Today was a long day of driving. Our group of 3 started out in Cross Lanes, West Virginia early in the morning, stopping at The Waffle Hut in Flatwoods, WV (home of the Lizard Monster, thank you MonsterQuest). Breakfast was great; the locals in the restaurant looked at us kind of funny as it was immediately apparent we were not from there. I will say West Virginia is a beautiful and somewhat mountainous state. Lots of patchy fog as the sun rose made for amazing vistas and a peaceful drive.
We spent about an hour driving through Maryland before finally crossing into Pennsylvania and then we hit the PA Turnpike. I was not aware that late April was the start of Road Work Season, but we lost track of the number of construction zones with single lanes slowed down to 55 or 40 miles per hour. Frustrating at times. We picked up the fourth member of our traveling party at Philadelphia Airport around 3:00 then headed up to Allentown where we are staying or the weekend.
After settling in our rooms, we headed out to 5 Guys for hamburgers then to the Cigars International SuperStore in Bethlehem for the CAO Event that signified the kickoff to CigarFest. It was crowded and somewhat chaotic but the atmosphere was fun and the camaraderie flowed as freely as the smoke that quickly filled their large showroom. Shortly after 6:00, CAO Director of Lifestyle Marketing, Jon Huber, entered. We got to exchange a few words then CAO President, Tim Ozgener, came in and introduced the celebrity guest, boxing great, Joe Frazier. We also got to talk to Tim for a few moments and then he took his place with Messrs. Frazier and Huber up on the platform where Joe signed CAO Champion Samplers and took pictures with those who bought them.
A great evening and kickoff for a fun weekend. We adjourned early to come back to our hotel where we found a nice quiet outdoor spot. The four of us split some more Wild Turkey Bourbon and Rye Whiskey and another cigar each while debating cigars, people and politics. Just like old times. Good debate with strong opinions voiced and all of us went to our rooms still friends (and none of us had blocked someone else on Twitter as a result).
Tomorrow will be a big day...as I've said to the guys a couple times, if we don't each smoke 6 or more cigars each day Friday and Saturday, we're just not working hard enough.
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