This will be kind of a personal post:
This weekend, I visited West Virginia to see my two eldest daughters. Living in California, I don't usually get the opportunity to do so, but the government was nice enough to fly me to Maryland on a business trip. It's about a four hour drive from there.

It almost didn't happen, I had to rent a car on my own dime and apparently my credit sucks and they almost didn't rent me one. Luckily enough, I was able to get around that and get the car regardless. Then came the drive.

I'm not very sure why, but recently I've been having panic attacks when I drive in freeway traffic, usually it's sweaty palms and an accelerated heart rate. This isn't the first time I've driven through the area though, so I thought I would just tough it out and get it over with. Twenty minutes into the drive, something happened that never happened before. My hands started to become tingly. I wasn't holding the steering wheel hard enough to do that, so it was strange. A few minutes later, the temples in my head experienced the same tingling sensation. I was beginning to lose focus on the road and so to compensate, I tried to take deep breaths.

Then I started feeling dizzy. I had to pull over. Every car and big rig that passed me as I was trying to maintain control of myself wasn't helping. I safely pulled over on the side of the freeway and desperately tried to figure out how I was going to do this. It was going to be at least another two hours before I reached the rest stop, where I planned to nap. A few minutes later, the tingling stopped and I continued. Sure enough, the tingliness returned and I had to take so many breaks that it took me six hours to reach my rest stop.

After a nap, I decided to see if it was possible to get to the girls without using the freeway, GPS said yes, but it was going to add another hour and a half to my trip. I began driving before the sun rose and the trip was less stressful. I ended up driving over beautiful mountain scapes on roads void of any vehicles. It was nice, but so desolate, there was no service on my phone. Had my GPS frozen or crashed while I was driving though there, I would have been lost.

If that didn't make me nervous enough, it soon started snowing. It was a light snow, but it freaked me out because I've never driven in the snow before. I took it nice and slow. Though the snow didn't let up, once I made it over the mountains and crossed into West Virginia, my service returned. Before I knew it, I was parked in front of my daughter's home.

I had made it :)

The drive back was equally as stressful, but it was well worth it to see the little girls I once held in my arms grow into little teens. This is always the best part of my Baltimore business trips.

My age is showing...

It's been rainy the last couple of days. It cleared up today and so I decided to visit Edgar Allen Poe's home and gravesite. They're only a few blocks away from each other and the house is a museum. Unfortunately, it was closed.

I'm planning on visiting my girls in West Virginia this weekend. Next weekend, I plan on going to Washington DC. I applied for a White House tour, but unfortunately, I don't think the background check will go through before next week. Either way, didn't hurt to try. I'll still have a great time regardless.

Anyways, I took a glance in the mirror today and discovered my first grey hair.  This 32 year old can now officially considered himself "seasoned".

...and am reminded why I prefer their website. The TV is bigger than my computer monitor at home. I'm pretty comfortable but can't seem to sleep. Baltimore seems pretty much the same as when I left it, despite the riots last year. I played tour guide for a co-worker today and enjoyed it. Pointing out Baltimore's Washington Monument and explaining how it's older than the one in DC stands out in my mind. I really need to look into being a tour guide.

Other than that, flight was good and I'm looking forward to the time I'm spending here. "So what is Baltimore like?" you may be asking.... lucky for you, I've already done a video on it :)