I'll be early to bed tonight after this Epic Weekend In Pictures Edition! I was all over, hitting Franklin, Vernon, Newton Sparta Road in Andover, Hackettstown, Washington and more. This weekend included many memories we will never forget, the impact of our Jersey snowstorm, our Stuff The Bus food drive radiothon, an embarrassment incident from me, some quality time with Awesome Girlfriend Megan and the girls, and my first time ever doing leg day with a professional trainer who was probably frightened by my chicken legs.
Due to Thursday's snowstorm, we had to delay the start of our Stuff The Bus food drive radiothon to have me kick it off Friday at 10am, as opposed to our normal kick off with Steve Andrews at 6am. This might have been the coldest Stuff The Bus Weekend in our history. I wore layers, and we kept on going. Friday was tough. Standing out in the cold for several hours can really wear you down, but it gets much easier when you remember the reason behind it. With all locals schools and many businesses being closed, there just weren't many folks on the roads. Normally on Fridays at First Hope Bank, we stuff almost two full buses. This year we still hadn't even filled the first one. It was tough, but we always had full faith that Saturday and Sunday we would be making major comebacks. We had so many generous friends who donated, and they do it every single year. Friday Bentley Assisted Living came through in the clutch, along with Allan and Nancy Curran from Fredon, and our buddy little Josh. The kids coming up to donate are one of my very favorite parts with these radiothons. Another highlight? My buddy Kim from First Hope Bank taking me into THEIR VAULT! You can see that on our Facebook live video below.
Friday night, I was beat. I was standing out in the cold for several hours, with less than desirable donation results due to the weather, then worked inside our radio station studios until 7pm. I was working at our radio station from 6:30am-6:58pm. Well worth it. I went home, and immediately opened a bottle of Josh red cabernet wine. One of those Friday nights where you just sit on your couch in a fog. Then I put on ESPN, and my Celtics were on going into overtime keeping me up way past my preferred bedtime.
Me with Josh and Steve Andrews
Saturday morning, back to the grind. Steve Andrews was at ShopRite in Franklin from 8am until Noon, and he let me join him on his show, just like how he graciously cohosted with me on Friday. We then gave a tour of ShopRite and how easy / cheap it can be to help. Little bits go a long way. That's why I kept stressing on the air that for every $1 dollar we raise, they can purchase 5 pounds of food. As Steve Andrews pointed out, with just $20 they can purchase 100 pounds of food!
It was wonderful getting to see so many of our friends who visit us to donate every single year, and terrific to run into friends who I see on a regular basis.
Saturday night I went to Hackettstown, seeing Awesome Girlfriend Megan and the girls. We were going to go to Applebee's, which might not be in my top 10 places, but I usually only get buffalo wings and fries anyway so I'm fine. The girls love it, so therefore it's a good spot for our family dining. Saturday at 6:30pm, we should've planned better. The wait was over 30 minutes. Everyone was tired and hangry, miserable. To try and save the day, I asked if I could try calling ahead to our next restaurant option, Draught House in nearby Washington. Meg gave me permission. I looked it up on my phone fast trying to save the day and called. They accepted my reservation for Steve, Party Of Five. We get there, and they had no memory of my reservation and were PACKED.
They all scrambled to get us a hightop table for four, if someone could sit on the window ledge. I volunteered. As we were getting situated, Meg looked at me and asked "you called the right place, right?" I look at my phone. I ACCIDENTALLY CALLED AND MADE RESERVATIONS TO THE DRAUGHT HOUSE IN WASHINGTON, DC!!! WHOOPS!!! If they brought up the reservation I definitely would have come clean with my mishap, but it didn't. Comedy gold. I then accidentally ordered bone in atomic wings instead of bone out. Despite my many mistakes, we all had excellent meals and the wings were terrific. I was so tired, I forgot to make Meg, Caitlyn, Robbie P, and Amanda take a selfie with me. My bad!
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Sunday involved me returning a tablet thing to Walmart, then Radiothon at ShopRite in Franklin Noon to 5 --- THEN LEG DAY.
My leg day with Trainer Minerals Mike was something that I'll never forget. These chicken legs are not built for this as you can see! OUCH! I'm walking around limping and stumbling around for days after leg day with him. GREAT workout, and I'll definitely be doing leg day again --- maybe with lower weights.
Overall, we had a wonderful weekend with several amazing friends. I hope you had a terrific weekend too. Time to start planning next weekend, where I'll be going home to see family and friends!