This is a video that I made for my troop back home.  This past summer we all went on an trip to Washington, DC.  From the leader’s standpoint, the trip was a test to see how an extended trip works and how the kids would behave.  Good news is that the whole trip went extremely well so much more adventurous trips are now being planned for the future.

The video was debuted this past Monday at the Court of Honor ceremony in front of the scouts, leaders, and parents.  It was received very well and they were even more ecstatic when they found out that they each had a copy to take home.

So enjoy! Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

Mary Katherine and I decided we wanted to take a real hike to the Mt. Healy overlook.  Yes, you are reading that correctly – 1,664 vertical feet in 2.3 miles ( 12,144 feet) – for perspective, that is an averaged 14% grade.

Here is Mary K. nearing the top of the trail at a switchback.  Yes, the trail was pretty much that steep the entire hike and it seemed steeper on the way down.  Also, the peak wildflower blooming time has already passed but along this trail many were still going strong, so I took their pictures.

That is the little town of Healy, AK.  It only comes to life for four months a year during tourist season.  The red roofs marks the lodge we were staying at.

I do no know who those hikers are but they were making excellent models!

OOOO… a SUNSET!!! but not quite, more of a “Mountain-Set” because the actual sunset was not for another couple of hours.

A momma bear with her cubbies – there were three but one is hiding

Isn’t she soooo cute?!

The little bird actually chased away the bigger one.

This picture was taken from the train on the way to the cruise ship.

This picture was taken from the cruise ship on the first night around 1am.

I hope you have been enjoying the pictures so far.  There are still many more to come.  Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

So… yeah, it has been over a month since the last posting and for that I am sorry.  It has not been from a lack of activities, though.  In fact, this is the first time that I have been able to sit down and type up something for you to read.  This summer I have a theme going on with the titles of these writings and that would be my accumulated mileage.  The 1,600 miles was a whirl-wind trip from Morgantown, WV, to Myrtle Beach, SC, Boone, NC, Wytheville and Roanoke, VA, and back to Morgantown.  All of those were covered in the last couple of posts.  So, that leaves me with explaining the 750 and 11,500 numbers that yield my 13,850 total mileage for the summer.

BSA Troop 60 Visits Washington, DC = 750 Miles

The scout troop that I became an Eagle through planned an experimental trip to Washington, DC, from June 22-27.  Overall we had 12 boys and 8 adults go.  While they were there, since they are scouts, they slept in tents at the Bull Run Regional Park in Manassas, VA.  They played around at the parks water park nearly every day.  They also went to the National Air and Space Museum near the Dulles Air Port, toured the Manassas National Battlefield, wondered around the National Mall in the heart of DC (and yes, we used the Metro to get there), and went to a Washington Nationals versus Boston Red Socks game – and somehow the Nationals won.

Overall, the scouts were better than we could have dreamed of in DC, paving the path for more trips in the future.  There might be some videos from this trip posted in the future, not sure yet.  The only downside to the trip was my absolute most favorite lens broke shortly after capturing the group shot above.

Alaskan Adventure = 11,500 Miles

Yes, you read that one correctly.  This year the big family trip did not leave the country – for the most part.  We headed up to Alaska to do a land and sea cruise vacation.  First things first: Alaska is HUGE and it is BEAUTIFUL.  There, got that out of the system, so now I can continue.

We arrived in Anchorage in the late evening on July 1st.  On the 2nd, we ventured out to the Anchorage Cultural Center.  While we were there we got to experience the different completely different cultures that make up Alaska’s Native Population.  See a dance in the video below.

Here is a picture of the motley crew from Wytheville that went up there.  Note: not pictured is my aunt, who took this picture

In addition to this group we had most of my aunt’s family (the one taking the picture) there as well.  Therefore, our group grand total came in at 20!!!  What a big group!

Anyways, in Anchorage we also visited the Ulu Knife Factory and a few of us went on a bike ride along the Coastal Trail.  Random fact: The city limits of Anchorage is larger than the state of Rhode Island.

From Anchorage, we took a train up through Wasilla (where Gov. Palin resigned – on the day we went through) on our way to Talkeetna.  What makes Talkeetna special is that Denali (or Mount McKinley) is only about 40 miles away.  Denali is America’s highest mountain, rising to 20,320 feet above sea level.  Because Talkeetna is so close, they offer many different flights to mountain.  Most of our crew took a flight to land on one of the glaciers but Dad and I decided we wanted to go a little higher and nearly fly over the summit (limited by the planes maximum altitude).  Now, the plane that Dad and I flew in was unpressurized.  This means that, above 12,000 feet, we were given oxygen masks as required by the FAA.  HAHAHA!!   This type of trip also afforded us unprecedented views of the Great One.  Furthermore, while we were there we could see and make out the entire mountain, which we found out only about 10% of the visitors get to see – one word: AWESOMENESS!!!

So what does everyone look like after such an exciting couple of days? (note: this is only day 2 or 3 out of 14)  Take a look

I have not gone through any more pictures or video yet.  Life has been insanely busy since I returned to Wytheville, so still working on it.

Now, as you may be wondering from way up there when I was talking about scouts, yes my favorite lens did break and I did not have time to replace it or make it back up to Morgantown to pick up some other lenses to make up for it.  So what is an aspiring amateur photographer to do?  Borrow much nicer equipment that he is used to!  My dad went through a phase where he was trying to figure out what type of camera he liked the best (he is also an aspiring amateur photographer).  He has gone through three phases: Canon, Nikon, and Olympus.  The Canon phase did not last long and I was the benefactor of all of those lenses.  The next phase was Nikons and during this time he found a Nikon D2Xs (one of their pro versions) as well as a D80.  And finally he has settled on an Olympus E3 and Olympus 520.  He likes the Olympus’s best because they are the most light weight of any and produce a heck of an image.  Therefore, since his D2Xs was not being used, he let me borrow it for the trip.  THANK YOU!!! It still took me some time to get used to it but without it I would have been complaining like I was in Amsterdam about not having a big camera.  So as I have told many people, there is no real difference other than personal preference.  A Canon guy was using a Nikon so may the Nikon people be as understanding.

As I said somewhere above (sorry for such a long post), I have not been idle over the past month and there are many things that I want to write about – from topics at church to a random conversation with a state representative and former teacher.  I hope to write about all of these at some point in time but currently I am going to try to post as much as I can from the Alaskan Adventure.

Also, in case you are wondering, the hot air balloon picture was taken at Wytheville Community College as part of the annual Chautauqua Festival.

So, until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

So yeah, I headed up through wild and wonderful last Friday.  For a few years now I have wanted to take the “back” way to Morgantown – a.k.a. the route that involves the least amount of interstate as possible.  Back in the day my aunt went to WVU and had no other option than to go through the woods and over the hills, and in true Mountaineer fashion, I followed some of her footsteps.  I will confess, for about 30 miles of VA I did travel along I-77… but this was just to go through the tunnel and I have made the trip over that particular mountain many times.  Even with this “shortcut”, it took me nearly an hour to get cross the WV border.  By now I was on US-219 and never looked back.  My initial goal was to go past Green Bank (read previous post below) in route to Elkins for some camping.  I must say, that is a massively large radio telescope.  Seriously, 100m (330 ft) in diameter!!! Big!  Upon arriving in Elkins I turned on my phone to discover that the camping had been canceled.  See, going through the parts of WV that I had been in there is no cell coverage, so I just turned off my phone.  Apparently I was supposed to be a popular person that day haha.  But yea, the camping was canceled due to weather concerns and a breakdown in communication (as in Facebook decided not to send out a butt-load of messages containing all the crucial information… Hence why Facebook will be the end of the world but that will be a different post).  Billy still came down – mostly because I was going there no matter what – and he ended up staying through the weekend to get work done.  I came on up to Morgantown that night, completing the trip from Wytheville, and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Something that has been on my mind a lot since returning to Morgantown is how the pace of life here is so much faster than Wytheville and Myrtle/Topsail.  It has been making me rethink a lot of basically how I want to live.  Do I want to burn the candle from both ends or just one, so to speak.  I have to tell you, I am leaning towards the Wytheville way of life.  Basically it is having fewer things on my plate but increasing the quality of what is there.

What is on your plate of life?  Does it feel too crowded?  If it does, think about simplifying things, however that may look.

As promised, here are the pictures!

Ronceverte, WV – The Great Rubber Ducky Race!!!

Coming out of cloud 9

The river at the camping spot

One of those Beautiful Mistakes shots of the river

Old time Americana – The old on top and the new below

Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

The basic layout of the map is that the blue lines are where I have already been (or close to them) and the red is where I still need to go.

For starters, I had all good intentions of writing this post before any of these travels began but, as is the usual, many odd things popped up and I was unable to write anything.

The trip began in Morgantown, WV at my new place of residence (still getting used to roomies).  From there I traveled home to see the family for a few days as well as go to the graduate service at church in Wytheville, VA.  They honored the high school and college graduates and even gave us a lunch.  After the lunch, I set off for Myrtle Beach, SC, to spend some time with a friend of mine from Morgantown.  Her family has a place less than 100 yards from the beach, which makes it fantastic!  Something that amazed me with the trip thus far is the difference between the 3 towns.  In Morgantown, things seem to be moving at 50% light speed – always going, not a lot of down time, that type of thing (and 100% light speed is currently impossible to attain unless you are a wee-little photon).  In Wytheville, compared to Morgantown, things are moving much much slower.  The people seem to be taking their time and things are moving at their own pace.  Finally, in Myrtle Beach (in an area between Myrtle-Myrtle and North Myrtle) everything seems to have stopped – or at least slowed down considerably even from Wytheville standards.  It is always very relaxing there.

Ahh… The fishie is going to get you!

After a few days at the beach, I ventured to Boone, NC, for a bachelor party.  On June 6th, my sister got married to the love of her life and I was in the wedding party.  As such, I got invited to the bachelor party, which was at the groom’s family cabin in Boone.  Good times were to be had there including a broken well cover (of which I may or may not have been the one to break it).  After the party most of us had to travel to Roanoke, VA to pick up our tux.  I did not realize before hand but this trip took me through Wytheville once again, so I picked up dad and we made this part of my trek together (plus he knows more of where things are in Roanoke than I do).  Then, as one might expect, we came back to Wytheville.

Somewhere in North Carolina 

The wedding was fantastic.  Michael, the groom, was very nervous and excited and happy – as we thought he would be.  Lauren, the bride, was more beautiful than I have ever seen her.

The newlyweds! 

So now I have caught you up on where all I have been, now for where I will be traveling (the red line if you remember).  I am going to be in Wytheville until Friday morning, which is when I will set out for Elkins, WV.  Billy, a friend of mine and housemate, has invited many people for a little weekend campout at his cabin by the creek.  So while everyone else is coming down from Morgantown, I will be traveling up from Wytheville.  I could take the usual and quicker route along the interstates but I have decided on a different route.  My aunt went to WVU back in the days when there were only 2 Towers and the interstate system did not exist and has talked about her route up there many times.  I have always wanted to take “the back way”, just never had enough time usually to do it.  So this time I am going to take a back way although it will not be her way.  In the middle-of-nowhere, West Virginia (Greenbank to be exact), there is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope.  It is roughly 100m in diameter (330 feet for those english-standard folk).  I have always seen the signs pointing to Greenbank but have never ventured there.  Since it is kind-of on the way, why not see it?  After the camping trip I will return to Morgantown in order to pack and get ready for the second round of trips this summer: DC, Alaska, and the beach (different one).

Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

P.S. Every mile that has and will be driven on this trip is me driving, no substitute drivers here haha

I’m back! Haha… and I have been since March 22nd.  Life got busy once again and I have been neglecting updating you on how the trip went.  For this I am truly sorry.

For starters, it was great getting to fly with someone who had never flown before.  There are not many times when I get the opportunity to explain how airplanes work – and luckily he wanted to know or at least was willing to pretend to listen.

After we arrived we basically started work.  We had a cultural adjustment meeting and talked about what to expect and what we were going to be doing for the week.  I went there expecting, well, not a whole lot because I did not know what to expect.  The one thing I did know is that we were going to be helping Zolder50 (the church there) out in any way that they needed – and that is exactly what we did.  They kept us busy from the time we woke up till about an hour before we fell asleep, so for roughly 14-16 hours a day.

Two days during the week we walked around the University of Amsterdam campus talking to people and praying.  It isn’t really known outside of the Netherlands, but a lot of their highest points are being shutdown because so many people are committing suicide.  The reason?  People are disconnected from each other and more importantly God.  So for those two days we just tried to engage them in conversation about spirituality and purpose, which, the ones that had time, they were all willing to talk about (something very taboo to do here in the states).  What we found out, though, is that most of them had not given any real thought to what their purposes are, why they are on this world.

One day during our time in the city we performed a service project.  We installed soundproofing flooring for a guy.  It was actually an interesting project because we had to first roll up the linoleum that was installed, then lay the pre-made flooring twice (two layers), and then roll the linoleum back out such that in the end it looks like we didn’t do anything at all.

On another day we went into the heart of the red-light district to talk to whoever we could.  We positioned ourselves on several of the bridges and stayed there for several hours.  Here are two little known facts about Amsterdam and its red-light district: 1)if you stick up your thumb and pretend that this represents the size of the red-light district, the whole of Amsterdam extends 12-15 inches on each size of it – the area that, among the young, Amsterdam is most known for is that small compared to the rest of the city, and 2) 95-99% of the women who line the windows in the red-light district are real life SLAVES, they have been SOLD into that life of prostitution.  Yes, slavery and the slave trade is still alive and well in the world and I do not know how we could let it happen.

This is a long post and it is filled with some basic details of what we did.  In later posts (who knows how much later) I will write in more detail on many of the topics that I mentioned here.  By in large, for my first ever mission trip it was a grand success.  So therefore, until next time…

Ciao! Ciao!

© Airport Direct Travel Ltd

After several years of trying, I’m finally getting to go to Amsterdam on a mission trip.  Already, there have been several answered prayers.  First, we’re getting to go haha.  Second, we are all healthy thus far.  Third (and closest to me right now), my test that was scheduled for 9am-11am today has been moved to after break.  We are leaving at noon, so it was going to be pushing it to start with but this is when the professor said to come and take it.  Then, when I got there he was just starting to make the test.  So, since he forgot about me and because I’m going to be 1000’s of miles away from anyone else in the class, he said that I could take it when I got back.  This may not seem like an answered prayer but when you factor in that I’m scooting by on the width of a hair in that class, the extra 10 days (particularly the 8 hour flight home) are very much welcomed in order to try to understand what in the world has been going on in there the last few weeks.

So at noon we will be off.  It ended up being Billy, Jamie, Curtis, Kathryn, and myself going.  It aught to be a good trip – especially since Jamie and Curtis have never traveled out of country before.  I’m looking forward to it.  Even though I will have to take the notes and book along for that class, I am very grateful for the extra time to study.  This trip is already starting out on a good note and we haven’t even left Morgantown.

While I’m over there, I will not post.  So I will write when I get back.

Until then, Ciao! Ciao!