Sorry World, I have failed you.

I apologize that I haven't been updating my blog. I have no excuse, but my wife and I are in Virginia Beach this week visiting some friends. we are having a blast and staying on an Army base here in Newport News, VA (It's about 30 min. from the coast) We are on Fort Eustis, and it's the first time I have been to an Army base. It makes the fact that one of my best friends is in the Army very real. It's a little weird, but I have a totally new respect for him (and his family for accepting that lifestyle) and I am very glad we're here.

I have done my last 2 runs (3 miles yesterday, 5 miles today) here on base and it really gave me an opportunity to see the base close up. The Army does everything 'bare bones' you could say. The buildings are good and functional, but no 'modern day' frills, and of course, when soldiers are working or doing something Army related, they are all wearing the same uniform (usually camouflage) and nobody has any facial hair. Before I came here, I 'knew' all this.....but being here and seeing it up close is totally different. I honestly don't think I'd last 20 minutes in the Army. I could handle all the physical and mental abuse, I just couldn't make that long of a commitment and give my life up like that for four years. That would be the hardest part of the Army for me, the commitment as a whole.

On Saturday, Amber and I are heading home to Knoxville. The drive is about 8 hours and we are stopping in Roanoke, VA to stay the night Saturday night. Roanoke is about 4 hours from the beach and 4 hours from Knoxville, so it's a good stopping point. Roanoke is also near Virginia Tech University, and we want to stop there and see the campus. First off, I hear it's an amazing campus and should be a nice place to run my 9 miles on Sunday. We also would like to see where the shootings happened and see if there are any memorials left and pay our respects to the people who lost their lives while attempting to better their lives by attending college. It's scary to think that what happened at VT could theoretically happen anywhere, and I just feel for those who lost their lives that day.

Q: What's up with the unicycles??

A: While I was on my 8-mile run on Sunday, there was a guy sharing the trail with me on a unicycle. Seriously.