This morning I joked with Steve Andrews on 102.3 WSUS that I'm really questioning my life choices. I should just be a Taylor Swift diehard fan Swiftie instead of a diehard football fan. My Patriots got absolutely annihilated by the Dallas Cowboys. My Fantasy Football teams are both losing. I should've just watched "the Taylor Swift game," as many called it instead of my Pats getting crushed 38-3.
Originally I was hoping to make a quick visit to see my family up in Mansfield, Massachusetts. All week, my parents and sister helped talk me out of doing it. They explained to me that it would be better for me to just stay in Jersey, and not travel up to see them quick and have to travel back with the 4 hour drive minimum each way. After officiating my first wedding in Philly the previous weekend, and the 2.5 hour drive in the rain each way, they didn't have to really sell me too hard on the benefits of staying home. I went into last weekend saying "I hope this weekend is much less Epic than last weekend!" Success. Saturday morning my first stop was to Jenny's Cleaners on 23 in Hamburg to drop off my dry cleaning. I was long overdue, that's for sure.
I then felt like taking an impromptu adventure. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods at Rockaway last weekend, striking out on searching for new Under Armour outside running gear. I'm trying to slowly, very slowly but surely get back into running. I didn't see anything that I liked for Under Armour in Rockaway, so why not take a road trip to Willowbrook Mall? It was once again raining sideways, so why not go back to my teenager era and spend a rainy day off being a mallrat?
My main targets were both Dick's and possibly Cheesecake Factory. I've brought up my favorite desert vice to friends recently, the Dulce De Leche Caramel Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. This has made me crave it recently. All good. This was my first time treating myself to one in quite some time. It didn't hit the spot, it nailed the spot. Crushed the spot, like Dallas Cowboys over my New England Patriots CRUSHED....ugh...yeah I'm still bitter.
I quickly perused the Under Armour section at Dick's Sporting Goods at Willowbrook Mall. After looking around real quick, I heard a familiar voice and saw a crowd of people hanging out. I totally forgot that former Giants Quarterback Super Bowl Champ / CBS Football TV analyst Phil Simms had an appearance happening at Dick's. I felt like I was almost crashing the party. I enjoyed their questions and answers for a couple of minutes, then I was onto my next stop, The Cheesecake Factory.
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It was a very exciting weekend in these parts with lots of traffic. The Spartan Race at Mountain Creek often gets 8,000 people. Warwick was holding their annual Apple Fest. That being said, while I was smart enough to remind everyone on my radio show several times that traffic would be tough in those areas, I wasn't smart enough to remember my own advice and still found myself right in the middle of traffic. I just kept looking at the traffic, looking at my car radio and just kept saying to myself "really, Steve? You even warned folks on your radio show to watch out for those areas. Granted, there's only so much I could have done to avoid the area when I literally live in the area. All good.
Bestie Carrie invited me to her Mom Deb's birthday party. I always have a great time with our family parties with everyone. I was able to pick up some flowers for Deb, Bestie Carrie, and Bestie Jennifer. Quite the successful morning, even though Breakneck Road closing made some of my deliveries a little more complicated than I originally planned.
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We all enjoyed watching football together at the party, even taking in the beautiful weather outdoors at the same time. I made sure to make it home in time for the 4:25 kickoff for my Patriots against the Cowboys. The rest is history, LOL. On to next week! Time to start planning next weekend. Crystal Springs Fall Music Festival here we go!