Trip 1: Rome, NY and Asheville, NC

Trip 1: Asheville, NC and Rome, NY

I wasn't in Asheville long enough to offer any sort of insight as to what the city is all about.  I did however, fall victim to one of my biggest pet peeves:  I used headphones while driving.  I guess it's not as dangerous as I thought it once was, so I think I'm going to keep doing it.  On a side note, that new song 'If I Die Young' by The Band Perry is literally out of this world.  How ironic would it be if I crashed my car while listening to that on head phones...


Flying to Syracuse was a breeze. Literally. As soon as I landed, the shitshow began.  The city was in the midst of the biggest snow storm planet earth has ever seen.

Driving in this mess was one thing, but the lack of concentration I had on the road was another.  I thought the drive would go by quicker if I calculated what time I would arrive to my destination based off of how incorrect the ETA on my goddamn GPS was.  So, about half of the time I was staring back and forth from the clock to the GPS until I gave up.  Here's your next million dollar invention:  Invent a GPS that uses your speed, distance, weather, traffic, and the amount of incompetent female drivers around you to give you an accurate ETA.

Anyone ever wonder what happens to the people who get caught on the turnpike with no money?  Well, I was fortunate enough to find out first hand.  As I passed through the toll both en route to Rome, NY I had an ample number of opportunities to pull off and stop an ATM, but I decided to roll the dice.  I pulled through the toll booth, expecting that these people see AT LEAST 2 or 3 people a day without money and wasn't too worried about it.  I mean, come on.  The toll road starts right by the airport.  You have to figure there are people flying in town for business that are unaware of this and don't have cash.  Boy was I wrong...


The woman looked at me as if I was attempting to smuggle a bunch of AIDS-infected Mexicans into New York City. I won't get into details, just suffice it to say the idiot literally wrote me a ticket for $1.45.  I still told her to have a good night, just because I'm a nice guy.

Highlights of the Trip: 

-Eating "Italian Nachos".  If you're ever in New York, check them out. Picture a hungry Mario and Luigi sitting down with Fidel Castro, given the task of developing a terribly unhealthy dish.

-Seeing a guy shoveling snow in a sleeveless shirt.  That's the Southern equivalent of sunbathing in a Snuggie. The guy was clearly cold but I'm guessing he was either too drunk or Italian to realize it.

One final note...
People always wonder why I insist on spelling my full-name whenever I'm on the phone giving personal information.  They usually understand the importance of spelling "Lewis" since there are several ways to go wrong, but "Ryan"???  Come on...  Well, thank you La Roma's Pizzeria for stepping up to the plate on this one. Please see below.