We swam, we hiked, we drove

Well, now that I've caught up on my sleep from the last week I have a cold. At least I got the cold after I went away for the weekend. Why is it that any time I have a few days off from work my immune system crashes?

Oh well. I had a fabulous weekend. I picked up my rental car Thursday. They gave me a PT Cruiser which I was less than enthused about. I don't think I've ever seen one driven by someone who wasn't a douchebag. I almost got a Dodge Charger which would have been more fun to drive and may have been better in the hills, but would have used more gas and, let's face it, I would have been concernicus about hurting it all weekend, so I was only mildly disappointed. The drive to Logan went smoothly. When I was checking into the hotel the desk lady gave me the best news ever: that the pool was open 24 hours. That was nice. I was expecting the pool to be close by the time I arrived or soon after. Instead I got to take a nice long swim by myself and soak in the hot tub.

Friday was also a good day. Free hot breakfast at the hotel with a quick stop at the Christmas/Candle shop to pick up some goodies. Then I spent the rest of the day hiking through the woods of the Hocking Hills region, contemplating things, soul searching, hang-up abandoning, taking pictures, finding inner peace and a profound sense of calm, and discovering a well spring of confidence. You know, having a profound, semi-spiritual experience, as corny or cheesy as that may sound to some. Whatevs, I'm cool with it.

That night I drove to Pittsburg. Travel at night on windy, hilly roads that one is unfamiliar with can be quite interesting, especially when you're being tailgated by some teabag who won't pass you in any of the available flats. I checked into the (slightly) scary Motel 6. It wasn't an issue of cleanliness. The neighborhood didn't seem bad, but there were signs on the building instructing patrons to lock their cars and signs in the rooms instructing us to lock and deadbolt the door when in the room.

I also realized upon arriving that I had made sure I had directions for all the legs of my journey except how to get from the motel (which was a paltry 100m from the reception site) to the church. I quickly reverse engineered the directions from the church to the reception which worked fine. However, when I attempted to follow the directions in the correct order to go to the reception I got...well, I don't think the word "lost" applies. I tend to think of being lost as not knowing where you are. I knew exactly where I was and what road I was on and could even see up on the hill where I need to go, but I could not get anywhere. After going in a circle and still not finding the road I needed I decided to get back on the highway and go further down. I had no trouble finding my way from there. It took longer, but I arrived at the same time as the bridal party.

There's more to tell, but frankly I've run out of steam for the evening. I need a warm blanket (stupid cold) and some sleep, but stick around because part two is got some good stuff. Like a rant-tangent and what went on an the reception and a boy.