I think one of the most pleasant surprises in this whole Olney experience has been how hospitable everyone has been to us. I mean, if we were two travelling PTs from the Philadelphia area going to somewhere like New York, Boston, or LA, people probably wouldn't even think twice about us. I don't believe everyone would act that way, but I'm sure a good deal would. They would probably just have us work our 3 months and then kick us to the curb. Here though, it's totally different. People have welcomed us in with open arms. From day one they have been telling us where to go, what to do for fun, inviting us into their homes, taking us out to dinner, and even letting us borrow their guns (I'll get to that later). I really can't say enough nice things about everyone we have encountered here. They've gone out of their way to make us feel at home, even though at the end of June we are leaving, and might not ever see them again. It has definitely made this transition a whole lot easier, and we are so grateful for it.
One of the recommendations we were given was to check out Bloomington, IN. It's the home of Indiana University and is more of a low key city with great places to eat and hang out. Also, at this time of year school is out and we won't have to feel like we are surrounded by a bunch of kids if we try to go out somewhere. As we were researching Bloomington, we found out that this weekend was the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival. We figured this would be a great way to sample what the Midwest brewers have to offer. I understand that Budweiser is a big deal around here, but let's try some of the real good stuff. So off we went to Bloomington, one of our shorter drives at only 2.5 hours. After checking into the hotel we did what all responsible adults should do and called a cab to take us over to the festival. All we knew was that it was at a place called the Historic Woolery Stone Mill, whatever that meant. Turns out, this was an old limestone mill that has since been shut down, but remains as a setting for festivals, theatre, and other events throughout the year. As you can see in the pictures below, it is basically just an open warehouse with a dirt floor. Luckily it had a roof so that kept the sun off of us, but since it was open-air, it felt like you were outside. This gave the festival a very laid back, blue collar kind of vibe.
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| Not exactly what we were expecting |
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| But we enjoyed this unique setting |
There were 45 different breweries in all, with a number of interesting brews and types of beer I didn't even know existed. There were also a lot of free goodies to be had, so I filled my pockets up with as much stuff as I could get my hands on. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful afternoon. Thankfully we didn't overly enjoy it, because we were able to successfully go back to the hotel pool for some relaxation before we headed out on the town that night. We ended up walking from the hotel into Bloomington, but since we were starving and didn't really know where we were going, we pretty much just stopped at the first place we found. We parked ourselves there for the night, refueled with some great food, and watched the joke that was the Pacquiao-Bradley boxing match. Everyone at the bar was freaking out when Bradley was announced as the winner. Even Amanda, who knows nothing about boxing couldn't believe the decision. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it. Ridiculous.
Moving on...
The next day we took a tour of Indiana University's campus, which is beautiful, it puts Drexel to shame. But then again most college campuses do anyway. After that, we headed back to Olney to meet up with our co-worker Erin who invited us to her parents' house for lunch and then an afternoon of sporting clay shooting. Now, keep in mind that neither Amanda nor I have ever fired a shotgun, and we don't even know what sporting clays are (we assumed it was like skeet shooting, but we were corrected and thoroughly educated on the differences).
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| Duck Hunt, Amanda's only frame of reference for what is to come |
But what the heck. We'll give it a try. What could possibly go wrong when you give two people, who have no idea how to handle firearms, two high powered shotguns? Going into it I said my only goal was to at least hit one target and zero people. When Erin's dad handed me my gun, Amanda asked me, "Do you feel like a man?" To which I emphatically replied, "No, it just makes me nervous." I was so afraid of doing something stupid and/or unsafe. Thankfully, everyone helped us out and we avoided embarrassing ourselves and injuring others.
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| My biggest fear: Being Elmer Fudd |
After getting a crash course in how to use the shotguns, Amanda and I followed Erin, her husband Jason, her father Loren, and their friend Duane to the first of twelve stations. Amanda and I decided to split up the stations, so we each did six. At each station, two circular clay saucers are flung into the air by machines set up in different locations. You repeat this four to five times per station. Sporting clay shooting is based around the idea of unpredictability, much like you would see in nature if you were shooting a bird or a rabbit. By the way, they do have ones that roll across the ground like a rabbit. Amanda got to shoot at those, I was jealous.
Since you have two bullets, or shells as they are really called, in the shot gun and there are two targets flying in the air, you only get one chance at each target. Therefore you have to be fast and accurate. Not a strong point for either one of us. It can be frustrating, which is why they call it "golf with shotguns". We held our own though. Amanda started off hitting 1-2 targets out of 8 for the first few stations while I was somehow managing to get 2-3 per station. By the end though Amanda looked much more comfortable, and she dominated the wobble shot station. This is a station that increases the unpredictability of the targets because you don't really know where it is coming from. The target launcher moves side to side, instead of remaining stationary. Amanda thrived on this, because she didn't over think it, she just reacted and fired. It was a thing of beauty. I also did well on my last station, getting 6 out of 8 targets. I was really getting into it at that point. Anthony, you would have been proud.
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| We almost look like we know what we're doing |
After we were done shooting, but while my ears were still ringing like crazy, Erin's dad took us over to another part of the facility where the "Bang Clang Club" does their shooting. This club consists of men and women who shoot nothing but old time guns and are required to dress up in time period appropriate clothing. That means no matter what the temperature, men are dressed in wool pants, a jacket, vest, etc. and women are wearing corsets and giant dresses. Some people drive from Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin to be a part of this. The reason it's called the "Bang Clang Club" is because when the old style guns fire they make a really loud BANG and when the lead bullet hits the metal targets it makes a CLANG sound. Simple, yet descriptive. No one was there shooting when we walked through, but I can only imagine how crazy it gets. It'd be like stepping back in time to an old western.
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| A member of the "Bang Clang Club" |
All in all another successful weekend. We had some good beer, a nice night on the town, and we got to play with guns. Things are winding down now though. We don't have any trips planned for the next two weekends before we come home and we are anxiously waiting to hear what our options are for our next placement. Right now Washington is the front runner, but who knows. As we learn more we'll keep you all in the loop, but for right now your guess is as good as mine. Anything is possible with this gig.
