In Nashville, I got to meet Mani's roommates and a couple of his friends, see his school, and ride my bike. It's kind of crappy that Nashville's on central time but Bloomington and Tallahassee are on eastern time. I just kept my watch on eastern time the entire trip and tried to mentally adjust while in Nashville. We didn't get to the Grand Ole Opry like I wanted, but there really wasn't time. I did see the Parthenon and some cool local places.
I was really excited to see Carmen. She called me from Rensselear and said that she was going to Indianapolis to have lunch with Camille and that I should wait a little while to leave. I just couldn't help myself and I had to leave immediately. It takes me 5 hours to get to Bloomington and it should take her 3 + lunch time. Anyway, she had been in Prague all summer and hadn't been able to contact her sublet guy to let her in/give her the keys. When I was almost to Bloomington she called and said that I might have to drive to Indy for the night. Luckily her sublet guy got a hold of her and met us with the keys. I was in Bloomington for a little over an hour before Carmen showed up so I took a mini tour. It's pretty easy to get around in that town. When she showed up, we still had to wait an hour to get the keys. We brought our stuff up to her door in that time.
She treats me so well. She took care of all my expenses while I was up there (except when the grocery store's credit card machine was broken). That first night we went to the Upland Brewery which also has a restaurant attached and I got a burger made with buffalo meat. I've been meaning to do that forever. It was really good. The Upland Brewing Co. makes really good beers. I went back there a few times during my stay.
There was a lot going on that first day and we kind of forgot that we were dating now and should be in some sort of different role...so it was the same Austin & Carmen as it had always been. We were able to pay a good amount of attention to each other before school started for her on the 31st. I got to meet some of her friends and it was nice to hang out with them. I got to go to Indy and see Camille and also Camille came to Bloomington. I got to see her dad a couple times and her mom for a day. Met her Uncle John and saw him on more than one occasion. I got to train almost as much as I should have. We went hiking in a national park and rode our bikes all around Bloomington. We had a couple meals with Kieran as well. She took me to some of her favorite restaurants and other places. I found a cool running store downtown. We went to a farmers market and a couple community gardens. My time was spent on lots and lots of activities. Camp fires and playgrounds and exploring. Phwew. Action packed trip.
As can be expected, I didn't get much work done during this trip. Maybe an hour and a half's worth @ Mani's and the same @ Carmen's. In fact, I wasn't on top of all my activities going on. Because of that, I didn't remind the tri club treasurer to go to the budget presentation so the club isn't getting any money from FSU this semester as a result (I did tell him about it before I left). That would have been done right if I was in town. I also have to play a lot of catch up right now, but it's totally worth it. I wouldn't have traded this trip for nearly anything. I found out that Carmen and I work really well together. It was a weird concept getting to know someone I've known for a while but in a different capacity. I learned a lot about her that I didn't know and I bet the same is true for her. One thing that I do know is that we've always cared about each other. I guess we're just manifesting that care in a different direction than ever before. She makes me happy. Sucks that we're so far away. Oh well, it's worth it to have someone you're really compatible with.
That's why I haven't posted to the blog in a long time.
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