Summer 2016 - The Move

This summer is huge! Though it doesn't really have any traveling involved. At least not to any new exciting places for vacation. I drove from Florida to Illinois, then back down to Florida. Now have flown back up to Illinois. I am staying in my hometown, in the house that I grew up in, and spending some time with my friends from high school. I have not spent this much time in my hometown for probably 5 years. It has been good to be back, strange, but good. The summer is coming to a close. And as it comes to a close, I will be moving up to Minneapolis Minnesota.


I don't have a job. I don't even have a house set up yet. What I do have, is some money saved up, some friends in Minneapolis, and an aspiration to go out on my own and try. To try life on my own. 1800 miles away from my parents. Away from all the safeguards that they provide. It is something that is scary, but so exciting. If I have to get a job washing dishes and mopping floors, then I will do it. If I can find a dream job, then praise God. only one thing is certain. I will be moving to a city that I have never been to, never visited, and where I know only a handful of people. I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to be away. To be on my own. To do what countless people before me have done. To follow in the example of the men and women who road the rails. To get out and go into the unknown with nothing but what we can carry on our backs (or in my case, what fits into my car). I am excited about the opportunity to follow this great american tradition of leaving home, forsaking safety, and taking on the world.

Wish me luck.

My Summer Trip - A Year Late

I have not posted anything on this Blog for about a year now. I know some of you must think that I am dead and gone because of it.

Well, you might think that if anyone actually followed this blog and cared about my travels. But, seeing as nobody has ever really visited this page, I am not really worried. I am not dead anyways, so sorry to frighten you.

Last summer I went on a road trip. The picture above is basically a route that I took on this road trip. Some of the smaller stops are not included in this picture, but it gives you a pretty good idea about how far we went, how long it took, and what sights were scene along the way. Totaled about 5 weeks of travel, 8k miles of driving, seeing more parts of the United States than I ever had before. From the mountain views in Colorado, to the Redwoods in California, the red rocks of New Mexico, and everything in between, it was a great trip. Not to mention the 2 weddings that I went to along the way. Both of which were awesome. Seeing people you love get married is an awesome thing!

But alas that trip had to end, it wasn't the summer that never ended. (Though it felt like it during some parts of that drive) School started again, and as a teacher, I had to be there. But seeing as the school year is winding down (3 more weeks!!!) I was thinking about where am I going to go/what am I going to do this summer. Can't wait! Hopefully I am able to keep up with this better this summer! To everyone reading, lets go see the world!

Seattle!

So last I left off I was heading to Seattle right? Well it has been fun! Sometimes a little uncomfortable, and a little tiring, but it has been fun. I am going to give you a list of 5 things from this week!

1. I can’t fall asleep in a car unless I am exhausted. I decided to sleep in my car on Monday night (it’s cheap!) and man was that hard! I think maybe I am just too big to sleep in a car, but I tried, and tried, and tried. I couldn’t fall asleep, so I ended up in an all-night diner, until I felt I was sufficiently tired enough to fall asleep in my car. I was, but I only got about 5 hours of sleep before the sun woke me, and those 5 hours weren’t that great. I think that next time I am traveling, I will try and use couchsurfing.com. It’s a website that lets you sleep on people’s couches or in their spare rooms!

2. Try the local places! I try not to order a lot of food from chain restaurants. If I am going to be here I might as well as eat the food from here! I had breakfast at some local diner because it had good reviews on yelp!, tried a local bbq joint, and am having pizza from a local pizza place. (Nothing ever beats Chicago deep dish though!)

3. I went up into the Space Needle! It was pretty cool. I really do enjoy spending time looking at the cityscape and surrounding area, and this allowed you to do just that! While I was up there, I saw a couple get engaged too, so that was exciting! It isn’t as high as I thought it would be, but it is away from most of the other really tall buildings, so you still have a really awesome view!

      4. There is a wall in Seattle that is unlike any other wall I have ever seen before. Probably unlike any wall that you have ever seen before. This wall, it is disgusting. It’s a wall that has gum, yes chewed gum, all over it. Of course I had to add my own gum to this collection!

      5. They actually throw fish here. At the Pikes Place Market, which is a pretty big market that sells way more than just fish, has people that actually through fish back and forth! They usually do it when someone orders so that it can be wrapped up, but sometimes it is just for fun I guess! I got a video, so you can watch it too! Pikes Place was pretty cool because of all the different shops. I haven’t seen a market like this one before. Really anywhere else. Maybe they exist, maybe not! But it had really cool shops, fish throwers, restaurants, and a couple really talented street performers!

So there you have it. 5 things from my couple of days in Seattle!

If you made it this far, congratulations! You get #6!! Wahoooo! So #6 is that if you are staying in or around a city, use the public transportation! It is super easy to use, and I have taken 4 about 40+ minute long bus rides for 6 bucks! Don’t have to pay for parking or anything! Go bus system! 

Day One in Washington

Monday July 20

“Hello Sir, what can I get you?”

“Well, what do you recommend?”

“It really just depends on what you like dude.”

I order a double macchiato because I have no idea what to order, and I feel slightly uncomfortable.  I feel like I should just know what is good. So I ordered the double macchiato to try and sound like I knew what I was doing. I saw him grab a really small cup, and knew I had made a mistake. I just wanted coffee…  What was I thinking?

 So I am sitting in a coffee shop in Wenatchee Washington right now. Trying to figure out what to do with myself for the next week or so, I think I want to go to Seattle. I also don’t want to spend a lot money, so it is going to be interesting. I grab my coffee and take a seat, I need to plan out this next week so that I don’t just end up sleeping in my car and eating McDonalds every day.

So why am I here, in Wenatchee, with no real plan? In part because that’s who I am, I don’t really plan anything. I just kind of wing life, so this is just and extension of that. But why Wenatchee? My friend’s girlfriend lives out here, so I dropped him off at her house, and am going to meet up with him in about a week to continue on traveling down the coast, going to end this trip in San Diego California. We are here to kill some time between two weddings. One just happened in Sioux Falls, SD, the next is in the San Diego area. There are about 2 weeks apart, might as well travel in between right? Right!  So that’s why I am here, alone in Wenatchee. I just left my friend and his girlfriend, and now need to fill about 6 days! Time to head to Seattle!

Before we get to all that though, this macchiato thing doesn’t taste very good. I think I will just take a few sips and leave it. Don’t want to be rude ya know?

So my family just took a trip to the Bahamas over the 4th of July weekend. It was a blast. The trip that was over to soon, and one that could not have been better except if it could have been longer, and if my younger brother could have been along. We took in a few shows, spend a day on the beach, tried some conch fritters, and went snorkeling. I got pretty burned, but it was still a wonderful time! Here is a video of some of the pictures that we took while we were in the water!