and we snuck everyone into the same row. You can read reviews of the show (including mine) at Ants Marching.
Ok well that’s enough for the first leg- I’ll post the rest of the trip later.
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