Best Road Trip Ever
August 19, 2010 Madison, Wisconsin, August 20, 2010 - Home
This is it dear readers!
The final blog of the year…
Sorry it took so long!
On the final day of our tour, we set out from Fairbury around 9 am. Some unfortunate things happened that really put a damper on the overall mood of the trip. We stopped for gas about an hour outside of Fairbury at a Shell gasoline station in Minonk, Illinois. After about an hour or so of traveling from this gas station, Suhan realized he was missing his camera. We inquired where he had it last, and he said he last remembered having at that gas station. While filling, apparently it fell out of his pocket. Suhan notes hearing something fall, but not seeing it. All of our pictures were on that camera, so we drove all the way back to Minonk to search. Unfortunately we never found the camera. So, dear readers, we apologize that we won’t be able to post any pictures for you to see! You will all have to use your imaginations and rely on this mediocre blog writing to paint the pictures for you. Pictures only prove you can’t convince though, right?
The extra two hours or so put us in Madison at around 3 pm. After we ate a delicious lunch at Amy’s café on State St, we ventured over to one of the 10 or so fire stations in Madison to look for a service project. They, however, had nothing for us. All the bottom-of-the-barrel interns had already made the place spiffy. The fire chief sent us to a church a few catawompus blocks away, which was closed, along with every food pantry and thrift store we tried. Alas, we resulted in picking up garbage along the lakeshore of the UW Madison campus. We went to the union to borrow garbage bags, and cleaned for a few hours. Afterward, we headed over to my friend Molly’s house where we would be spending our final night. This was after we struggled to find a place to stay in Madison, and got to Molly’s around 8. Molly and I went on a High School Pay-It-Forward Tour last fall/winter out of Duluth, MN, where we met. She had a very nice home with two lovable cats. Molly took us out on the town to some of her favorite spots; We had dinner at The Weary Traveler and drinks and live music at Genny’s, where we were serenaded by a Simon and Garfunkel cover-band. After some righteous political debates, we humped it on home for sweet dreams.
In the morning, we had breakfast and coffee at Cool Beans Coffee Café. The rest of the ride home we reminisced about times passed, and shared laughs and tears and hugs & kisses. We are all going to miss each other greatly, and can hardly bear the thought of being so far away for so long. Being together constantly for five days and nights, and enduring those six-hour car drives, has really brought us together. Despite all of our often drastic differences in thought and opinion, we were able come together and do something pretty awesome. And even though tempers flared at times, I think we all learned a lot about ourselves and each other, and even grew together. Everywhere we went we encountered people who thought what we were doing was the coolest thing they had ever heard of, and how they wished they would have done something like this when they were young.
It has been a pleasure to write this blog.
Thanks to all of our readers and followers,
Thanks to Molly even though we may have lost her cat,
Thanks to everyone that made this trip happen.
Without the people in each community supporting us, we never would have been able to complete this trip.
<3 <3 <3 - The guys.
August 18, 2010 - Fairbury, Illinois
Well hydee ho, dear readers!
How are ya’ll doing!?
Let us know!!
This morning we awoke early to a delicious breakfast spread made by Melanie’s mother. Afterwards, we gathered our things, said our goodbyes and headed out on the road. Today we had our sights set for Indianapolis, Indiana, but that soon changed, as it often does on this trip. Along the way, we stopped at a gas station and, like good drivers, we checked the oil and needed ter fill er up. Also, we decided to play a little prank on Ben. Ben decided to buy blue window paint and encased us in trying little sayings, doing so in a little too much of an obnoxious manner. So we left him there, you know, to teach him a lesson about being annoying. We purchased an atlas at this gas station and realized exactly how far traveling to Indianapolis would take us out of the way, so we decided to head north through Illinois to shave some time off our travels. As we drove, Ben found out that there was a county fair going in Fairbury, Illinois, so that would be our next stop. He also contacted our personal local newspapers and articles will soon be written in the Fargo Forum, the Crookston Daily Times, and KROX AM Radio station in Crookston, MN.
We arrived in Fairbury around noon and ate pizza at Monical’s Pizza Restaurant. We asked our waitress about volunteering opportunities, and she told us to go to the local Boys and Girls club (of Prarie Central). So we tuttered on over and chatted with the ladies working at the pool that was conjoined with the club. They introduced us to Nicole, the Club’s corrdinator, and she told us straight away that they needed help painting a classroom. The color was to be saxe blue. Nicole, at first was hesitant, but eventually offered to let us sleep at her home. She had two children, Katelind and Braden, who were absolutely adorable. Katelind, who went by the alias of Emily, hung out with us all day and was quite the character. She thought Jordan was 30 years old, which made us giggle.
So we painted for around five hours, and a feisty woman from the local paper, The Daily Leader, came to write a story about us. She barked things like, “stand under the ladder er sumthin,” all demanding or whatever. The room we painted was quite large, and it took us 5 hours to complete. We played party jams to keep us motivated, and had a really good time. After painting, we went for a swim in the pool where Jordan’s leadership skills blossomed, taking form in teaching me (James) how to dive, and Suhan how to swim. “Buddy, you just gotta kick really hard!” he would call enthusiastically. Our life guard was quite a cutie and Ben contemplated feigning drowning to get a little action. To be clear, this was only Ben.
After this, we mooched our way into the county fair, all thanks to Ben, and browsed all the local art, the minivan demolition derby, and the cute baby farm animals. They also had some humongous chickens. Ben, Jordan, Suhan, and I chatted with the carnies who had surprisingly diverse backgrounds--one guy was from South Africa and was in Illinois on vacation, and another was from Britain. We also met a magician on stilts who wowed us with a trick where he turned a one-dollar-bill into a one-hundred-dollar-bill. Jordan thinks he knows how it’s done. Jon won a gold fish at the ring toss and, as soon as he got it, apparently realized, “what the heck am I going to do with a goldfish?” and pawned it off on some kid. It was kind of sketchy. At around 8:30 we headed over to Nicole’s and played Mario Kart on the Wii with Katelind. We chatted over drinks and shared stories with a few of the Boys and Girls Club board members that gathered at Nicole’s. We were all quite exhausted after another long day and went to sleep early.
We would like to give a BIG yeah buddy to Nicole for opening her home to us and being so wonderful and friendly, and to everyone else in the town for being interesting.
Oh! One more thing. Apparently people in Illinois don’t know what cheese curds are! This was quite the culture shock.
Ok, until next time readers!
<3 The guys.
P.S. here are links to the newspaper sites, Thanks so much!!:
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/288292/
http://www.crookstontimes.com/features/x1695111164/6-Guys-Making-a-Difference-on-Best-Road-Trip-Everhttp://www.kroxam.com/News%20Page.htm
August 17, 2010 St. Louis, MO
“Ma-am I don’t want your trash, please sit back down.”
Seating organization/arrangement.
0 Andy James 0
Suhan Ben
0 Jordan Jon 0
Unbeknownst to them all, the guys would set off toward St. Louis, MO; toward a place they had only been to in their dreams; a place so wondrous, so unspeakably magical, that mere words could not express their enigmatic feelings . What they would find in this land, they knew not. As the sun wrapped back around the western hemisphere, the boys arose, and packed their things in harmony as the gentle rain gave their skin a shimmering, mythical appearance…
On the way to St. Louis, we cruised through the historic town of Hannibal, Missouri which was home to the birthplace of Mark Twain. Some guy in the town had erected a large statue of him along the highway, so we hopped out and posed for a photograph. They also had a Mark Twain museum, cave, campground, railroad expressway, and lake. I guess not much else important has happened to this town since Huck Finn.
When we arrived in St. Louis we ate lunch downtown at Joey B’s and took a picture with our waitress. Also, Ben talked to everyone in the restaurant about our trip…
Next we walked to the famous gateway Arch and admired their museum and souvenir shop. Suhan took some fabulous photos and chatted with the professional photographers in the area to learn their particular techniques. After this we walked along the river shore, talking of things to come. Thanks to Andy, tonight we would be volunteering at Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play as a part of their 4 A Greener Game campaign. Before the game, however, we met up with Melanie, A friend of a friend of Ben’s, to eat dinner with her mother, brother, aunt, and cousin. Melanie’s mother, Tina, ordered us Italian food, and invited us to stay in her house that evening.
We were all really psyched for the game; It was Suhan’s first time ever going to a baseball game, and Ben and I dyed our hair orange to be festive. Once we arrived, we met Rick, the Green Team supervisor, who was pumped to have us there to volunteer. He informed us that, during the game, in-between each half-inning (and during pitching changes), we were to walk up and down the aisles and collect recyclables from fans in plastic garbage bags. But we weren’t supposed to take any trash! This turned out to be confusing for some people. Personally, I had a lady insist that I dispose of her trash and she started getting feisty, yelling and waving her nacho tray in my face when I refused. The sections we were to attend were lower-deck, right behind home plate so the view was incredible. Rick was an awesome guy who was absolutely delighted to have us there, and after the game we got free t-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles! We all had one heck of a time, but were totes exhausted. When we got back to Melanie’s we played a few games, finished up the blog, and went to sleep.
We couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who helped us out today.
We would like to give a big thanks to Melanie and her family for being so hospitable and to Rick for being totally awesome and excited to hear our stories.
- The Guys
August 16, 2010 Mt. Pleasant, IA
So we bawled it to Mount Pleasant. Andy, the trip’s Driver, and Ben, The Navigator, pumped their fists as we passed semi-automobiles, getting them to blare their boisterous horns, and cheered when any driver cooperated with their youthful game. Ben’s music taste throughout the trip was questionable. We listened to songs from the artist called Hootie and The Blowfish, to Shaggy, and Jon’s Mom’s birthday CD. When we arrived in Mount Pleasant after a four-hour car drive our bellies were hungry so we cruised around downtown and stopped at the Brito Bistro for sandwiches and their famous “Blond Bombshell” pastries. Louise and Annie, our waitresses, were quite talkative and thought our trip sounded like “a hoot.” Louise also introduced Ben to a new word, catawampus. When we asked where we could find a service project Louise said we could try the Fellowship Cup thrift store just north, catawampus. Ben thought this word was hilarious and continued to repeat it in every possible, usually incorrect, occasion. Except he couldn’t pronounce it and after a while, the term was reduced to being called, “kittywalkin.’”
So we kitty walked catawampus to the Fellowship Cup. It was hot: 94 degrees, and miserable. Inside the store we were asked to rearrange their stock room, which was a large, high-ceiling room filled with box after box of miscellaneous items. We worked for three hours and organized the heck out of that store. But we were tired of working and needed to find a place to sleep. We decided to head over to the Iowa Wesleyan College and see if we could crash in one of their dorms, or their gym, or anywhere not outside. No bones. Luckily, Jordan, the newcomer, had a hook-up. Eric Brawner, a boy who used to work with Jordan, lived in Mt. P. He met us at the college and we followed him to his cottage. A real nice place. Eric’s parents, treated us like royalty. They had a house on the river and they built us a raft to float down on and ordered us pizza to eat as we floated. Tom was quite a hilarious dude as well, A real witty feller, and Eric’s Mom made us lemonade and iced tea. After dinner we went to the local theater and caught a flick. Unfortunately the theater was littered with local progeny and they talked loudly throughout the whole movie until James, the Blogger of the trip, gave ‘em a talkin’ to. That about does it for the night. When we got back to our tent we were all exhausted and fell asleep without another thought. Plus, we needed our rest for our big day in St. Louey tomorrow. In the morning we said our goodbyes over pancakes and orange juice, and took a few pictures. We were all very thankful for the Brawner’s hospitality and cheerful demeanor. We wanted to bring Tom with us.
Well, that is all for today, Dear Readers!
Please leave us your thoughts and comments if you wish
Otherwise silent support is equally satisfactory.
g’bye!
P.S. if you do decide to comment Ben will send you a post card!!!
- The Guys
August 15, 2010 Rochester, MN
WHOOOOEEEE!
Best Road Trip numba 3!
This is it dear readers, what you’ve all been waiting for.
The time has come!
What time, you ask?
The time once again for the Random Road Trip!
This year we have decided to embark southbound for five days full of fella fun. We have four returning members this year and two rookies. The new gents are Jon from Scholastica, and Ben’s friend Jordan, who will be attending Concordia in Moorhead, Minnesota this coming fall. They seem like pretty swell guys thus far. On the night before embarking, the six of us met up at Jon‘s (A.K.A. The Gingerbread Man’s) house located in Rochester, MN. We rode down in a midnight blue Dodge Mini Van courtesy of The College Of St. Scholastica. On the way we were guided by the voice of Sue Garmin who resides inside Ben’s GPS. Once we arrived at Jon’s beautiful home, he gave us a tour of his camper where we would be sleeping, the basement of his parent’s house, and a few streets located in downtown Rochester. The first order of business was picking our first city! Now, Jon’s family is a tad behind on the times; his personal computer connects to the world through the once popular, and highly stress-inducing, America Online 9.0. It is widely know that in the year 1994 thirteen people suffered strokes while waiting for the little yellow man to run across their screens. It took about 45 minutes to upload the browser. It was decided that we would head South, and, after much consideration, searching through Google’s maps, and a trip to Super America for a non-biased seventh-party’s opinion, it was decided. Our first city is Mount Pleasant, Iowa! The rest of the night was rather uneventful. activities included handing out t-shirts, business cards, and sharing lovely summer stories around Jon’s driveway fire pit. In the morning we snapped a quick pic, chowed some French toast and set sail around 9:00. The trip should be a blast and we are all very excited!!! Until tomorrow Dear Readers, be safe, be cool, don’t suck too hard on your lollipops, and always remember that we love you
<3 - The Guys.
Best Road Trip numba 3!
This is it dear readers, what you’ve all been waiting for.
The time has come!
What time, you ask?
The time once again for the Random Road Trip!
This year we have decided to embark southbound for five days full of fella fun. We have four returning members this year and two rookies. The new gents are Jon from Scholastica, and Ben’s friend Jordan, who will be attending Concordia in Moorhead, Minnesota this coming fall. They seem like pretty swell guys thus far. On the night before embarking, the six of us met up at Jon‘s (A.K.A. The Gingerbread Man’s) house located in Rochester, MN. We rode down in a midnight blue Dodge Mini Van courtesy of The College Of St. Scholastica. On the way we were guided by the voice of Sue Garmin who resides inside Ben’s GPS. Once we arrived at Jon’s beautiful home, he gave us a tour of his camper where we would be sleeping, the basement of his parent’s house, and a few streets located in downtown Rochester. The first order of business was picking our first city! Now, Jon’s family is a tad behind on the times; his personal computer connects to the world through the once popular, and highly stress-inducing, America Online 9.0. It is widely know that in the year 1994 thirteen people suffered strokes while waiting for the little yellow man to run across their screens. It took about 45 minutes to upload the browser. It was decided that we would head South, and, after much consideration, searching through Google’s maps, and a trip to Super America for a non-biased seventh-party’s opinion, it was decided. Our first city is Mount Pleasant, Iowa! The rest of the night was rather uneventful. activities included handing out t-shirts, business cards, and sharing lovely summer stories around Jon’s driveway fire pit. In the morning we snapped a quick pic, chowed some French toast and set sail around 9:00. The trip should be a blast and we are all very excited!!! Until tomorrow Dear Readers, be safe, be cool, don’t suck too hard on your lollipops, and always remember that we love you
<3 - The Guys.
THIS YEAR 2010 WE ARE DEDICATING OUR TRIP TO RAISE MONEY FOR BREAST CANCER! PLEASE DONATE HERE FOR US!!
jUST GO TO THIS WEBSITE
http://www.ysctourdepink.org/site/TR/Events/TourdePink?fr_id=1120&pg=entry
CLICK ON "DONATE"AND SEARCH FOR "ANDREW LARSON" TO DONATE!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
jUST GO TO THIS WEBSITE
http://www.ysctourdepink.org/site/TR/Events/TourdePink?fr_id=1120&pg=entry
CLICK ON "DONATE"AND SEARCH FOR "ANDREW LARSON" TO DONATE!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
