Where Jordan Got His Start

All,

Since I left you last week, I've made my way south of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and into North Carolina. It's feels good to be back on the familiar roads of the Carolinas again! Since last week, my travels for work have taken me through Virginia Beach, down the coast to Wilmington, NC. Interestingly, considering all the time I've spent in the Carolinas over the years, I've never been here before. It's beautiful! I've always heard great things about the beaches here, so this weekend, I'll find out for myself as Steph and I will check out nearby Wrightsville Beach (shown).

As you sports fans may remember, Wilmington is the hometown of the greatest basketball player in history, Michael Jordan, who went to Laney High School. I had to reference him because other than the beaches here, I don't have much more to go on!

Next week, I'll be in South Carolina. Specifically, I'll be in Murrel's Inlet (near Myrtle Beach) and Columbia for a couple days, which will be great because that's the town where I went to college. It'll be good to see the familiar sights and talk football with the locals. From there, I'll head back up north where I'll be in and around NYC for the first few weeks in August.

Hopefully you're all doing well and thanks for reading!

On the road,

Matt

Hallowed ground for us history buffs

Friends,

Tonight, I find myself once again without cell service, this time in Roanoke, VA. Sprint clearly is not the preferred carrier in the Shenandoah region because this is quickly becoming the source of many headaches!

Alas, it's beautiful country out here as pretty much everywhere you look you can see the Blue Ridge mountain range. Today, I spent some time in the town of Appomattox, VA. This city is known, as many of you recall from American history, as the site of the Confederacy's surrender to the Union in 1865 to end the "War of Northern aggression," as it's referred to around heeya. Being honest, the town was nothing special, but the people were pretty nice so I guess it's ok in my book. Lately, I've been all over Civil War country as I go back and forth over the Mason-Dixon line (a.k.a. the PA-MD border), constantly seeing signs along the Interstate for battlefields. Not only that, a couple weeks back, I worked with a sales rep who was taking part in a reenactment that weekend! So, you could say the people get into it a little bit. Whether it's Gettysburg, Antietam, or some of the others that were fought up here, this region is full of history. I'm glad it's full of something, because cell phone towers it is not!

I'll be in Roanoke again tomorrow, before I head down to Charlotte for the weekend (about 2 1/2 hrs). Next week, I'll kick things off in Lexington Park, MD near the Chesapeake Bay, before heading down along the coastline to Virginia Beach and closing out the week in Wilmington, NC. I'm looking forward to finally being in the Carolinas again, for work, anyway.

I want to send along birthday wishes (yesterday) to my dad, as well as congratulations to Stephanie on purchasing her first home in Charlotte, and Ryan and Amber for buying a house out in Lodi, CA.

Hopefully everyone else is doing well and having a great summer! Thanks for reading.

On the road,

Matt

Tough Act to Follow

Friends,

My travels have me back in the metro area of Washington, D.C. as I spent last night in Hagerstown, MD, about a mile from the Civil War battlefield Antietam. I worked all day today in D.C., spending much of the morning at Frager's Hardware on Pennsylvania Ave. Though at first glance this store was much like every other mom and pop hardware store I call on daily, this one had a pretty cool story. Last year, when President Bush was promoting measures that would aid small business, he visited this store for a tour. After all, it was just down the street from his house! I talked to the store owner about the visit today, and he said that last year's VIP visit by the president was preceded by weeks of preparation. Though flattering, he said it was an exhausting undertaking!

Check out the picture I've included. I found this online and the cool part is, if you look to the left of President Bush, you'll see a bunch of yellow packaged goods. These are IRWIN chalk reels and chalk canisters, every day items for many tradesman on job sites and products I sell daily! I tell you what, just when I thought I'd seen it all this year...

Tomorrow I'll be back in D.C. before heading to Richmond for the night. I'll close out the week in Roanoke, VA and spend the weekend in Charlotte helping Stephanie move into her newly-purchased townhouse!

Hope you're all well and thanks for reading.

On the road,

Matt

And...THERE goes the phone

Hey guys,

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Independence Day weekend. Mine was awesome, as I spent it in Charlotte and Lake Hartwell, SC, spending time with family and friends.

While in Charlotte, Steph, her friend Brandy and I went to the Carowinds amusement park. Before this, I think it had been like 10 years since I'd been to an amusement park. I had to go way back to the Kings Island days pre-high school! Needless to say, I was excited to dominate some roller coasters for old time's sake! So, we get to the park and hit the first ride we come to, After Burn (pictured). We didn't wait long because it was early, so after 15 minutes or so, we were in our seats. Before the thing took off, I joke to Stephanie something like "Wouldn't it stink if I lost my cell phone on this ride...", kinda tapping my pocket where my phone was as I spoke. Well, you guessed it. We take off, enjoy the ride for a minute or two, come to a stop back where we started and I feel for my phone and it's gone!! I'm a genius, I know. Well, we looked for it below the tracks briefly, but pretty much all agreed that it was no use. I resolved to just file a report at lost and found at the end of the day and hope for the best. If any of you have been trying to call me since Saturday and haven't heard back, that's why! Oh well, that's life. I'll hopefully get a new one by tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. Also, please send me your numbers!

This week I'm in the Baltimore/D.C. area. It's nice because I'll only be in two hotels this week, so I won't have long drives after work at all. I'm starting to make my way south the rest of the month, as next week I'll be in Virginia, then NC the following week and NC/SC the last week in July. Enduring the weather in Dixie is challenging this time of year, but I'm glad to be getting away from the Northeast for a little while. I'm thrilled to finally be in the Southeast after being pretty much everwhere else this year!

Well I think that's all for now. Hope you're all well and thanks for reading!

On the road,

Matt

Wild, Wonderful...and unreachable

All,

The last couple days have been frustrating as I'm back in West Virginia after being away for 5 months, and once again, my cell phone has had zero service. It's a nice place and the people here are pleasant, but man, get your act together! I stayed in Morgantown, WV last night, a stone's throw away from the WVU campus. Being the flagship university of the state, you'd think I wouldn't have a problem making an outbound call, but not so. This was frustrating, but I'm now in Harrisonburg, VA for the night, where they do in fact have cell phone coverage! This is a beautiful area on the northern ridge of the Blue Ridge mountain range. As I type, I'm looking out my hotel window at nothing but green hills and valleys. Pretty cool. The JMU campus is right down the road, and it's making me realize that I've been in a TON of college towns this year! I've been all through the Ivy League and eastern Big Ten country, and now as I make my way south, I'll be getting into the towns of the SEC and ACC. I know, I always have to find a way to make a sports reference. You guys know me well...this should be no surprise!

I'll hit the road tomorrow early, so I can take off for Charlotte where I'll spend the weekend.

Everyone have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day!

On the road,
Matt