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I’m in Chicago! I’m here on a sales trip and it’s pretty relaxing. It’s mostly been a mix of sales, homework, and adventure. The flight out on Saturday was fantastic. It just so happened that I shared a flight with Andreas the German Climber. We chatted and shared stories during the trip and the time flew (ba dum dum ching) by. That night I watched a great fireworks show from my hotel room.

Sunday night things were decidedly more lame as I stayed in to work on my paper.

Things picked up again last night when I threw academic responsibility to the wind and went out with the guys to Fogo de Chao, a well known Chicago Brazilian steakhouse. They give you a small token, one side of which is green, the other red.

When you want food, you switch it to green. And the food comes. Fast. An onslaught of meat like none I have ever seen. The first time I turned my token green and had to switch it back to red within 45 seconds for fear that my plate would be overrun by various cuts of tender salty meats.

It was a fun time.

Tonight will be another whole adventure. I’ll take pictures.

This weekend was a great reset. On Saturday I had my new guitar. And I played my new guitar. It is so absurd. It’s almost sinfully good. I feel guilty holding it in my unworthy hands. I played it for hours and hours and hours. Thankfully I took a long enough break to fix up the living room and get some cleaning done. The end result is a nicer house ready for fall.

I still have two or three more things to get done before HoR winterization will be complete.

Despite Kurt’s desperation, the Red Sox rocked the heck out of the Rockies this weekend.

And while the series was super exciting for us Sox fans… I am so disgusted by commercials. As a bit of a quick test I grabbed a stop watch and for twenty minutes I turned the stop watch on and off based on ads. Now, I was being harsh. Any advertisement what-so-ever was enough for me to stop the timer. Whether it was actual TV commercials, quick audio spots by the announcers, or a blatant ‘Bank of America’ billboard behind the batter.

The end result was bad, but not as bad as I expected. 11:57 mins of ads out of 20 min of TV. That’s 60% marketing crap 40% untarnished baseball. Although barely scientific, the quick study was fun.

It was a decent weekend here in CT. I finished my paper at about 10pm on Friday and was pretty pleased with the result. Class on Saturday was fun, we covered various topics on how the Fed can manipulate the economy and various methods of highly profitable price discrimination. Saturday night I stopped by guitar center to try some more guitars in my quest for rock.

I think I’ve decided on what guitar to purchase. Check out today’s feature to read about some of the things I’ve learned over the past weeks.

Sunday’s highlight was a visit with Paul Scott. We talked about various exciting projects and work and music and movies. It’s always mind expanding talking to Dr. Scott.

And of course last night, despite desperately wanting to go to bed at about eight thirty, I listened to the entire redsox game on the radio. Oh man. Super exciting.

Listening to sports broadcasts on the radio is really interesting. Let’s look at the options for baseball media.

1. TV
2. Radio
3. Gameday (internet)
4. Live internet Feed

Gameday, if you aren’t familiar, is a funky little graphical representation of a baseball game. It shows all sorts of stats but does an extremely poor job at showing action. The live internet feed is interesting… because they charge for it. Does anyone know anyone who paid for live internet feed last night?

I like radio. The announcers do a great job at conveying excitement at the field and add, I think, a whole level of excitement. They describe not only the action, but also the visual aspects that are just taken for granted on TV. “The Red Sox run onto the field, with their bright white home uniforms… Cleveland in their travel grays!” Their description of Coco Crisp’s final catch of the night was awesome. Too good to retell.

Even still, you miss the whole picture with radio. Perhaps the ultimate combo would be to watch TV with the sound off and the radio on.

Saturday Shaun L. and I took a trip up to Guitar Center to check out the latest and greatest of guitar design. You’ll see an exciting new post appear in the features section sometime in the next three weeks talking about guitars and the new purchase that is looming.

After that I went to Kung Fu and played a few sets of Tennis with Shaun L.

On Sunday, the intensity continued.

The day started with a beginner’s rock climbing day at Main Cliff. Pete, Paul, Lauren, and I got about 20 people together to share in the joys of scaling rocks. We set up 5-6 routes over the course of the day and, except for the occasional chilling winds, everyone seemed to have had a good time. TimBaird, Janelle, Asia, and Dave made up the group that came with me. They did really well.

Unfortunately, post climbing I wasn’t feeling too well. And despite sleeping 8+ hours last night I still felt pretty defeated this morning. Hopefully it will pass quickly and not develop into anything more hampering.

This week is the first in four weeks that shouldn’t have me traveling anywhere. It’ll be nice to stay home and relax.

This week… things change.

For one, classes are starting back up. I’m taking Conduction on Wednesdays, International Operations of Fridays, and Service Operations Management every other Saturday.

There’s nothing entirely unusual about this class schedule… but now I have an added commitment.

On Saturday, I am proud to report that I was promoted to blue belt in kung fu.
Looking at the following Kung Fu Belt Progress chart, you’ll see that I’m inching closer and closer towards the coveted black belt.

What does this have to do with added commitment? Well, blue belt and up is considered ‘advanced.’ This means that the class times will increase from one to two hours. This doubled time commitment will increase my weekly training from 3-4 hours to 6-8 hours. I also suspect the classes will get a bit more vigorous and I will be expected to reach new levels of fury.

It’ll be interesting to see how all this plays out.

In other news, keep your eyes open in the features section for a follow up on last night’s amazing roller derby bout.

On Labor Day Pete and I tried our luck at Chatfield Hollows.

Chatfield Hollows is a park in Killingworth, CT that has a quaint little rock climbing spot notorious for its short tough routes. The walls don’t go much higher than 40 feet or so, so the top of the cliff is just about at the same level as the tops of the trees.

After getting a little lost entering the woods, Pete and I finally found the crag and got started on a 5.5. This would be Pete’s first lead.

In action. Pete places some gear.

Pete’s completed his climb.

Now, this was a pretty good route to get a first lead in. The low height and great gear placement was super safe. Also, in an attempt to get some practice placing gear, Pete laced the thing up with protection. Let’s take a closer look at that last picture. I’ve circled gear in red.

Pete placed a total of 14 pieces of gear in a 30 foot wall. hilarious!

After Pete finished up we went through a few harder routes. Pandemonium, Sirius, and a third that escapes me. They were harder routes… 5.9, 5.9+, and 5.10+.

Overall, I would describe Chatfield hollows as somewhat magical. It’s off the beaten path so for most of the day Pete and I were alone at the rock. It was sheltered and the Gniess rock was a pleasant break from the typical Trap rock at Ragged Mountain.

This labor day weekend was overflowing with adventure. First, Saturday.

On Saturday I went to the Gunks with Andreas. The Gunks is a hugely popular climbing spot in NY and Andreas is an extremely intense German. He led a 5.10c like it was a walk in the park. Completely smooth and without hesitation. On top of that, he was humble about his on-sight achievement.

The second pitch of nurse’s aid was rated as a 5.10a… but it was not a 5.10a. At the top there was a “wild hand traverse” which would have been better described as an “insane hand traverse.” Here’s a rough sketch:

Andreas was unsuccessful in his leading of this portion of the climb. He actually had to make a little aid ladder out of gear. He did it, and eventually got to the top.

I was following, and when I got to the hand traverse I did the most horribly sloppy ascent. First I traversed out about 3 feet. Then I threw my left foot onto a chip in the far corner.

Then I mashed my face against the rock.. jammed my wrist into the crack and pushed down to get my body above the crack.

Then I brought my right foot up and kind of slobberly mushed myself higher. slobberly mush is a pretty good adjective noun combo. Other good adjectives noun combos that could be used to describe my motion might be:

sloppily wormed
grovingly smooshed
squirmingly wriggled

Finally I desperately grabbed for the top and stuck it.

After completing the route a group of climbers who had been climbing next to us spoke up.

climbers: You did a great job with that roof!
Mike D: Ugh. no I didn’t. it was just about as ungraceful as you can get
climbers: Grace? grace doesn’t matter in Trad* This is climbing not figure skating.

We had a good laugh. After nurse’s aid, I led CCK a 5.7/5.9 exposed lead. Once worn out, Andreas and I left the gunks and shared some pizza in New Paltz. It was a great experience and I was happy to spend some time with Andreas.

*traditional climbing

This weekend was perfect.

Friday night I had a very important kung fu session and I’m pleased that I went. Sijeh Shannon was running class and critiqued my forms to a level beyond any other. It was extremely helpful.

Saturday Dave Susco and I hit up Main Cliff in the early AM. I started with a quick Broadway lead (5.8). Then Dave led a two pitch route: Jessica (5.8+ R). In actuality we never meant to have him start up an R. I was looking at the book, got confused, and we started up the wrong route. That said, it turned out to be the best climb of the day. The top was extremely tricky, and despite it being an R (this means rare gear placement) Dave threw down 6 pieces of protection in 20 feet. And this was absolutely necessary. He ended up taking a pretty big fall right before topping out. I would guess that he fell about 12 feet. It was wild.

The gear held without a problem. The top ended up requiring three consecutive sharp crimps and some creative footwork. It was a blast.

After eventually finishing that route we headed over to Vector and I led that route without too much difficulty. The crux was a thin off width that required a 4 cam. Unfortunately, I’d already used it so I had to run out about 12 feet of rope (not ideal). But I never felt very nervous… I think I will soon be ready for my first attempt of YMC - Main cliff’s infamous 5.9.

Some day I will be leading 5.10s. And that will be a triumphant day.

After climbing Dave and I shared some martial arts knowledge (he does Bando*… a thailand fighting style). It was fun.

Sunday, Shaun L. and I cleaned out the fridge (it was very dirty), I finished my cleaning of the downstairs bath, and we hit up the grocery store.

Good times. Very good times.

*SEE COMMENTS

And American for “Staggeringly Delicious.”

When I was a kid my mom used to occasionally make us Calzones for lunch. It’d be a long calzone cut into thin slices and filled with such delicious combos as ham and cheese or meatball and sauce.

Well, yesterday I tried making some Calzones following my mother’s instructions. And they came out near flawless. The idea is simple enough. Buy some frozen meatballs and some pizza dough. Let the dough sit for an hour or two to rise, thaw the meatballs, and then roll into a long strip. Perhaps about 30 centimeters wide and 60 centimeters long.

Throw some meatballs, sauce, and cheese in there and roll. It’s even more exciting if you do multiple layers.

Put it in the oven at 190 C (375 F) for 15-20 minutes and you’ll be good to go.

You’ll know it’s reached its maximum potential for delicious if you tap the calzone and it knocks as if hollow. So delicious!

I installed a dishwasher yesterday. It went… okay. I have a bit more plumbing I need to do (replacement of a leaking valve with a ball valve)… but we’re really close. And it’s currently fully plumbed and will clean dishes nicely.

It’s pretty exciting having a new appliance like that. I’m debating whether or not I should consider this as the Appliance of 2007. For the past three years I’ve been buying myself an appliance.

2004: Rice Cooker
2005: Dyson
2006: Kitchen Aid Mixer

And while the dishwasher certainly will get tons of use and make my life easier, it’s almost more of a house improvement then it is a personal thing. And someday when I move out, I’ll leave the dishwasher behind.

In other news, I had my final MBA class of the school year on Saturday. Unfortunately, there’s a take home exam that isn’t due for another week. This is annoying because we really only get a few weeks off from class each year, and this take home is essentially extending the semester.

Once again, the weekend was a fury of activity.

Highlights:

Friday night I hung out with Ernie, Keller, Joanna, and Bekah. Bekah wanted Keller’s help in recording a few tracks on the piano. I helped by sitting quietly in the background matching her left hand on bass. What fun. I haven’t played music with a group in quite some time, and it was a blast. We also had a really short, but really interesting, conversation about books. Bekah, it seems, has read every book ever written by mankind. She was able to fully converse about any book that any of us had read. This made me realize two things.
1. I need to read more books for pleasure.
2. I wish I had a better memory and could remember books more easily.

Saturday, post class, I had my first real introduction to guitar hero. Holy Fun. My sister totally ruined it for me though as I excitedly told her of my guitar hero adventures…

Mike D (overly excited): I played GUITAR HERO last night for the first time
Alicia: oh yeah? my Friend Eran invented that game.
Mike D: wha.. huh?
Alicia: yeah. he helped develop Harmonix the company behind it. He’s a clarinet player.
Mike D: …
Alicia: in fact, just recently he was interviewed about the upcoming ROCK BAND game and…. really funny story… the interviewers brought clothes with them for him to wear so that during the interview he’d look “cooler.” Apparently he’s wearing a sequence Ozzy Osborn shirt. ha ha! Which is extra hilarious because normally he wears khakis and button up shirts.

Her story was so much better than mine.

Sunday I worked on a paper for a bit and then hit up ROLLER DERBY in CT. I think that this bout goes down as the most exciting ever. I can’t wait to write a review. It’ll probably be up in the next few days in the features section. Keep an eye out for it.

Yay! Weddings!

I put together a video/picture montage of Jesse and Alicia’s wedding. Check it out here. Ideally, watch it with sound. It’s much better that way.

Jesse and Alicia’s Wedding from mikedidonato and Vimeo.

Congratulations Jesse and Alicia!!

This weekend was non-stop action that was focused mainly around Jesse’s wedding. It was a great get together on Saturday and, from a guest’s perspective, things went very smoothly. I’ve been working on a picture/video montage of sorts that will be appearing in the feature section within the next day or two.

The excitement of the wedding was immediately followed by my purchase of a gas powered 26cc four stroke weed whacker of fury. This was the first time I’ve used a gas powered weed whacker… and the thing is intense. It is so powerful that after one use the splattered remains of the House of Rock’s weeds were fused into the grain structure of my jeans. AND with the change out of a single bolt, the 16″ nylon cutting swath can be replaced with three metal blades of slaughter. Blades so powerful that they can take down inch thick tree trunks without a second glance.

The only downside is that earplugs are most definitely required. Really? it’s a small price to pay for wielding a weed tool of total destruction.

This weekend was great! Saturday my class let out a bit early so I met up with Devin for some climbing over at East Peak.

East Peak is just a tough location for climbing. It’s plagued with loose rock and heavy shrubbery. Shaun L. helped us out a bit by driving us up to the top (there’s a road… but it closes at 4:45). After a nasty hike to the base of the Ampitheater, we whipped out a few crack climbs on the Shakespeare wall. The Shakespeare wall is a wall where all the climbs are named after Shakespeare’s plays. Climbers may be a feisty bunch, but we’re not completely illiterate.

A few feet up off the ground on ‘Taming of the Shrew’ Devin took a pretty nasty fall. He hadn’t put his first piece of gear in yet and lost a foothold. He only fell about 6-8 feet, but his hand was jammed at the time so he twisted it badly. The injury didn’t stop him though. Devin is a machine.

After that, we worked an offwidth and I led ‘Much ado about nothing’. It was a 5.5 which would have been better soloed. At 25 feet tall, it was more a bouldering problem than a climb.

Exciting new climbing term!!
Trundle: to purposely let loose a rock off a climb, perhaps to prevent a future climber from inadvertently knocking it off during a climb later on.

Sunday I went climbing again, this time with Paulette and Michelle at Pinnacle.

I taught the girls how to set up a toprope and we worked Zambezi (5.7+) and Suffocation (5.6). It was fun and the weather was beautiful.

After climbing we went back to Michelle’s place. Tony met up with us and we shared in delicious BBQ, swimming, and overall great times. I think it was the ideal summer Sunday.

On Sunday, Pete and I tried our luck at East Peak again. We got a bit of a late start because of my late arrival back from Cape Cod, but the weather was perfect. The hike to the crag was a solid 40 minute adventure alternating between steep, really steep, and comfortable. We set up at the Merrimere face first to try our luck at Thor’s hammer. Pete and I set up a solid top rope and rappelled down for the climb.

Pete was successful. I tried a 5.11 just to the left of Thor’s hammer and failed miserably. so I ended up finishing the top of Thor’s Hammer. shortly afterwards, Irene and Tony showed up. Irene whipped out thor’s hammer as well.

After Thor’s Hammer, we tried to find the Amphitheater where there are some tough crack climbs. These attempts were horribly unsuccessful. After much frustration we split up. Pete and I traversed a field of loose rock and eventually found the crag. Meanwhile Irene and Tony hiked the top and dropped a rope at Rat Crack a 5.7

I free climbed a 5.1 gully to the top and help set up the top rope. Irene rappelled down and she and pete worked the climb. I took a few pictures with Pete’s camera and as soon as they’re up, I’ll post links here.

Paulette showed up while Pete was working the route. At this point it was beginning to get dark, so we decided to just hike out once Irene and Pete were up. We reached the base at about 8:40.

It was a great day to spend outside, but I would rate the climbing as ‘okay’. So far, our East Peak attempts have not been very fruitful. ahh well. next time.

On Saturday night Schenk, Ruth, and I threw a monster double dutch party in Falmouth, MA. We had a boombox, a CD of funk favorites, ropes, and motivation for extreme good times.

Attendance was great. There were a solid 25-35 people there over the course of the two hours. It started a bit slow, and people were hesitant to enter the ropes of fury… but those who did… did well.

After a short while we switched from double dutch to single rope jumping. Check out Ruth’s sweet face in this image:

Some even had trouble with the single rope… but really? the extremeness of those that entered the rope showed through.

Including this guy who was jumping with the most awesome pink crocs one could ever imagine.

his name was obviously michael. Because all Michael’s know how to rock fashion to the Xtreme.

Yes, this double dutch event was most definitely a success.

I also broke my car key again this past weekend.

This is getting really annoying.

This week I’m going to be in Houston on business. As such, I can’t promise much for posts. But! who knows. we shall see.

My birthday weekend was pretty spectacular. Below, I’ve included some pictures of Tony and me climbing at Main Cliff in CT.

We only did two climbs as we started a bit late. First I lead Broadway, a CT 5.8 classic. It went pretty well, no real issues. I’m feeling more comfortable leading eights. Provided they have Good gear placement options.

In this picture, I’m just to the right of the overhang.

The weather was ideal for climbing. Just enough of a slight breeze to keep you cool but not overwhelming.

There’s a copperhead snake that has made its residence between two rocks up by the top of Carey’s Corner. we kept our distance for obvious reasons.

We’ve seen it there a few times, so if you happen to head out there keep an eye out for it. It’s not in the actual climb, but instead up past the permanent anchor over the top. Just watch where you step.

As I was leading Broadway I put in my number 1 cam a bit too tightly into the rock. Tony had a heck of a time taking it out. You can see that both sides of each individual cams are jammed against the side of the rock. While the piece certainly would have protected me had I fallen, it was a pain in the butt to remove.

After polishing off Broadway, I gave Tony an opportunity to lead a 5.4. He had no major issues. When setting anchor he dropped a rock the size of a softball down at me, but thankfully gave me enough warning (ROCK! HUGE ROCK!) so that I could run to safety.

We climbed until well after dark. Thankfully we’ve fallen into the habit of taking flashlights with us when we hike into the woods.

It was a really fantastic birthday.

On Sunday the CT Roller Girls met in Waterbury to lay waste to each other. The Elm City Bone Crushers took on the Widowmakers. I was excited despite the fact that the Iron Angels wouldn’t be making an appearance.

I was rooting for the Widowmakers. Jesse was rooting for the Bone Crushers.

Roller Magic was decked out in all sorts of Roller Derby getup. The bout had a western theme, so cowboy hats and boots were a common sight.

After an unexpected delay (due to a Puerto Rican parade) we settled in by the air hockey table with a prime view of the roller action.

The girls got serious fast.

The Widowmakers started off strong with three consecutive dominating rounds. In a mere 15 minutes the score was heavily favoring the purple vixens. This did not make the match any less exciting. Bone Crusher’s Cha Cha LaRue and DoomCake (fantastic names!) were bringing in big cheers.

Widowmaker Slim Fast’s swinging arms mesmerized us.

Black Cherry, another Widowmaker, showed incredible skill. When she first took the position as Jammer all our group could do was mutter “Wow” over and over again. That girl can skate.

The roller girls did not hold back. There were more than a few full layouts of pack members doing their very best to take down the opposing jammer. Here, Widowmaker Pepper Grind-Her is about to lay down the hurt on Bonecrusher Ether Bunny.

At the end of the first round, things were looking grim for the Bone Crushers. But the Bonecrushers persisted. Ether Bunny, of the bone crushers, seemed to break free. She successfully navigated through the barrier of blockers with surprising ease. That, coupled with a huge number of penalties given to the Widowmakers, kept hope alive.

Suddenly as the clock ticked to 6:23, catastrophe struck. Widowmaker captain #7 Miz Con SepJen took a bad fall. EMTs ran out to her. She was hurt.

She had dislocated her shoulder when pulling off a monster block. It had to be popped back into place… and that’s not an enjoyable process. When she finally got to her feet, with EMTs at each side, the crowd applauded profusely. Shortly thereafter the game got started again and the Widowmakers rallied behind their fallen captain and took the game.

Unfortunately for CT Derby fans, this was Slim Fast’s last night with the Widowmakers. She’ll be headed to NY to start her own league.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will be waiting intently for the next bout. It’ll be July 22nd and is a showdown between the Widowmakers and the Iron Angels. Prepare yourself for action.

Special thanks to Ryan L. for his Sick photos. Check out all of them here.

This weekend was busy.

Basic breakdown:
Friday - Class.
Saturday - Class and BBQ
Sunday - Climbing and Roller Derby

At the BBQ we filmed another Kung Fu Party Trick. Get excited, that will be posted tomorrow.

Climbing went pretty well. I led Main Street (5.4, not particularly exciting) and Wishbone (5.7, the second time around was even more fun than the first).

And the CT Roller Girls were, of course, absolutely awesome. A full update will probably be posted Thursday in the features section.

This weekend gets a qualified “eh.” I came in to help with my company’s inventory count on Saturday and Sunday. Most of the rest of my time was spent on a Fluids homework assignment that reaches new levels of obnoxious.

The annoying part of this homework is that most of the work is just algebra. After figuring out which formula to use, which takes all of 3 minutes, the next hour is spent substituting in variables and simplifying equations.

Not fun.

Thankfully, there were two moments of enjoyment this weekend. Saturday night, at 6:45 Jesse and I decided to sprint up to Pinnacle rock and whip out two climbs. We did 1st and 3rd crack. Finishing 3rd crack as the sun set over the hills. Then, last night Pete, Crystal, Jesse, Irene, Joel, and I decided to save our sanity and get a quick climb or two in at Main Cliff.

I collected my first piece of climbing booty* (a sweet Tricam) on a 5.5 lead then tied into a top rope on Wetwall and some 5.9 face. It was raining by the time I hit Wetwall and the 5.9, so the fun factor jumped considerably.

Overall, this weekend gets a 5.3 toprope rating, more effort than enjoyment.

*a piece of gear that someone else left in the rock, either inadvertently or because they couldn’t remove it.

This weekend was packed full of climbing.

Saturday: Whitestone Cliffs
Highlight: I led ‘Structures’ a 5.9-. Took my first lead fall, struggled through a hand traverse, but finished the route nonetheless

Sunday: Pinnacle Rock
Highlight: Led 5.8 Zambeezy. It was clean.

Monday: Main Cliff
Highlight: Led 5.7 Wishbone. Also clean, but the length of the route made it feel a bit harder than Zambeezy.

Outside of climbing, I hung out with Tony and Paulette a bit, partook in a Roast of all Roasts, cleaned, did some running and lifting with Shaun L, and took a number of naps. Naps, by the way, can not be appreciated enough.

On Friday night Jason allowed me to snag up his extra ticket and go with him to see Dave Brubeck play in Durham.

Dave Brubeck, for those of you who don’t know, is a jazz giant. He and his quartet came up with some really fantastic music including the infamous “Take 5″ and “Blue Rondo à la Turk.”

Brubeck got his group together to play for the inauguration of Jazz’d 4 Life, an organization whose goal is to help needy children both domestically and internationally. The show was hosted by CT’s weatherman of choice, Dr. Mel, and was very well organized.

The Quartet received a standing ovation as they walked on stage. They played for about an hour and a half (not bad for an 86 year old and his clan) and it was some of the best Jazz that I’ve ever heard.* The saxophonist, Bobby Militello rocked the Alto sax like nuts! and the drummer and bassist had phenomenal solos. When Dave hit the first two chords of ‘take 5′ the crowd exploded with cheers.

It was truly an amazing evening of music. Dave Brubeck is the man.

*to be fair, I haven’t heard TONS of jazz.

While in Cape Cod last weekend, I had an interesting car experience. When I went out to the Benchwarmer to drive the group to get ice cream, I reached into my pocket and found that my key had snapped in two.

This was not good.

I immediately got on the phone and called up a handful of mechanically savvy persons: My Dad, James, Galecki, and Chad to be specific. The general consensus was “get to a key copying place, and see if they can save you.”

Unfortunately, this delayed my return back to CT, so I made sure to call Jesse and Tony to make them aware of scheduling changes*. But, as long as I could get myself a functioning car, I wasn’t going to complain.

Sure enough, when I got to Eastman’s Hardware store in Falmouth, Janice over in the key department said she’d be up to the challenge. She clamped the two key pieces together and used a follower to carve out a new key. She did a darn good job. The new key started the car on its first attempt and I was able to get back to CT with a little extra time to spare. Total cost? $2.00

So, if you ever find yourself in a similar scenario… fear not. Your solution is just a hardware store away.

*special props to Tony for offering to drive from the HoR to Cape Cod (3.5-4 hrs) to deliver me a new key