Another great visit to this historic town
Day 1
I started the day off early by going to Planet Fitness at 4:30 AM. This enabled me to drive back home stress free and get ready for the day before heading out to the Houston Bush airport. Once again I parked at the Parking Spot before headed out to the Terminal C. I used Clear to get through security but noted for the second time that the PreTSA line had no wait. I really think that Clear is not worth the money and most likely will not be renewing my membership.
I then made my way over to the United lounge to conduct my team one-on-one calls. Afterwards I went to Potbelly to pick up my apple walnut salad but got notified on my phone that my flight was starting to board.
The good news was I ate very heartily at the lounge and wasn’t too hungry. I proceeded to get on the flight and head out to the East Coast. Upon arriving in Philadelphia I got a craving for Peruvian food and remembered Vista Peru. I looked for the address and to confirm it was open via the Yelp app. I saw that it was currently closed but it was going to open at 4:00 PM. This would not be an issue since I arrived at into Philadelphia at 3:30 PM. I made my way into city and found parking to cost $27 for the evening! Since I had already parked the car it was not worthwhile to find another location. I assumed they would all be the same rate anyway. I paid the fee and crossed the street only to find Vista Peru was closed until Thursday! Frustrated I looked for nearby places to eat and ended up having a cheese steak sandwich at Campos. This was a very tasty sandwich but really felt the gut bomb soon after completing the meal.
Afterwards I made my way to a Giant grocery store to pickup some fruit and protein drinks before calling it a night at the Embassy Hotel.
Day 2
I woke up and headed out to the service center to meet with my local sales rep, Angelo. After a few hellos with the service center staff we left to our first customer visit. We decided to stop for lunch at a local BBQ spot lunch called Big Daddy’z. The ribs and brisket was very tasty and priced at a fair price. I really liked how the brisket was sliced so thinly. This was my first time eating Brisket served in this manner.
After we returned to the Service Center and we worked for a few hours. After completing the day I headed back to the hotel to drop off my work gear and change into my workout clothing. I grabbed a few items and went to workout at the Planet Fitness. After an hour workout I called it a day and went back to the hotel to eat the leftover BBQ from lunch.
Day 3
In the morning I worked out at the hotel’s fitness center. It was amazing to me that the gym had no wipes, towels or anything for people to keep the equipment clean. Very disappointing. Luckily I had some disinfectant wipes in my bag and was able to use it on the gym equipment.
Afterwards I headed out to the service center to meet with Angelo. We headed out into Pennsylvania stopping in the towns of Harrisburg and Scranton.
We stopped for lunch at an eatery on the way to Scranton called Scottos. I had the meatball sub which was quite tasty and hit the spot.
Upon arriving in Scranton I began to think about The Office. I really wanted to drive around the city to see some of the locations filmed for the show. After a Google search it was clear that most of the show’s locations were not in Scranton but California! Nevertheless there were still some locations that I wish we would have had more time to go exploring. But we were 2.5 hours away from the service center and my car. I had scheduled a tennis clinic at the Green Valley Tennis center that started at 6:30 PM and it was 3:00 PM.
We left Scranton back to Bridgeport, New Jersey. One thing I had not counted on was most of the way back was on a 2-line highway and the amount of traffic. These two factors caused us to be delayed. I arrived at the Service Center around 5:45 PM. I quickly said my farewell to Angelo before getting into my car and driving out to the Green Valley Tennis Center.
Upon arriving I had to drive around the tennis club a couple of times since there was no visible sign or entrance. I did notice the tennis indoor bubble and knew there had to be some sort of hidden entrance. I eventually found a small driveway which was hard since nothing was lighted!
I quickly changed into my workout clothing and went into the tennis bubble. To my astonishment the courts were clay! I was very surprised and excited to be playing again on clay courts. I had a great workout with the instructors, Natalia, who were both from Russia. I inquired with the instructor on how to pay for the clinic and she stated that only cash or checks were accepted. I had neither and asked if she could receive a payment on Zelle. She then put her hand up in the air and told me not to worry about it. I assured her that my next payment would cover this and the following session. She was so kind and very complementary to my tennis game.
Afterwards I drove back to the hotel in heavy rain. It was a long day and was ready to hit the sack.
Day 4
I had a 10:00 AM morning flight which gave me the luxury of being able to sleep until 6:00 AM. I was able to check some emails, bank balances and enjoy the morning. I returned my rental car and then took the shuttle to Terminal D. I had breakfast at the Lounge and was notified that my seat was upgraded to First Class. I was looking really forward to being with my family and in my own bed that evening.
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