So I have only been in Baltimore for three days now, but I have decided it is best to lose my Midwest urge to make eye contact with everyone and smile. I am pretty sure people here are not comfortable with that and I am only encouraging more freaks in these here parts. I consciously focused on that today as I walked around the hospital grounds. This will not be an easy task for me.
This all takes me back to my days roaming NKU's campus. I can vividly remember passing a fellow student on my way to class every monday, wednesday, and friday that wore a black straight jacket, spiked his jet black hair quite impressively high, and had a hand grenade swinging from his belt buckle loop on his right hip. This gentleman never looked anywhere but down. This disturbed me quite a bit. As I mentioned above, I really like to make eye contact and smile or at least do the head nod. I do think it is a Midwest thing. So I passed this gentleman for a whole semester wondering what he thought about on his walks to class when he could only see the ground and 1 foot in front of me. He was obviously missing all the other good people watching and vividly enigmatic students such as myself! So after accidently, supposedly, bumping into him failed at getting him to look up, falling over in the grass, and dropping my backpack and decided to get a little bit more aggressive. So I walked by him one week and all three days I put my hand down at my side and formed an "L" or "J" with my hand and waved at him upside down. I figured at the worst, he would pull the pin and throw a grenade at me. Let it be known the following monday, he made eye contact with me and said "Hello, now please quit pestering me!" To which I responded, " This could have ended long ago, you were playing stale mate." I walked away with a personal victory!
I don't think I need to prove anything quite like that with the homeless here. I have always been interested in working with the homeless. Poverty is sad and senseless in my mind. It is just so frustrating because I know they only want money to buy beer. I have seen the cycle too many times. I do hope to work with the homeless again. I really enjoyed it in nursing school. I don't think Baltimore is my place to start though.
Day 2 orientation down. I have a test tomorrow and then four days of clinical orientation, meaning I will finally be on the floor. I am still in a bit of shock that I am working at such an amazing institution. What an amazing opportunity!
Sorry to make this brief but I don't have internet in my apartment yet and I am up at the leasing office using their internet and they are closing shortly. I am hoping to get some Maine and apartment pictures posted this weekend.
So Heather confirmed, I believe you need a google email account to reply on my blog. The things I have learned. Anyone may reply to me on facebook or text me though. I love to hear feedback. Or my email is travelinroddy@gmail or roddy3232@yahoo.com.
Toodles,
Shannon
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Official welcome to Baltimore
As I set out on my journey northeast to Baltimore, I had no idea how drastically different the hospitality and surroundings would be. I left Kentucky at 6:15 am in hopes to ensure a timely arrival at my new apartment in Baltimore, after loading up my car with my belongings that I kept in a storage unit in Alexandria, Va for the past month. The office at my new residence was to close at 6 pm. I arrived in Alexandria, Va around 2:30 pm and was back on the road around 3:45 headed north to Baltimore. I was stuck in typical DC traffic but thought I had plenty of time; despite the feeling I had in my stomach that I was not going to make it. It was only a 66 mile trip, but in these parts you better plan for a couple of hours. At 5:15 I was slowed by another area of congestion and for some reason; the drive through downtown was showing the quickest trip by about 20 minutes. I decided to trust it and took the plunge. I also placed a call to my apt complex to let them know I am on my way and hoping to move in tonight. My words were "I am headed your way and have been driving since 6 am and I am fighting traffic again. Is there any way someone can meet if I arrive just a few minutes after 6 pm?" Lady on the phone "yeah we don't really do that. If you aren't here by 6, we will gladly meet you tomorrow." My reply, "Wow! Way to go the extra mile with customer service! Did you hear me say I have been driving since 6 am? Can you check with your manager? I am desperate. I will pay someone at this point. I do not want to get a hotel. I am so close!" She said, " hold please, let me check with my manager..........um, yeah we can't do that." I said, " I will be there before six! Have a great 30 minutes and I will see you soon!" Hey there hospitality! I'm not in Kansas anymore, clearly.
So as I am driving my suggested quicker route through downtown there is of course a baseball game getting ready to start. Stellar timing! I am at a stoplight getting ready to make a left hand turn with three cars in front of me. I notice a homeless man weaving in and out of the two lanes of traffic shaking a cup with change in it. I am taking advantage of my time at the red light and checking my phone to see if there is a quicker way than meandering through downtown due to the game traffic. I happen to notice the gentleman cross in front of my car and come up to my window. I gave him the "sorry, I got nothing to give" wave that always works in downtown Cincinnati and I go back to looking at my phone. Only, I don't think he understood my wave. He stood there right next to my window shaking his cup stating "roll down your window!" He said it three times and then I gave him the "one minute" finger and then checked that my doors were locked. He walked back to my back door and looked in my car and was quite enamored with the fact that my car was so packed that I literally had just a place to sit down to drive. He thought he had hit the jackpot. I really didn't get nervous til I saw him reach for my back door handle. As he reached, the cop that I failed to notice behind me, honked his horn and the gentleman jumped out of the street onto the sidewalk and started counting his coins quicker than I had seen him move. Other than the obvious, that I am a freak magnet; I believe my packed car was what attracted him to me. Figures, my first drive through town, I would get accosted by a homeless person. Typical day for me! For my mother whom I know reads this, do not freak out. There are homeless people in every big city! :-)
Tomorrow I hope to post some pics of my new place. It is very nice and a good size. I think I will like it here! Have a good night. Tomorrow I will do a test drive to Hopkins to find my way for Monday morning.
So as I am driving my suggested quicker route through downtown there is of course a baseball game getting ready to start. Stellar timing! I am at a stoplight getting ready to make a left hand turn with three cars in front of me. I notice a homeless man weaving in and out of the two lanes of traffic shaking a cup with change in it. I am taking advantage of my time at the red light and checking my phone to see if there is a quicker way than meandering through downtown due to the game traffic. I happen to notice the gentleman cross in front of my car and come up to my window. I gave him the "sorry, I got nothing to give" wave that always works in downtown Cincinnati and I go back to looking at my phone. Only, I don't think he understood my wave. He stood there right next to my window shaking his cup stating "roll down your window!" He said it three times and then I gave him the "one minute" finger and then checked that my doors were locked. He walked back to my back door and looked in my car and was quite enamored with the fact that my car was so packed that I literally had just a place to sit down to drive. He thought he had hit the jackpot. I really didn't get nervous til I saw him reach for my back door handle. As he reached, the cop that I failed to notice behind me, honked his horn and the gentleman jumped out of the street onto the sidewalk and started counting his coins quicker than I had seen him move. Other than the obvious, that I am a freak magnet; I believe my packed car was what attracted him to me. Figures, my first drive through town, I would get accosted by a homeless person. Typical day for me! For my mother whom I know reads this, do not freak out. There are homeless people in every big city! :-)
Tomorrow I hope to post some pics of my new place. It is very nice and a good size. I think I will like it here! Have a good night. Tomorrow I will do a test drive to Hopkins to find my way for Monday morning.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Final push home
Well today should complete my drive home from Maine. I am so thankful. I am very ready to be out of the car.
I will post pictures in the coming days. It takes everything I have in me to get out of the car and into the hotel at night. Nothing like completely physically exhausting yourself and then driving home for three days. Sounds like a brilliant Roddy idea.
Two days ago, I stopped in Freeport, ME at the LL Bean headquarters. Wow, was that amazing! Imagine the LLBean magazine in one store. I wanted to buy pretty much everything, but I refrained. I looked around for a while taking a break from the car and then jumped back in to unfortunately leave the beautiful state of Maine. If Maine is not on your bucket list, it should be. It is beautiful up there.
So yesterday's adventure for a break in the monotony was a stop in New York to see the Statue of Liberty. I opted to see her from the Jersey side as I was urged to do for less of a headache. So once I got to Hartford, CT, I plugged Liberty State Park into my GPS on my phone. It certainly took me the most direct route, far from the fastest though. So typical Shannon, I am driving along the water admiring all the shiny buildings and then my good friend Rachel calls me to see where Waldo is. My words were, "I believe I am just beside the heart of downtown New York traffic." Yes that was true until my GPS told me to turn left on Canal St. to get me to the Holland Tunnel to get me to the Jersey side. Holy New York traffic. I have never heard so many horns honking in my life. I texted Blake and said that I believe New Yorkers honk their horns more than they breathe. I have a video I will post soon, but wow. It was just like the movies. Everyone is honking, people were yelling, pedestrians and bicycles were darting in between the six lanes of traffic that were trying to squeeze into the two marked lanes. It was quite the experience and now I shall mark that off my bucket list and hopefully never drive there again.
After my hour and ten minutes driving 3 miles through downtown Manhattan, I reached Liberty State Park on the Jersey side to view the Statue of Liberty and get a pic of downtown New York. I pretty much had the park to myself since it was 104 degrees there. Holy Heat Wave! I saw two bicyclists, but other than that it was a ghost town. I drove to the end to get a pic of the city and then parked in a lot about halfway through the park to view the Statue of Liberty. I pulled into a parking lot where a couple of cars were parked. After parking my car and deciding I would ride my bike up to the water to view the statue, a young man walked over to me and asked me to please move my car out of the shade where I parked and into the middle of the lot because he was teaching someone to drive. "Absolutely young man, thank you for letting me know." As I am taking my bike off my bike rack there is a gentleman encouraging his wife a couple spaces over to place the vehicle in reverse as she was parked perpendicular to the parking spaces. I said to him, "Oh is she learning to drive as well?" He said "No, she drives, she just can't park worth a darn." I literally laughed out loud at her attempt to park in the spot that she was parked perpendicular in. I apologized of course, but Cripes this lady is driving around as well. If she can't park in an empty parking lot, what are her other driving skills like?
I am looking into the issue that some of you are unable to post comments. I believe it may be that you have to have a gmail account to make comments which seems lame, but I am going to check with my good friend Heather Kelsey. So Heather if you are reading this please let me know if this is true.
I got a call from my recruiter yesterday and we are full speed ahead for Hopkins in one week! I am so excited. I need to study up for some testing that I must do on arrival, but I am ready to get my learn on at a state of the art institution.
Time to become one with Willie Nelson and sing "On the Road Again."
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Fat Camp for an Irish Girl with Sunny Vistas
It's 3:30 am, why not wake and jump on the bike to climb a 6 mile mountain, Cadillac Mountain, to see the first place the sun hits the United States each morning? What an early rise with an amazing outcome! At 4:00 am we hit the pavement with headlights and rear flashing blinkers to ascend the mountain that people all over the US come to Acadia National Park to summit for such the experience.
I reached the summit at 5:00 to see the sunrise at 5:10. Closer than I had expected, but I did just climb 1528 feet in only 6 miles. It was truly an amazing sight and an early start to the most active day of my life. The ride back down was swift and I had worked up a great appetite for breakfast.
We all returned to our rooms for some rest and relaxation before breakfast at 7:00 am. For the next adventure I slathered on my SPF 50 sunscreen to protect my glowing white skin from the sun. After breakfast, we went on a 2 1/2 hour sea kayaking trip in the Bar Harbor on the Atlantic Ocean. What an amazing way to see Maine; other than via bike which is unbelievable in its own right. It was a very calm day on the water. We saw one of the nesting parents of the Bald Eagle fledgling known to be in the area. There is a nesting pair known to return yearly on nearby Porcupine Island. We saw Cormarants, Porpoises, starfish, and lots and lots of lobster traps. We went under a dock and there were hundreds of starfish attached to the metal pylons holding the dock up. From the water we were able to see the mountain that we had previously climbed. Yes, it felt as high as it looked.
After kayaking, we returned back to the hotel to have a picnic lunch provided by our guides. It was quite tasty. Then around 2:15, after reapplying my spf 50 sunscreen, we went for a 2 1/2 hour hike up another mountain that overlooked Sand Beach , which is the only sand beach in the area, which was in the area that we rode today. It was a very strenuous hike with beautiful vistas. After hiking back down to the road close to where we started, we jumped on the Island Hopper, which is a bus that continuously runs transporting people all over the island. We arrived back at the hotel around 5:30 pm which was enough time to shower and get ready to board the Margaret Todd, which is a four masted sailboat that we were taking a sunset cruise on.
At 6:00 pm we boarded the Margaret Todd for a 2 1/2 hour sunset cruise in the bay. Apparently raising the four sails is quite strenuous as they asked for volunteers to share the wealth with the strenuous job. So of course I volunteered. How often does one get the opportunity to help raise sails on a huge sailboat? Afterwards, we sailed around the harbor looking for porpoises, whales, and dolphins. All I can speak for that was seen in the water were some porpoises. I was kept quite busy helping our on-board entertainment, Dan from Key West, whom walked the 154 foot vessel playing his guitar and singing. Dan was a bit out of tune as was his guitar. Dan was taking requests for songs and I requested Margaritaville, which awakened my need and desire to start a conga line for some reason; which consisted of about six women from my bike group. So we followed Dan around the boat helping him sing to the tune of Margaritaville. We can only hope that we didn't get future Woman Tour groups banned from the sunset tours.
And that is really all that I did yesterday! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Maine, as I have met some amazing women and have yet again made some good friends. If you have never been up here, add it to your bucket list. It is amazing!
I reached the summit at 5:00 to see the sunrise at 5:10. Closer than I had expected, but I did just climb 1528 feet in only 6 miles. It was truly an amazing sight and an early start to the most active day of my life. The ride back down was swift and I had worked up a great appetite for breakfast.
We all returned to our rooms for some rest and relaxation before breakfast at 7:00 am. For the next adventure I slathered on my SPF 50 sunscreen to protect my glowing white skin from the sun. After breakfast, we went on a 2 1/2 hour sea kayaking trip in the Bar Harbor on the Atlantic Ocean. What an amazing way to see Maine; other than via bike which is unbelievable in its own right. It was a very calm day on the water. We saw one of the nesting parents of the Bald Eagle fledgling known to be in the area. There is a nesting pair known to return yearly on nearby Porcupine Island. We saw Cormarants, Porpoises, starfish, and lots and lots of lobster traps. We went under a dock and there were hundreds of starfish attached to the metal pylons holding the dock up. From the water we were able to see the mountain that we had previously climbed. Yes, it felt as high as it looked.
After kayaking, we returned back to the hotel to have a picnic lunch provided by our guides. It was quite tasty. Then around 2:15, after reapplying my spf 50 sunscreen, we went for a 2 1/2 hour hike up another mountain that overlooked Sand Beach , which is the only sand beach in the area, which was in the area that we rode today. It was a very strenuous hike with beautiful vistas. After hiking back down to the road close to where we started, we jumped on the Island Hopper, which is a bus that continuously runs transporting people all over the island. We arrived back at the hotel around 5:30 pm which was enough time to shower and get ready to board the Margaret Todd, which is a four masted sailboat that we were taking a sunset cruise on.
At 6:00 pm we boarded the Margaret Todd for a 2 1/2 hour sunset cruise in the bay. Apparently raising the four sails is quite strenuous as they asked for volunteers to share the wealth with the strenuous job. So of course I volunteered. How often does one get the opportunity to help raise sails on a huge sailboat? Afterwards, we sailed around the harbor looking for porpoises, whales, and dolphins. All I can speak for that was seen in the water were some porpoises. I was kept quite busy helping our on-board entertainment, Dan from Key West, whom walked the 154 foot vessel playing his guitar and singing. Dan was a bit out of tune as was his guitar. Dan was taking requests for songs and I requested Margaritaville, which awakened my need and desire to start a conga line for some reason; which consisted of about six women from my bike group. So we followed Dan around the boat helping him sing to the tune of Margaritaville. We can only hope that we didn't get future Woman Tour groups banned from the sunset tours.
And that is really all that I did yesterday! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Maine, as I have met some amazing women and have yet again made some good friends. If you have never been up here, add it to your bucket list. It is amazing!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
The Cadence of 16 Women Cyclists
Today we did a loop ride around a neighboring island, Thompson Island. We weaved through Acadia N.P. a bit to get there and then rode the perimeter of the island. A very pretty area. I can only imagine how pretty Acadia is going to be.
On my last WomanTour ride I came to fully understand the saying, ""Life is not a destination, but a journey." So today, I led the pack for quite a while and then fell back to ride with two ladies from the Boston area. What a joy! Really, I could listen to that Boston accent forever. I find it quite intriguing. At one point, I found myself observing this very large crow or raven, I need to learn to distinguish between the two, but it stood tall and would have come about halfway up my calf; only to hear Barb behind me yelling "Cah." I continued my path to the bird because I was observing it pulling an animal carcass off the road, I know gross, but cool also. I hear Barb yell again, "Cah!" I turn to say, "Why are you mocking the bird?" It was then that I noticed the very large dually truck that is coming up behind me. Huh, she was yelling "car" that whole time. I got a good chuckle with that.
These bike tours are much like travel nursing in that you kind of get a fresh start and can reinvent yourself, if you will. That sounds like I am running from something, which I am not, but it is an interesting concept that I have acknowledged. It is awesome to be with a group of like minded women that are very active. I have yet again met some amazing women!
OMG! We went to an authentic Lobster Pound for dinner. I mean, off the beaten path, smells like fish, thousands of lobster traps in sight, and you picked the little fellow out of a tray of lobsters, only to be put to his death. I have to say that this traumatized me a bit. It was very tasty, having never eaten lobster. There was a lot of back breaking, limb snapping, and gut removal going on. The lady next to me was moaning, slobbering, lobster meat was flying everywhere, and she had this greasy possessed grin on her face. It is safe to say that she ate every single piece of meat from her lobster. Amazing but a bit disturbing to witness.
Well, I am hitting the hay for an early start for another great day of riding tomorrow.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Exploring the Northeast
As I approached my second of seven toll stations, I couldn't help but to liken the situation to the all too famous Kentucky Derby. A line of five to seven cars enter their gates, pay their tolls, and "They're off!" The majority of the toll stations had no lines on the pavement on the other side of the booths. So I indeed found myself jockeying for the best position to streamline my move to the inside corner.
After spending a quick couple of days in Cincinnati, OH with friends, I made the drive down to South Carolina to spend some much needed time with family. I was able to spend time with my nephew, Owen, on his actual birthday. That was a first for me. He is six years old now. Very hard to believe. Kids, they grow up so quickly. I had a great time playing with the kids, playing games, watching Blake catch snakes (common occurrence when you have chickens), and just relaxing and catching up with the South Carolina clan. I hated to leave but I have an awesome bike trip planned in Maine. I was looking forward to doing the drive up the east coast to Maine. The Northeast is one of the many areas of the country that I have never seen. I am thinking of this as practice for a cross country drive for when I start travel nursing on the west coast.
I am a firm believer that everyone should have Sirius radio in their vehicle. The time just melts away and you never get bored. I am not a good long distance driver, but what a difference with the Sirius radio stations.
I had big plans to see the Statue of Liberty on my drive through the Garden State today; though Mother Nature had bigger plans for overcast weather and rain. So I ditched that plan and drove on. I rerouted my driving route and got a little lost in non other than the Bronx of New York. Luckily, I was not there long and I do believe I was in a decent area. I saw several children walking dogs alone, so I figure I couldn't have been in that poor of an area. Obviously, I found my way as I am now on the border of New Hampshire.
I continue to appreciate all the women that see me traveling alone with my bikes and remind me to stay safe. I was pulling into a gas station just south of Boston and had to back in to get to the pump where two women were in a car together, opposite my pump. I got out and saw that it was $3.83 for gas and got on my gas buddy app to see if I could find it cheaper anywhere. One lady said, "Baby, you are a long way from home! Where you headed?" I talked with them for a couple of minutes and then they went on their way after they too wished me safe travels.
It is very odd to think about how far northeast I am on the map. I was quite excited to see the New York skyline, even if it was from afar, drive through Philadelphia, through Boston, and then I passed a sign for Newtown/Sand Hook, CT. Everyone knows what happened there without explanation. When I heard about that, Connecticut seemed so far away and now I have driven through and beyond there.
Well, I need to get some sleep for my drive tomorrow and my stop at none other than LLBean headquarters, in Freeport, Maine! How awesome is that? I am looking forward some time in the saddle in a beautiful part of the country.
After spending a quick couple of days in Cincinnati, OH with friends, I made the drive down to South Carolina to spend some much needed time with family. I was able to spend time with my nephew, Owen, on his actual birthday. That was a first for me. He is six years old now. Very hard to believe. Kids, they grow up so quickly. I had a great time playing with the kids, playing games, watching Blake catch snakes (common occurrence when you have chickens), and just relaxing and catching up with the South Carolina clan. I hated to leave but I have an awesome bike trip planned in Maine. I was looking forward to doing the drive up the east coast to Maine. The Northeast is one of the many areas of the country that I have never seen. I am thinking of this as practice for a cross country drive for when I start travel nursing on the west coast.
I am a firm believer that everyone should have Sirius radio in their vehicle. The time just melts away and you never get bored. I am not a good long distance driver, but what a difference with the Sirius radio stations.
I had big plans to see the Statue of Liberty on my drive through the Garden State today; though Mother Nature had bigger plans for overcast weather and rain. So I ditched that plan and drove on. I rerouted my driving route and got a little lost in non other than the Bronx of New York. Luckily, I was not there long and I do believe I was in a decent area. I saw several children walking dogs alone, so I figure I couldn't have been in that poor of an area. Obviously, I found my way as I am now on the border of New Hampshire.
I continue to appreciate all the women that see me traveling alone with my bikes and remind me to stay safe. I was pulling into a gas station just south of Boston and had to back in to get to the pump where two women were in a car together, opposite my pump. I got out and saw that it was $3.83 for gas and got on my gas buddy app to see if I could find it cheaper anywhere. One lady said, "Baby, you are a long way from home! Where you headed?" I talked with them for a couple of minutes and then they went on their way after they too wished me safe travels.
It is very odd to think about how far northeast I am on the map. I was quite excited to see the New York skyline, even if it was from afar, drive through Philadelphia, through Boston, and then I passed a sign for Newtown/Sand Hook, CT. Everyone knows what happened there without explanation. When I heard about that, Connecticut seemed so far away and now I have driven through and beyond there.
Well, I need to get some sleep for my drive tomorrow and my stop at none other than LLBean headquarters, in Freeport, Maine! How awesome is that? I am looking forward some time in the saddle in a beautiful part of the country.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Ah, it feels good to be home!
I got home Monday night from my journey to DC! While I was sad to leave such an amazing place, it is good to be home and visit with friends and family. I spent a whirlwind couple of days in Cincy visiting with friends, riding with a riding buddy, and having lunch with some good friends. There is something to be said for talking with friends that know your background that you don't have to fill them in on the back story.
Tom and I had a great relaxing 30 mile ride in southern Kenton county where we only got chased by 6 yellow labs. Holy cow! I haven't sprinted that hard on my bike in a long time! We rolled away unscathed. That's all that matters in the end. :-) I think we rode in the few brief hours that it wasn't raining in NKY. Holy Noah's Ark!
Yesterday, I made the drive down to South Carolina where I will spend the next 5-6 days visiting my favorite niece and nephew, oh my brother, mom, and sister in law live there too. :-) Hoping to play lots of games and spoil them as usual. That's what aunts are for right? While here, I hope to plan out my drive to Maine. I am hoping to have time to sight see along the way. Should be an adventure! It usually is with me, no worries.
Tom and I had a great relaxing 30 mile ride in southern Kenton county where we only got chased by 6 yellow labs. Holy cow! I haven't sprinted that hard on my bike in a long time! We rolled away unscathed. That's all that matters in the end. :-) I think we rode in the few brief hours that it wasn't raining in NKY. Holy Noah's Ark!
Yesterday, I made the drive down to South Carolina where I will spend the next 5-6 days visiting my favorite niece and nephew, oh my brother, mom, and sister in law live there too. :-) Hoping to play lots of games and spoil them as usual. That's what aunts are for right? While here, I hope to plan out my drive to Maine. I am hoping to have time to sight see along the way. Should be an adventure! It usually is with me, no worries.
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