Gennaio
On my quest to improve my 5k time, I started the year with a 30:46 which I'm still quite proud of. It was the day that the LA Fitness in Smithtown closed. Tragic. Still haven't improved that time on a treadmill, but now that Spring is bringing some good weather, I'll be running in the mornings.
I took the opportunity to get a membership at Planet Fitness which isn't my favorite in the world, but it's certainly the cheapest option I've seen.
Febbraio
For Valentine's Day, Amanda and I drove up to Ontario to see Niagara Falls from Canada's POV. It was great, and I understand why people say it's a better view from up there. Obviously it was freezing, but that was just part of the charm. One of the best parts of being in Canada? The USD is stronger than the CAD, so money's on sale.
On recommendation, we went to a nearby hotel that had an IHOP on it's 26th floor, poised to look over the falls. The view was insane.
Marzo
March was a big month for travel. When Tom went back to school for a semester to wrestle, he (naturally) qualified for nationals. They were in Iowa. Obviously we couldn't miss this, so with about 8 days of notice we got our tickets and flew to Chicago. We heard that for whatever reason, flights directly in and out of Iowa get cancelled and delayed incredibly often, so it was actually wiser to fly into Chicago, rent a car, and drive the rest of the way. This turned out to be absolutely true, and anyone who didn't do this had to pay the price. Our brother Nick and his wife Shawna drove the whole way from Minnesota so we had the whole family in one place.
During this drive we stopped at the world's largest truck stop that had no business having the amenities that it did. Just look at this sign.
At this stop, I grabbed an Iowa deck of cards, adding it to the collection of state decks. Flying in and out of Chicago presented a rare opportunity to get an Illinois deck as well, but for some reason the O'Hare airport didn't have a single deck of state-themed cards. Unbelievable. I mean seriously, when am I going back there?
After about a week back from Iowa, we flew into Georgia to see my grandparents in South Carolina. Of course we had to hit up our favorite breakfast spot — Cahill's. One of those farm-to-table type places, so we visited the chickens afterward.
We had to visit Hilton Head Island so we could head back to the Ice Cream Cone; a local ice cream joint whose walls are plastered with cow-themed parody posters for movies, albums, and athletes.
Tom's favorite is Cristiano Moonaldo, but I think Moohammad Ali clears it.
What Comes Next?
Q2 and onwards is going to have a bigger focus on outdoor ventures. More running around the neighborhood where I'll be working to improve my 5k time along with Alex, whose times I can see on the Map My Run app. I have loose plans to visit state parks in New York to take some hikes and get good pictures. Ideally, I'd like to sign up for another kickball season for the summer.
I'll be visiting a certain special restaurant in Manhattan that I've been dying to go to.
There won't necessarily be an update like this every quarter. Just the ones deemed to have enough to talk about. Posts may slow down through May and June as this is the time of year when I work two jobs. Hopefully by the next personal update, I'll have a sub-30 5k time that I can brag about.
April 15th, 2026