Lynchburg

I traveled to the booming city of Lynchburg, Virginia this week for work to do a software installation. Usually when I travel for a project, I am with a team of consultants. This time I was the first person on site and was basically left on my own to figure things out. While this is a good sign in my professional life, it left me with a week to entertain myself with no chance of outside assistance.

Anyone that knows me can tell you that I don't really talk to strangers. It's funny to say, but it's just something that I don't do. I don't eat dinner alone, go to movies alone, or anything else. However, something came over me in Lynchburg. I ended up going out every night to different restaurants. Maybe it was the book I was reading as I ate, I don't know.  I also chatted up the Marriott manager every night.  I think she was as bored as I was to be in the town.

I ended up enjoying myself in this quaint town of 70,000+, though it felt much smaller than that. It's the home of Liberty University, which was founded by Jerry Falwell. If you haven't heard about the strict rules at this college, they are borderline ridiculous. Okay, not borderline. Way over the border.

The code of conduct includes possible reprimands and, later, fines, for such activities as attending dances, violating curfew, viewing R-rated movies, drinking, smoking, viewing sexually explicit material, entering the bedroom of a member of the opposite sex, having an abortion, and participating in unauthorized petitions.

So much for the college experience. As you can imagine, I didn't find ANY nightlife in the city... not that I would have interacted with anyone though, right? I ended up jogging on an rails to trails path that ran through downtown and along the river. That was probably the highlight of the trip.