Okay so I'm not sure if anyone that actually looks on this page knows me on Facebook. I have a friend that I have known for a few years now. We met mutually working at a movie theater in Council Bluffs. A movie theater you say?! Yes, a movie theater! It's an excellent job if you like working with people or if you just love movies! Enough about that.
Ahem... Anyway, this guy's story started a long time ago and recently it's taken on a new vine that seems to be growing into a new tree of adventure. It could very well be one of the biggest decisions of his life. He has decided to go on a trip around the world! It's not just to a single country/continent people! It's multiple! The amazing thing about it is that he plans on it taking possibly 4 years or so. Who knows? Maybe it will be more, maybe less. Plans change and people change their minds or find new adventures to go on. One thing I do know, though is that he has the will to do anything and everything he sets his mind to. I believe in this kid and right now he's the person I'm watching who's driving me on more and more to go on this trip that I want to do. I've wanted to go backpacking in different countries for a while. It's been one of my other things on my bucket list. I want to explore this country before I tackle the rest first though. This guy, is tackling the world right now no waiting at all. It's pretty amazing! Follow his blog, he needs some more readers!
http://strawhatbackpacker.com/
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Hey Everyone! I'm Back!
Hey everyone. :) I'm sorry it took so very long for me to write another post. I have had a lot going on lately and staying in my mom's house in Missouri Valley is definitely distracting. So, a few weeks ago, I actually ended up going to Des Moines.
You're probably wondering why in the heck I went to Des Moines which is about 130 miles away. I'll tell you, it was an amazing time. I originally went to go to a Rainbow Gathering. I know some of you probably don't know what it is. I only recently found out. It's actually a place where people who are travelers or peace lovers go to get out of society for a few days. It sounds pretty amazing to me honestly.
Okay, well now that the explanation is done, I'll tell you, the one I was going to actually go to is in Oklahoma. I was planning on going with about 4 other people (hopefully) and just backpack or go on a car ride all the way there. Two of us had it all planned out for the most part. We didn't plan everything but we planned enough to get us there in time. It was just going to be a group of people traveling to unknown territory a few states down. While the planning process was going on and we were getting ready to leave, I was staying with a couple of people in a cabin. In the middle of nowhere, no running water, no electricity only well water. Well water, beans and rice I guess actually. It was probably the most fun I've ever had in my entire life. We were living off the land. We were living off grid because the cell towers didn't reach out there. There was no electricity to charge phones anyway. We were 20 minutes away from the nearest town. It was definitely a scary thought to begin with. Seriously? In the middle of nowhere with random people I had no idea who they were. I didn't know if they were luring me there to do something to me. I've seen so many movies that people run into the middle of nowhere and there's that one cabin. Then you're immediately thinking to yourself; "Dang, this kid is stupid if he goes in there." I don't know what I expected. I definitely didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms and supported for the entire week until we left. I certainly didn't expect to go around the worse off parts of town and literally see what life might be like living homeless. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it might be. I honestly had a good time doing all of the things I really wouldn't do normally. I met about 6 people in a day and loved it!
I certainly didn't expect a few more things either lol. Like the fact that when I had been there for a week everyone backed out. It was the day before we were actually supposed to be leaving and everyone except myself backed out. Yet, I knew that if it would have been only myself, I don't know how difficult it would be to keep myself going just backpacking all the way to Oklahoma which ended up being our plan. It was to try to walk about 15 to 20 miles a day. About 10 the first few days then beef it up a lot to get there on time. It was an excellent plan except for one small detail. Everyone hadn't honestly done all of that walking in a long time. No one really wanted to but me. I knew for a fact that actually walking would take absolutely forever. I knew that hitchhiking would become something that I may get very familiar with. Walking 550 miles in a month and a half? That's hard work. It's not something that could get done by people who haven't walked that much in their lives. I wish we could have went but after everyone backed out, I just didn't think that it would be near as much fun. So, I came home.
I had no idea what was waiting for me at home either. I was welcomed back like I'd been gone for months instead of a week haha. I was so overwhelmed by the food! That's what I missed the most I think the whole time. XD The sweets and bad stuff for you. I ate so little for a week and then came back and pigged out a bit. If you've ever been away from the average every day american food life, you know that it's bad when you get back. I fell in love with my step-mom's enchiladas again lol.
I guess it was an amazing experience honestly. It taught me that trusting your gut and other people, you can be very pleasantly surprised. I sure was! The easy life that you have to pay 10 dollars a year on property taxes is the one I want to grow old on. I also learned that coming home can also be the second best feeling in the world. In second only to actually leaving. Throwing it all to the wind on a joyous hope that your travel itch will be scratched. I got a partial scratching. Right now though, I'm going to save up for a travel that will be big. That will be the real start of my adventure. I'm going to save up 14,000 to go on a year-long or more adventure. If I get to budgeting my money well enough, I may be able to make it last more than that and be a few year adventure. Who knows? Maybe I could make it permanent! Get a job on the road and get my name out there.
Anyone else have things like this happen to them? Do share please. I'd love to hear from you if you're traveling now and have some advice or even want to talk about anything. Or possibly meet up anytime? Anything you want to talk about go ahead I'm here. :)
You're probably wondering why in the heck I went to Des Moines which is about 130 miles away. I'll tell you, it was an amazing time. I originally went to go to a Rainbow Gathering. I know some of you probably don't know what it is. I only recently found out. It's actually a place where people who are travelers or peace lovers go to get out of society for a few days. It sounds pretty amazing to me honestly.
Okay, well now that the explanation is done, I'll tell you, the one I was going to actually go to is in Oklahoma. I was planning on going with about 4 other people (hopefully) and just backpack or go on a car ride all the way there. Two of us had it all planned out for the most part. We didn't plan everything but we planned enough to get us there in time. It was just going to be a group of people traveling to unknown territory a few states down. While the planning process was going on and we were getting ready to leave, I was staying with a couple of people in a cabin. In the middle of nowhere, no running water, no electricity only well water. Well water, beans and rice I guess actually. It was probably the most fun I've ever had in my entire life. We were living off the land. We were living off grid because the cell towers didn't reach out there. There was no electricity to charge phones anyway. We were 20 minutes away from the nearest town. It was definitely a scary thought to begin with. Seriously? In the middle of nowhere with random people I had no idea who they were. I didn't know if they were luring me there to do something to me. I've seen so many movies that people run into the middle of nowhere and there's that one cabin. Then you're immediately thinking to yourself; "Dang, this kid is stupid if he goes in there." I don't know what I expected. I definitely didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms and supported for the entire week until we left. I certainly didn't expect to go around the worse off parts of town and literally see what life might be like living homeless. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it might be. I honestly had a good time doing all of the things I really wouldn't do normally. I met about 6 people in a day and loved it!
I certainly didn't expect a few more things either lol. Like the fact that when I had been there for a week everyone backed out. It was the day before we were actually supposed to be leaving and everyone except myself backed out. Yet, I knew that if it would have been only myself, I don't know how difficult it would be to keep myself going just backpacking all the way to Oklahoma which ended up being our plan. It was to try to walk about 15 to 20 miles a day. About 10 the first few days then beef it up a lot to get there on time. It was an excellent plan except for one small detail. Everyone hadn't honestly done all of that walking in a long time. No one really wanted to but me. I knew for a fact that actually walking would take absolutely forever. I knew that hitchhiking would become something that I may get very familiar with. Walking 550 miles in a month and a half? That's hard work. It's not something that could get done by people who haven't walked that much in their lives. I wish we could have went but after everyone backed out, I just didn't think that it would be near as much fun. So, I came home.
I had no idea what was waiting for me at home either. I was welcomed back like I'd been gone for months instead of a week haha. I was so overwhelmed by the food! That's what I missed the most I think the whole time. XD The sweets and bad stuff for you. I ate so little for a week and then came back and pigged out a bit. If you've ever been away from the average every day american food life, you know that it's bad when you get back. I fell in love with my step-mom's enchiladas again lol.
I guess it was an amazing experience honestly. It taught me that trusting your gut and other people, you can be very pleasantly surprised. I sure was! The easy life that you have to pay 10 dollars a year on property taxes is the one I want to grow old on. I also learned that coming home can also be the second best feeling in the world. In second only to actually leaving. Throwing it all to the wind on a joyous hope that your travel itch will be scratched. I got a partial scratching. Right now though, I'm going to save up for a travel that will be big. That will be the real start of my adventure. I'm going to save up 14,000 to go on a year-long or more adventure. If I get to budgeting my money well enough, I may be able to make it last more than that and be a few year adventure. Who knows? Maybe I could make it permanent! Get a job on the road and get my name out there.
Anyone else have things like this happen to them? Do share please. I'd love to hear from you if you're traveling now and have some advice or even want to talk about anything. Or possibly meet up anytime? Anything you want to talk about go ahead I'm here. :)
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Ugh Sometimes...
So, this morning I went on a drive to the library to take back some books, and when I was backing out, there was white/gray smoke coming out of my tailpipe... Now, I have a pretty good idea of what's wrong with a car if most things happen. I am assuming that this is the beginnings of a head gasket failure. I sincerely hope this isn't the case and it was just a one time thing because it didn't look like it was happening any other time throughout the drive. I know it's pretty much impossible to see white smoke when you're driving away from it and it's coming from so low to the ground. I just sincerely hope that it doesn't end up being anything major like a head gasket which I wouldn't have the money to fix for quite some time. I've got a couple of ideas of how to fix it or temporarily fix it anyway but it still might be a bit before I can put those plans into action. Even longer until they were completely done. So, I looked at how long it would take to go from my house to work and it looks like it may take a little more than a half hour to get there and the same back. That isn't bad and I could easily do it if I need to though. I don't want to really lose my car right now though because I'm just not ready to go everywhere on a bike. It would definitely help me get into shape for the trip but I'd also have a difficult enough time meeting any appointments and such if I have to ride everywhere. I'd probably be able to go even fewer places than I already can. So fingers crossed for the life of my car for now haha. For those of you who don't know, I drive a Chevy/Geo Metro 3 cylinder car. It's officially a Chevy being a '99 but they are originally Geo's. It gets me around 40 to 45 mpgs if I keep it at 55 mph and under which I usually do. It's not free to use but it's definitely much cheaper than most other cars on the road nowadays that I see.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
It Didn't Happen.
So, yesterday I was planning on going on kicking off a weekend long bicycle ride. It didn't happen. I ended up staying at a good friend's place and we hung out. We haven't done that in a while so it was pretty fun. We watched Hemlock Grove. If you don't know what that is, it's a Netflix original show. I loved it and for newer actors they didn't seem to do very bad. I think some of them were new at least. I recognized 3 faces from other shows/movies but can't remember what ones. The 2 main actors are, by their very nature, sworn enemies. One of them just doesn't know it's supposed to be that way and the other doesn't care. They start out suspicious of each other for various reasons but soon become really good friends. The reviews on Netflix are poor. I wouldn't have ever watched some of my favorite movies/shows if I followed reviews though so I don't pay attention to them most of the time. If you haven't seen it, I'd definitely recommend giving it a chance.
So, yeah we hung out and this morning hung out a bit more and I'm about to go on a bike ride right now to try to make up for the lost time. I might get 25 or 30 miles in today which would be nice but I don't plan on going over that. I just don't want it to take up my entire day. I cleaned up my dad's bike the other day too and that was fun. It's in relatively better shape than I originally thought. The chain needs replaced which will come very soon I hope. For a few days I think it will be fine and not destroy the teeth. Fingers are crossed. It switched gears really smoothly which I take as an excellent sign also and the brakes still work really well too. I see no rust on the frame. I replaced the front tube yesterday and it's good now. The hole looks like it was rubbing on the inside. It was right next to the valve stem and not really noticeable but oh well.
I had an incredible dream last night too. The problem is I don't remember it for the most part except for the fact that it was something that I really liked and had fun with. I tried going back to sleep when I woke up to try to continue it but my body was having none of that. So I woke up around 6 this morning and waited until my friend woke up then we just sat and talked for the most part. All in all, even though I didn't go on the trip like I planned, I still had an awesome weekend. How was everyone else's?
So, yeah we hung out and this morning hung out a bit more and I'm about to go on a bike ride right now to try to make up for the lost time. I might get 25 or 30 miles in today which would be nice but I don't plan on going over that. I just don't want it to take up my entire day. I cleaned up my dad's bike the other day too and that was fun. It's in relatively better shape than I originally thought. The chain needs replaced which will come very soon I hope. For a few days I think it will be fine and not destroy the teeth. Fingers are crossed. It switched gears really smoothly which I take as an excellent sign also and the brakes still work really well too. I see no rust on the frame. I replaced the front tube yesterday and it's good now. The hole looks like it was rubbing on the inside. It was right next to the valve stem and not really noticeable but oh well.
I had an incredible dream last night too. The problem is I don't remember it for the most part except for the fact that it was something that I really liked and had fun with. I tried going back to sleep when I woke up to try to continue it but my body was having none of that. So I woke up around 6 this morning and waited until my friend woke up then we just sat and talked for the most part. All in all, even though I didn't go on the trip like I planned, I still had an awesome weekend. How was everyone else's?
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Today I Started the Search
Today I seriously started searching for cheaper ways to get the items I'll need for the trip. I looked at quite a few Salvation Army-like stores and found quite a few things that I could use on the trip very cheap. I don't, however have any money for it right now so I'll have to wait a bit longer. I thought about getting sponsorship but I don't wish to have any demands on my time. I don't want to have to be in a certain area at a designated date. I want to go at my own pace and not need to rush. This is one reason why I've also debated on whether or not I should take someone else with me on the trip even if I could find someone willing.
I plan on going on a 2 day trip spanning probably 120 miles or so this weekend perhaps. I could also try for a single day of 120 miles but that would be quite intense I think and I don't believe I can do that quite yet. I haven't had much time to actually ride lately so I am slightly out of shape but I hope to change that very soon. Perhaps this weekend will be the start again. Work is still in the way right now so I won't be free until Saturday and I think that I'll be pretty tired at the end of the workdays. I think, though if I end up going on at least 1 25 mile or so ride a week (hopefully more but we'll see) for now, I'll get in better shape. My job will also be helping to get into shape though I don't think it will be as much. If anyone wants to go with me, they are welcome to come with. I don't ride very fast with someone else next to me but I don't go very slow either. I've got a backpack that I currently use for my bike tubes, pump, extra water, bike tools and patch kit and the like.
What is one place all of you want to go really bad? One of mine is definitely New Zealand. I've wanted to go there since I saw The Lord of the Rings, which was filmed there. Some of the scenes from that movie had the most incredible-looking real scenery I've seen in my life. I know that some of it was computer animated but there was much of it that was not. I'd love to go there. It's definitely on my list of most interesting places.
I plan on going on a 2 day trip spanning probably 120 miles or so this weekend perhaps. I could also try for a single day of 120 miles but that would be quite intense I think and I don't believe I can do that quite yet. I haven't had much time to actually ride lately so I am slightly out of shape but I hope to change that very soon. Perhaps this weekend will be the start again. Work is still in the way right now so I won't be free until Saturday and I think that I'll be pretty tired at the end of the workdays. I think, though if I end up going on at least 1 25 mile or so ride a week (hopefully more but we'll see) for now, I'll get in better shape. My job will also be helping to get into shape though I don't think it will be as much. If anyone wants to go with me, they are welcome to come with. I don't ride very fast with someone else next to me but I don't go very slow either. I've got a backpack that I currently use for my bike tubes, pump, extra water, bike tools and patch kit and the like.
What is one place all of you want to go really bad? One of mine is definitely New Zealand. I've wanted to go there since I saw The Lord of the Rings, which was filmed there. Some of the scenes from that movie had the most incredible-looking real scenery I've seen in my life. I know that some of it was computer animated but there was much of it that was not. I'd love to go there. It's definitely on my list of most interesting places.
Monday, August 5, 2013
First Day Was Pretty Good.
So, today I had my first day at my new job. It wasn't that bad. Turns out we are putting massive amounts of dry mixture into a huge blender. Like, 1200 pounds or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Today was an extremely slow day over there and I didn't do much. I had a lot of down time sitting down... It wasn't that bad considering I learned quite a bit about what I'll be doing there but I also know that there will be days that I won't ever have a break. Maybe that won't happen often but I'm sure it'll be at least a weekly occurrence. Either way, I think this job still won't be very difficult. Also, getting there at 5 or 6 in the morning and possibly getting off at 2 or 3 is much better than my last job.
I seriously want to get my bike so I hope to get a lot of overtime the next few weeks. I am very excited to have a job that I can make the money I need to go on this trip. Who knows? Maybe it won't be a few years until I go. All I seriously need are a tent, bike, sleeping bag, clothes a map and food right? Honestly those things themselves won't take long at all to get. I could go to Walmart right now and get the sleeping bag, tent and food if I wanted to. But I don't because I want the stuff to last more than a week. If anyone has any suggestions for me to go sooner, please share in the comments. I'd love to go as soon as possible but I know that I need a few worthwhile items before I go.
I seriously want to get my bike so I hope to get a lot of overtime the next few weeks. I am very excited to have a job that I can make the money I need to go on this trip. Who knows? Maybe it won't be a few years until I go. All I seriously need are a tent, bike, sleeping bag, clothes a map and food right? Honestly those things themselves won't take long at all to get. I could go to Walmart right now and get the sleeping bag, tent and food if I wanted to. But I don't because I want the stuff to last more than a week. If anyone has any suggestions for me to go sooner, please share in the comments. I'd love to go as soon as possible but I know that I need a few worthwhile items before I go.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Excellent Day Yesterday Too!
So, yesterday I got a call from my new job and they want me to start Monday at 7:30. :) Really excited to start my new job and I hope it's everything I want it to be. Last night I went to my friends house and we hung out, watched Hemlock Grove and afterwards played a few video games. Had a few beers and when we were feeling a little more relaxed we played some more video games. It was an awesome time lol. :) Then this morning we played some more games too and then went to get some breakfast at Mcdonalds. It's been a while since I went to Mcdonalds lol apparently their Monopoly game is back on again haha.
I've had a lot to think about lately religion-wise. I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea what to believe in. I don't know if I should believe in a God and a Devil or a Goddess of the Earth. I don't know if there are Gods that rule over the seasons and other Earthly things. I think that right now I should just take a step back and try to find my own spiritual beliefs even if those beliefs end up being that I have none. I'm sorry my mind is all over the place today and I can't seem to get my brain to put things in a logical order. What I'm trying to say is I don't want to be considered a "Christian" right now as I have been my entire life and don't want to have anyone trying to enforce the "God and Jesus" belief on me right now. Who knows? Maybe in a day or 2 I'll come back to the conclusion that I believe they're the real deal. Right now, though, I don't want to think like a "Christian" oh no I'm going to hell because I don't believe! Blah blah blah. If God is real and loves me as much as they say he does, I'm pretty sure he'll give me some time to see in my own mind if he is or not. He forgives right? XD Heck maybe I'll end up with the conclusion that life has nothing to do with Gods and Demons and just live. Why would I worry about afterwards right now if I don't even know what is there? Can't affect that so why try? Life's a dance and all that. We'll see later on how our choices now affect the "afterlife" or lack thereof. Right now, though, life's about now's choices not those ones that will affect later on. Bleh, sorry I'm probably not making much sense and I'm sorry for that.
On another note, I've been thinking about getting a cheaper bike than the Novara Safari that I was planning on getting from REI. I plan on not having very much with me. I don't plan on taking 50 pounds of junk with me. I am going to try to go as lightweight as possible. Tent, couple things of clothes, sleeping bag, food, first aid kit, spare tires and tubes, repair kits and tools, water and possibly a few other things. I hope to get my things down to about 20 pounds or so altogether and not worry about too much. It's about the adventure right? I want to be out in the wilderness or at least in nature and not have much to worry about. I think that will be the way I go but, as I said before, it's all up in the air until I get the money and decide for sure what I want to do.
I've had a lot to think about lately religion-wise. I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea what to believe in. I don't know if I should believe in a God and a Devil or a Goddess of the Earth. I don't know if there are Gods that rule over the seasons and other Earthly things. I think that right now I should just take a step back and try to find my own spiritual beliefs even if those beliefs end up being that I have none. I'm sorry my mind is all over the place today and I can't seem to get my brain to put things in a logical order. What I'm trying to say is I don't want to be considered a "Christian" right now as I have been my entire life and don't want to have anyone trying to enforce the "God and Jesus" belief on me right now. Who knows? Maybe in a day or 2 I'll come back to the conclusion that I believe they're the real deal. Right now, though, I don't want to think like a "Christian" oh no I'm going to hell because I don't believe! Blah blah blah. If God is real and loves me as much as they say he does, I'm pretty sure he'll give me some time to see in my own mind if he is or not. He forgives right? XD Heck maybe I'll end up with the conclusion that life has nothing to do with Gods and Demons and just live. Why would I worry about afterwards right now if I don't even know what is there? Can't affect that so why try? Life's a dance and all that. We'll see later on how our choices now affect the "afterlife" or lack thereof. Right now, though, life's about now's choices not those ones that will affect later on. Bleh, sorry I'm probably not making much sense and I'm sorry for that.
On another note, I've been thinking about getting a cheaper bike than the Novara Safari that I was planning on getting from REI. I plan on not having very much with me. I don't plan on taking 50 pounds of junk with me. I am going to try to go as lightweight as possible. Tent, couple things of clothes, sleeping bag, food, first aid kit, spare tires and tubes, repair kits and tools, water and possibly a few other things. I hope to get my things down to about 20 pounds or so altogether and not worry about too much. It's about the adventure right? I want to be out in the wilderness or at least in nature and not have much to worry about. I think that will be the way I go but, as I said before, it's all up in the air until I get the money and decide for sure what I want to do.
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