Nearing the End

Duluth, Georgia

The week started off calm and relaxing.  We were able to get to the hotel at a decent time instead of 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning.  This never happens.  Groceries, sporting goods stores, a movie theater, banks, and all the other places to eat and necessities were just a short walk down the road.  Just be sure to watch out for cars, there was no sidewalk.

However, a short-skip-and-a-jump to the side of the hotel and you were in the parking lot of a vacant building surrounded by woods and squirrels.  The leaves crunched under your footsteps and the sun played hide-and-go-seek behind the trees.  It was just what I needed; my little escape.  

Back to reality though, the sound of the cars racing by on the road in front of the hotel took away all the tranquility that the woods devout a few short moments before. 

Sticking to the same outdoor-theme though, we ventured to the Norcross County Gun Club and Range to brush up on our safety gun skills and try our hands at target practice.  I really felt like I was at home now, except for the fact that this was all taking place inside instead of outside in an open field.  However, it was nice not to be in a big city for the moment. 

So far, it was a pretty chill week until we had to make the trek into work.  Not only was the traffic really heavy, but we were also 11 miles away from the venue this week.  Therefore, when the bus driver gets lost in tandem with those two things, that only means one thing…we are going to be late.  And that we were, so the combination of having all the bus times moved ahead 30 minutes and going from a 7:30PM show at night to a 10:30AM show the next morning really wore us out. 

We were trying to make the most of it though and even found time to make it to the gym.  The owners of TAPOUT FITNESS were both nice enough to allow the D34 cast and crew to workout for the week for a small fee of $20 for the week or $10 for the day.  I mean, that’s pretty reasonable considering most places don’t offer deals like that nor do they give the option to rent a key card to allow you 24-hour access to the gym.  And keep in mind, that this option was given to us, who were only there for a week, imagine if you were a routine client, and could go to the gym whenever you wanted. 

The gym itself catered to boxing, but still offered your typical cardio, weight training, machines and dumbbells, and classes, but unlike most of its’ type, it was clean!  I mean this gym didn’t even have dirt on the floor or in the corners.  The equipment was up to date and in constantly being maintained for member’s safety.

It has only been open since September, but has grown in size to 600 members already.  One thing though, not all 600 of them come at the same time like LA Fitness.  Instead, they seem to come sporadically throughout the day so there aren’t any lines waiting for your piece of equipment.   No one there judges you either, so it’s not like LA Fitness where everyone is watching your every move.  And everyone is friendly, which you don’t find most places. 

So, a huge thank you and shout out to Eric Boxer and Sean Boxer at TAPOUT FITNESS!  We all know where to come workout next time we are in Norcross County, GA.  Until then though, we must be on our way.  A bus ride, a plane flight, followed by another bus ride calls our name: off to Lafayette, Louisiana.