Farmville, Virginia
Farmville is a quaint little town about an hour west of Richmond, Virginia. Just don't expect to find too much of a nightlife here, or a taxi.
Cool, might do these…
Yosemite:
Yosemite High Country Backpacking Trip
Grand Canyon:
http://www.rei.com/adventures/trips/weekend/gcb.html
Going to book them the next time I have internet unless anyone says not to!
Arrived at Badlands National Park (Day 11)
I got here today about midday and checked it out a little.
I’m going to be backpacking out the next two nights, but coming back in between for a water fillup.
Here is a picture from the Missouri River and then from Badlands.
Wisconsin River
Holla at your girl
Badlands Handstanded
Next stop will be Yellowstone. Will be driving there on Tuesday (I think) haha. Seems like cellphone works here for the most part…. Cheers!
Picture Dump (Day 9 and 10) briefly…
Slow internet at the KOA in Sioux Falls, SD.
You can check out new pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssaammee
New Handstands at: http://www.handstandsacrossamerica.com/map.php
NOTE: Some aren’t titled and guessed on locations because slow internet is frustrating.
500,000 Motor Cyclers stand in my path the next few days… http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/welcome.php
Off to the badlands tomorrow 
Airventure 2008 in Oshkosh, WI (Day 8)
Woken up bright and early by some blistering hot sunlight. This was at 730 after getting to sleep at 1230? the night before. I really took my time getting ready in the morning and used my time to get the car organized in a manner where I could find things and have some space. After a shower, I got to the air show at almost noon. Today I didn’t check out too much… only the indoor booths and the airshow really. I didn’t want to get sunburn, and I HAD to see the airshow.
It’s now 830pm as I am writing this, and I just took the past hour or so using up by battery life to write this post. I scrambled over and started the car when the battery was about to die so that I could finish going through the photos and write blog posts.
If you think THESE few out of 60 some pictures are cool… The rest are cooler. Check them out and let me know what you think!
“Proud to be an American”…
Cutting the ribbon…
Only helicopter certified by the FAA to perform acrobatics. The Red Bull helicopter.
P.S. – EAA Campground Wifi isn’t that great… I’m having to steal some from the Hawthorne Suites a few miles away. I wrote this last night before my laptop battery died . Here is the error they gave me, jerks!
Sorry, but we’re currently experiencing technical difficulties. The present error condition is:
Timed out waiting for captive portal reply.
For assistance, please contact:
unknown
Additional information:
SSID:
AP MAC Address: (I’m not putting that online! Ha!)
Jeff Dunham At Airventure 2008 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (Day 7 continued)
Well, today was just a darn good tootin’ day, eh? I betcha folks think I’m up from Wis-con-sin. Oh wait, no, but I’m here now at Oshkosh in the CHEESY state of Wisconsin! I got into the EAA campground here in Oshkosh at around 8pm after getting my oil changed and alignment tuned at NTB near Chicago. If anyone doesn’t know what “Oshkosh” (Officially called Airventure) is… it’s the largest general aviation event in the world. I quickly set up my tent and then headed over to see the comedy show I had rushed here to see! This wasn’t just ANY comedy show… It was “Guitar Guy”, and then Jeff Dunham. Hilarious! One of the best comedy skits I have seen, AND it was free, kinda If anyone has not seen anything from Jeff Dunham, I HIGHLY recommend it.
Jeff Dunham and Achmed the Dead Terroist on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go
Jeff Dunham and Peanut on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9KK3FlVC2w
Oh wait, I never really described what this whole Oshkosh thing is like. Man, well, granted I didn’t have much daylight, but so far it seems like it is a family camping trip on crack. 35,000 campers here? RIDICULOUS. Everyone was riding a bike, or a motorcycle or walking and this “Theatre in the Woods” was completely jammed pack. Luckily, because I am 6′ 3″ I didn’t have too much trouble seeing the stage. Everyone seems to be friendly and this seems like it is a good place to be
Anyways, I got back to the site after the Jeff Dunham show and was still amazed that I was still somehow awake after such an early start to the day. I stumbled over to the neighbor campers and introduced myself. They were awfully friendly, Mike and Kevin who live about 30 minutes west of Chicago. We talked a bunch and talked about road trips. Good times.
What is going on? Day 4
I fudged the dates with blogger so that the days will stay in order. The following two post are both brand new as well! (Within the last 12 hours)
Not too much to report for day 4, and not even any pictures, except for being hungover, helping Will’s friend Emily pack her moving truck, A delicious Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard, A delicious home cooked meal from Will and Elizabeth, and the viewing of a great movie!
I’m not a movie buff, but Dark Knight was pretty amazing. Heath Ledger was outstanding, and it was just well put together. Oh yeah, and has ANYONE ever seen a movie staring Morgan Freeman that wasn’t good? He’s one of my favorite actors just because he never lets you down.
So it turns out that 3/4 of the way through the movie, the movie theatre was struck by lightning and power went out. Mildly annoying, but wasn’t too bad. I was really just totally amazed by the quality of the projection (being the geek that I am). I don’t see movies much, and certainly not at decent theatres (ones in “rural” Virginia), but this was really good quality, and used some sort of DLP projector. I will definitely have to get myself an HDTV at some point to just zone out and watch pretty things on a screen
Today I am headed off to Chicago after laundry is finished and a few errands! Thanks “Dieter” for letting me stay at your place!
Day Three
It’s getting late and this whole “blogging” thing takes a lot of time! I will have to write up day two and four tomorrow! Here is day three though, enjoy!
Sleeping in is always a refreshing way to start the day. Woke up around 11am and went over to an Italian place right up the street for lunch. After this we went over to the open house at the airport to check just check it out. It was within 2 minutes of Will’s house and was a nice, small airport. The coolest things we saw were:
- The two helicopters for the children’s hosiptal
- Pimped out 70′s style “jets” with cigarette lighters, and wood paneling.
- Ultralight fan powered looking aircraft
Following the airport tour, we stopped back by the house to grab the camera and set off to check out UFS and get some cool handstand pictures.
UFS was basically a big lots, but for everything. It was a walmart on crack mixed with stuff that fell off a pickup truck and add in a cheap liqour store. Our main purchase was a bottle of wine to bring to the theatre (see below), but I also ended up picking up some soda so I’d quit paying convience store prices for it on the road.
Peoria Handstand Pictures…
The Giant Chicken
Caterpillar Headquarters (Elizabeth on Left, Will on Right) You guys rock! They were amazing hosts! Thanks
Riverfront, Downtown Peoria
We came back and showered off our handstand filth (it’s a dirty job), and then dressed up to go to “the barn”. It was a good show/dinner/wine extravaganza. There were about 8 of us there and it was the celebration of 3 years at CATerpillar for some of the people there. There was even a ceremony where they all got pushpins because they won’t get a real pin from Caterpillar until they get 5 or 10 years. Crazy crazy kids.
So the dinner was delicious. Highlights were the shrimp pasta and the peanut butter pie dessert. We had picked up some wine from UFS earlier and had that with dinner. The show was called “It runs in the family” and was basically about a doctor who had had an affair with a nurse 18 years and nine months earlier, and it just was one GIGANTIC, RICULOUS lie after another covering it up and was quite hilarious.
We headed “out” after this to downtown and went to an Irish bar. It was good because they had a favorite, Smithwicks. Then the night gets a little blurry and went to some other club/bar. Bars in Peoria stay open til 4am. Ridiculous, and mildy painful the next morning. The ride home was from an unofficial taxi. Emily (who will be my chicago host) knew a guy who did basically worked as a taxi and we used that. I still don’t get it. All i remember was a newer minivan, and the guy had a laptop between his seat and the passenger seat, and had a facebook page open. That about wraps up day three, wee!
An extra note. If you are looking for an Overnight Adventure in Peoria, I’ve got you hooked up… here ya go!
Day Two
Stepping back to Friday…
After relaxing a little in the morning, I went and met Jamie for lunch at the Dayton Children’s hospital. It was nice to catch up because I hadn’t seen her since high school. I took a picture of us and totally somehow deleted it, ahh! Oh well, it was a pleasure! Jamie called up her grandma who always seemed to like me and STILL asks about me, and I spoke to her. She was tickled pink and I thought it was too cute. What a nice lady.
Anyways, off to the Air Force Museum next.
It was huge and had planes outside…
…and inside (SR71).
It even had rockets inside…
…and the same plane? or at least same model that dropped the a-bomb over in Hirosima, Japan. It was kind of ridiculous to think about how much that changed the world…
…with such a little bomb (that looked just like this)…
…and these are the huge props of the airplane that took them there. A lot of the planes are cool, but unless you can put them into some sort of story or context, you just don’t understand or appreciate it (i feel at least). This was one of the biggest things I’ll remember because I can really tie it to a story, rather than just seeing a big shiny plane.
This plane was cool too.
A side note: I took these next two pictures for Cecil (my flying instructor). This is a link trainer which is what he used for training (if i remember correctly). It is linked to controls that an instructor has and allows the student to simulate flying.
I figured this was about right too. Cecil is yelling at me after running the plane into the ground and busting the prop. haha
Anyways… cool airplanes, everywhere…
Three hangars worth… even an airship…
So I liked the museum. I was told I needed all day, and in order to appreciate it I would have, but I did a walk around in about 2 hours, and decided it was time to hit the road for Illinois so I’d get there at 7:30pm as promised. (I’d actually be getting there at 8:30pm but I tried time travel and it worked right around the indiana/illinois border, go figure!?)
On the way out of Dayton, I saw the needs of their citizens…
and said goodbye to Ohio…
and hello to Indiana.
Having gotten a little turned around in Indianapolis and wanting to make sure Indiana was handstanded. I stopped in the little town of Crawfordsville and got this pic.
I arrived at Will’s house right on time. It was great to see him and his girl Elizabeth. We stopped and I got some taco bell and headed over to Taylor’s to see Batman Begins (in order to prepare for sunday when we would see Dark Knight).
Day One Complete!
Packing your car for 3 months (and you only get one shot to get it right) took longer than expected. I hit the road yesterday at 1230 and arrived in Dayton, OH at 1030.
I didn’t do a very good job of documenting Maryland, but I wasn’t too impressed for the most part until I got into the mountains, especially because traffic is not the greatest. I thought Cumberland was a very pretty looking town in a valley however. I didn’t take this picture, it’s stolen from their website 
I think after living in Blacksburg for the past 7 years, I am partial to the mountians. I enjoyed driving into West Virginia because of them, and the 70mph speed limit
So once into West Virginia…
I decided to stop in Morgantown to see West Virginia University (WVU). It was a “large” town for the area and a pretty nice college town. When I think of WVU I usually thing of burning furniture, and moonshine, but I guess when you see the town in the daylight, you miss that sorta thing.
Anyways, as a VT alumni, I must show the following three pictures, the first which is self explanitory.
The second which celebrates the ultimate in classiness; KHROME (as you see in the corner where I blew it up)
And last but not least, my best impersonation of Ashton Kutcher, “WVU, You just got Handstanded!!” haha. Go Hokies!
After leaving West Virginia, it was on to Pennsylvania for the southwestern corner of the state before I was somehow back in West Virginia again, but instead of taking a picture of that sign, I was greeted by horrible traffic and a slamming of the brakes. This traffic had me backed up for a good 30-45 minutes.
Finally, onto Ohio, I felt almost at home at this point.
Columbus suprised me, with it’s size as I drove through. And it did make for a pretty sunset picture. (minus the whole interstate thing)
and within 15 miles of my destination, there was roadwork on I-70 on both lanes. We drove on the shoulder straddling the rumble strips when traffic moved at all, and this slowed me up by a good 45 minutes or so.
Finally, at 1030pm arrived in Dayton, OH and was greeted by my lovely hosts Sherry and Mike. I got offered beer, steak, rice and veggies, and a bed. How could you go wrong? It was great getting to meet them, and hear some neat stories. Thanks guys! Here is your handstand that we took in their yard this morning
That wraps up a jam packed day one, and I am pumped. No real obligations for 3 months, this is going to be a blast! Today I am going to meet an old friend Jamie from high school because she lives in town here, check out the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum, and then on to Peoria, IL where I will join up with Will at a cookout, and hang out for the weekend!
Go!
Car is packed, for the most part, a little left to do.
Leaving about 11am, kinda crazy!
Today I plan to at least do a handstand in Morgantown, WV maybe? We’ll have to see how good of time I am making. Off to Dayton I go, and I have been told “not to eat” so I am ready for dinner That’s what I call hospitality.
Thanks to Mom, Dad, Dan, Kristen, Paul and Cecil for the good luck wishes as I leave!
Vacation, Engage!
No more work! (For a whole 3 months) I finally finished working after a marathon of report writing over the past few days.
Tomorrow (well, today now) will consist of cleaning/packing and organize, and on Thursday I will hit the road.
News: It looks like Chicago is going to happen! I have gotten in contact with Will’s awesome friend Emily and hopefully will figure out the details for staying in the windy city!
I have a place to sleep, and friends to meet!
My flight instructor graciously called his family in Dayton, OH and asked if I could stay on Thursday evening (to break up my trip to Illinois). They have said yes, and require a handstand at the house in return!
The first leg is:
486 mi – about 7 hours 56 mins (according to google maps)
T-Minus ~72 hours!
Homeless
So in just under 9 hours I will be this man. My lease ends today and I will officially be a homeless computer programmer. A lovely world it is! He is completely burden free of “cleaning” and “making the bed”. Ahh, what a wonderful life, sleeping on the streets!
Well, not too far from the truth. Graciously crashing with Jared, Kristen, Family and then off on my Handstands Across America adventure I go starting July 24th!
I am looking forward to helping out Kristen with all of her new found furniture and then hopefully will be wrapping up my 7 year stint in Blacksburg. I told myself I had to leave Blacksburg by the time I was 25 so I wouldn’t be a townie for life. I will be leaving on the night of July 14th… and considering my birthday is the 15th, I’d say that is one closely met goal!
Onward to my new home! (your couch and the great outdoors!)
Roadtrip Checklist
Everyone knows the simple rules to follow in preparing for a roadtrip:
- Put all your possessions in a safe place or get rid of them in some manner.
- Clean your previous place of residence.
- Get your Private Pilot Certificate.
- Go camping to celebrate your birthday.
- Go on your trip.
- Come back in debt.
As of right now, I’m on step 1. I slept on the floor last night (and will be doing so for the next 4 months really) . I currently have my bed, recliner and TV stand all in my car and ready to be put in storage. (And hopefully can get another load in tonight before flying)
That will leave only a few things to finish up step 1…
- A huge desk
- A dresser
- A 2 person sofa
- 2 Kitchen carts/stands
- Bathroom supplies
- Pots/Pans/Dishes/Silverware/Cooking “things”
- All the random things/clothes in my room
- My bike
- Camping gear
I’m hoping to finish step 1 as soon as possible because it is kind of just “in my way” at this point. Just an update on where things stand
Roadtrip Ideas:
I just found out yesterday that Oshkosh will be occuring from July 28-August 3 in Oshkosh, WI which is “just” 5 hours north of Peoria, IL… Emailed the flying club for others interested. Hopefully I can come up with an excuse to go.
First road trip stop confirmed!
Hanging out with Will in Peoria, IL July 25-27th!
Current (Rough) Plan for the Roadtrip
So… I have posted both a map and a calendar to share a general idea of where I’m going , and when I’m going. Currently none of this is finalized
Please leave me any feedback you have about it!
Got the gear!
So I ordered a bunch of gear off Backcountry.com. Expensive stuff, but better with a 20% off coupon!
I got all the main stuff I’m gonna need for hitting up all the national parks on my roadtrip at this point
Got…
Matt for the win
So I talked to my friend Matt that I haven’t seen in just over a year. Got to catch up and found out that he went on a very similar cross country trip this past summer. Check out his pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mluxvt07.
Definite highlights he recommends are:
- Arches National Park
- Zion National Park
- Badlands National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Olympia National Park
- UT-12