August 8 2009 - Cleveland - Niles

Today was the race of the vans!

Each van had its own pace line today and we all raced to our arrival point as quickly as possible. We didn’t really race, but we tried to get to Niles as quickly as possible and my van (Van 5) came in 2nd place!

When we got to the final destination we made an arrival at the local Saturn Dealership. They were kind enough to host our team for lunch and refreshments. While there, I was selected to give a TV interview for the local news channel. It was fun to give an interview and practice before hopefully making another appearance in Pittsburgh!

After our arrival we rode to our lodging and friendship visit which was at a local school for children with disabilities. When the clients began to arrive everyone started to get excited because they knew that this might be our last dance of the summer and we needed to go out with a BANG! The dance was a lot of fun and after the clients left we had about 30 minutes of free time before making our way to dinner at Olive Garden.

Dinner was really fun and relaxing. The owner of the Olive Garden in Niles actually ran into the team a few years ago in Nevada and was so thrilled with the idea that he has been hosting the team since. After dinner, we all came back to lodging and played basketball for a few hours. I have to say that basketball is not one of my strong suits, but I actually felt relatively capable by the end of the evening!

It’s late and we have an 80 mile ride into my home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania tomorrow!

August 7 2009 - Cleveland

Today was one of the last days that the team could sleep in!

We made sure to take full advantage of the off day by getting up around 8:45 am. We all made our way to breakfast, which was kindly hosted by the hospital. It consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and pancakes. While we were eating, we listened to a presentation about the hospital and the various parts which specialized in children with disabilities. The most memorable part of the day was when Jamie, a past client, spoke about her experience.

She was a healthy freshman high school student who played on the varsity basketball team, until the day of her accident. While training with the team she collapsed and lost all muscle function within her body. She was quickly rushed to the hospital where she was put into a medically induced coma to prevent further brain damage. When she came out of the coma, she was only able to blink her eyes. The doctors told her that she had a blood clot in her spine which damaged her muscle function and that she would most likely never walk again. Fortunately, through intense physical therapy she made an amazing recovery. She is able to walk and play sports, but with some difficulty in speaking. It is amazing to think about the impact that the hospital had on her life and it was great to know that our fundraising is going to improve the quality of life for people like Jamie.

After listening to Jamie speak, we were given tours around the facility and then hosted for lunch in the courtyard. At lunch, we met some more of the children in the hospital as well as some of the people who work in the facilities. At the conclusion of lunch, our team put together a presentation about bicycle safety as well as a KOB puppet show.

When the puppet show was over, the team got ready for dinner and I made my way to my dad’s house in Medina, Ohio. I was able to spend the evening with some family and return back to lodging in time for bed.

Tomorrow we make our way to Niles, Ohio!

August 6 2009 - Sandusky - Cleveland

Today we made our way into another big city: Cleveland, Ohio!

The 60 mile ride went by very quickly because the route was next to Lake Erie the entire way. There were beautiful views and homes all the way into the city, and we were all excited to see the skyscrapers of another big city on our trip.

We were supposed to have a big arrival at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but there was some confusion in the process, so we ended up riding there and just spending some time in the exhibits. When I came into the city I was greeted by family which was really nice. My dad and siblings came and spent an hour with me before I had to return back to lodging.
Our lodging was at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital in a somewhat questionable part of the city. When we arrived at the hospital we were greeted by some of the children with disabilities. We got to meet a few before showering and getting ready for a sponsored dinner in one of the city parks.

Dinner was really relaxing tonight because there was no programming at all. I played Euchre, wiffleball, and football while waiting for dinner to be prepared. Our evening was hosted by Jim Carlevick who is a past JOH cyclist and one of the men who was instrumental in creating the Journey of Hope as it is now. It was another fantastic meal and when it concluded I went out for another bite to eat with my dad and step mom. They returned me back to lodging in time to get to bed.

Tomorrow we have a free day in the city!

August 5 2009 - Toledo - Sandusky

Today was an absolute blast!

We left our lodging bright and early so that we could make it to Sandusky for our arrival at Double S Industries. Unfortunately, there was a tremendous amount of construction along the way so we had to rack our bikes almost all the way to Sandusky. We ended up having a 20 mile ride into town which made the day a little easier on us. Andy Hall (GT) and I volunteered to sweep today so when we made our arrival into Double S Industries, we were at the front of the double pace line.

As soon as we arrived, everyone was extremely friendly. They hosted us for lunch and an exciting friendship visit. While there, I played sponge tag, cornhole, and Frisbee. The afternoon was great, but the evening was even more fun because the whole team had the opportunity to go to Cedar Point and ride the roller coasters. The group that I was with rode the wicked twister, power tower, millennium force, and the raptor. When we left we were all bummed that we didn’t make it to every coaster, but we will definitely remember how much fun we had at Cedar Point.

It’s very late and I need to get some rest before our big ride into Cleveland, Ohio tomorrow!

August 4 2009 - Ann Arbor - Toledo

Welcome to Ohio!

We made our way out of Ann Arbor this morning with another new addition to the cycling team. One of our crew members, Evan Culp (USC Upstate), did a ride along with the team today. It was especially exciting since he is my van driver. Since we all knew that Evan was going to ride along with us today, our entire van wanted to ride together in a “Van 5 pace line”
We had a blast on the bike and Evan did very well for not having cycled at all. Unfortunately, we needed to go 60 miles today, but only made it 50 due to another arrival commitment. Our group, along with 2 other pace lines were racked up to our arrival point at the University of Toledo.

The arrival was absolutely magnificent! The mayor’s office, the university provost, and the chapter brothers of Pi Kappa Phi were all there to greet us into a new city. Each of our hosts shared some thoughts about our ride and then we had a sponsored lunch. The lunch was great because our hosts setup a projector with pictures from the ride. In addition, we all had the opportunity to sign a canvas poster of the country for our University of Toledo hosts.

After we finished up with lunch, half of our group went to a friendship visit at the Recreation Center for the University of Toledo. We played basketball with some clients at the recreation center and then made our way back to the University of Toledo dorms to shower and get ready for dinner. While my group was at the recreation center, the other half of the team was putting on a KOB for some children on campus. After they finished up we all met for dinner.

Dinner was hosted at Outback by a past JOH cyclist. Each meal included a steak, chicken, potato, salad, blooming onion, and bread. It was definitely a meal fit for a king! After dinner finished up, I met with my Grandma and Uncle to get some ice cream and catch up. When I returned home, I went to bed and got ready for the big day to Sandusky, Ohio and Cedar Point.

August 3 2009 - Lansing - Ann Arbor

On our way to the land of the Wolverines! (Michigan)

To add to the excitement of the ride, we had one of the team member’s dad ride along with us on the way to Ann Arbor. Jim Rampton’s (Elon) dad wanted to make the journey to his home in Ann Arbor with us today on his bike. Unfortunately for Mr. Rampton, today was a tough day with a strong headwind for most of the ride. As such, a few of the groups were unable to make it all the way today due to a shortage of time. Two of the groups that were unable to make it all the way today were Mr. Rampton’s group and the sweeps, which I happened to be a part of today. Since we were crunched for time, we were racked up to our arrival point. We had our arrival at Probility which is a physical therapy center. At Probility, the riders were able to get 10 minute massages and enjoy a sponsored dinner from Qdoba. I wasn’t able to partake in the massages because the line was too long and we needed to get showered and ready for dinner at Jim Rampton’s home (Elon).

I left Probility and went to Jim’s house to shower and setup for dinner. Jim’s family was kind enough to sponsor the team and put us all up in their home for tonight. After showering, we made our way to our friendship visit at a Traumatic Brain Injury center. The center was very nice and even included a professional swimming pool for therapeutic purposes. After checking out the center, we went to dinner at a local community center where we had music, board games, and general conversation. It was especially fun, because the party was pirate themed. I wore my eye patch and played “Guess Who” with my friend Jennifer.

After our friendship visit was over, we made our way back to the Rampton’s for free time. I went out with the guys to walk around the town of Ann Arbor. While fall classes hadn’t begun, there were still a lot of people out and about. We all made our way back around 11 pm and got ready for our big day into a new state tomorrow!

August 2 2009 - Kalamazaoo - Lansing

Today was so much fun!

We made our way from Kalamazoo to Lansing today. It was a great cycling day and we were the lead group until we were about 5 miles away from lodging. We stopped because there were no more vans to mark the turns ahead and so we had to sit and wait for some of the slower groups to catch up to us and the back vans could come forward. We were waiting for about 20 minutes when we were finally able to continue ahead. At this point, Dan Brown (Georgia Tech) grabbed his bike and realized that his tire was flat. Since we had to change the flat, we ended up falling back into the middle of the pack. After we changed the flat, we made it 1 more mile before Dan got another flat, pushing us all the way back to the last group. It was hilarious that we went from the first group to the last group only 4 miles from lodging.

We were warmly welcomed when we arrived at lodging. Upon arriving, we met “The moms and dads of Lansing.” The moms and dads of Lansing is a group of neighbors who all offer up their homes to house our team for the night. We all sat down to lunch and got to know each other. After lunch, we all received goodie bags and T-shirts from the sponsors. The T-shirt was really unique and was something that we hadn’t received from any of the sponsors in the past. Afterwards, we received our sleeping arrangements. All of van 5, my van, slept at Karen and Grady’s home. While there, we had some free time to do laundry and get ready for dinner.

Dinner was once again sponsored by the families and was in the neighborhood park. In addition to the families and the JOH team, we were also with volunteers from “Paws with a Cause.” “Paws with a Cause” is an organization of volunteers who raise assistance dogs for people with disabilities. I know that many of the riders were intrigued by the organization and had interest in volunteering in the future. After dinner finished up, Evan Culp (USC Upstate), Bryan Janzing (WSU) and I had a wheel chair race around the block. It was very difficult but I came out victorious after a long hard fought battle!

We had free time after dinner and our van had a slumber party in the living room and watched a movie (Alien vs. Predator) which was terribly awesome. It’s time to get some rest and get ready for our ride to Ann Arbor tomorrow!

August 1 2009 - South Bend - Kalamazoo

Another new state today: Michigan!

Today we rode out of South Bend and made our way to Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a fairly laid back day today without any programming. We arrived in town early and had an hour of free time to relax before staging up for our arrival. When it was time to go, we rode to Western Michigan University and met with the newly founded Pi Kappa Phi chapter. Lunch was hosted by Qdoba and was exactly what we needed after our long ride today.

After lunch, we made our way to lodging which was at a YMCA camp outside of town. We had some free time when we made it to lodging so I made sure to take a nap and catch up on some sleep. I woke up and made my way to dinner. Dinner was sponsored by a past JOH rider’s family and the food was great; especially the deviled eggs which we haven’t had yet on the trip.

After dinner, we had our team meeting and then I watched a movie with the brothers.

Tomorrow we make our way to Lansing, Michigan which is the capital of the state!

July 31 2009 - Chicago - South Bend

Welcome to Indiana!

This morning we made our way out of the city of Chicago and headed east. We had a few minor mix ups in the morning which ended up costing us valuable time on the road. The first problem occurred when our bike path dead ended causing us to make a phone call to get rerouted. We had another hold up when there was a fork in the road and one of the groups went the wrong direction. None of the setbacks were a big deal, but we only ended up riding 70 miles before being racked for time.

We racked up so that we could make our KOB at the local children’s museum at 3:30 p.m. The KOB was probably the best of the entire summer! The kids and team members were laughing throughout the entire performance.

We went off to dinner sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and then went to the University of Notre Dame campus. It was extremely beautiful and the seeing the “Touchdown Jesus” was definitely a highlight of the visit. I’m off to bed, we have another 90 mile ride tomorrow!

July 30 2009 - Chicago

We didn’t cycle a mile today but I am still exhausted from all of the activities!

We woke up at 8:00 am so that we could get some breakfast and start our day in the city. After breakfast, Jimmy and I took the bus to the Natural History Museum. We only had a few hours to roam the museum so we spent most of our time in the famous Dinosaur exhibit. Chicago’s natural history museum is home to the most complete T-Rex skeleton in the world. After spending some time in the museum, we walked across the street to look at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears!

Next, we made our way north for lunch. Since we were near the famous Hancock Building, we decided to make the trek up to the top after lunch. The views were absolutely breathtaking but more importantly, we also had an accompanying audio tour which gave us the entire history of the city. When we finished at the top of the tower, we took North America’s fastest elevator back down to the ground level.

The next stop on the tour was to Navy Pier to check out the famous Ferris wheel. Then we moved to Millennium Park to check out the “Silver Bean.” After we were done touring the city, we made our way to dinner to have some famous Chicago Style Deep Dish. The pizza did live up to the expectations and hit the spot nicely for the evening. I wanted to continue to explore the city, but I really needed to update my blog and pictures so I made my way back to the hotel to do so.

Tomorrow we have a 95 mile day to South Bend!

July 29 2009 - Glenview - Chicago

We made our way into the big city today!

The ride was 30 miles, but it flew by very quickly with all of the exciting sights and sounds. Our first stop of the day was for lunch and a friendship visit on the north side of Chicago. While there, we received a tour of the facilities and got to meet a lot of amazing people. The sno cones that were provided during lunch, were definitely a memorable treat.

Once we finished up with lunch, our police escorts arrived to guide us the last few miles into the city. The police rolled up to the friendship visit on ATVs and stunned the team. It was the first time that we had ever been guided by 4 wheelers through any city. We followed the police as they shut down the traffic lights, and we were really excited as we made our way by Wrigley Park only minutes before the game started. I will definitely remember rolling by all of the fans decked out in their Cubs attire. Once we entered the city center we had to bob through traffic in order to make it to our lodging at the Palmer House Hotel. When we arrived at our hotel we were all blown away at how luxurious it was. We then found out the history and importance of the hotel within the city of Chicago, which made us feel even more fortunate for being allowed to stay there.

We moved our bikes into storage and got ready to explore the city. The first thing that I did was go to Millennium Park which was only a few blocks from the hotel. I traveled around the park with Jim Rampton (Elon) and Dan Brown (GT). We made sure to visit the outdoor theater, BP Bridge, and fountains. It was definitely one of the nicest parks that I have ever been in. We continued to Grant Park and took note of where President Obama delivered his acceptance speech. In addition, we had some funnel cake and sat by the Yacht Club. We then needed to travel back to the hotel in order to get ready for dinner. Our dinner was provided by some Pi Alpha brothers at a local real estate firms office. The office was great because there was a TV, darts, ping pong, and pool to play. I unfortunately lost at ping pong and then spent the rest of the evening chatting with former JOH rider, John Pierce (Drake).

After dinner we were let loose for free time in the city. I decided to go to ESPN Zone with Jimmy Vaeth, Ray Feuga (Cornell), Travis Alsop (Indiana State), Ryan Grumble (Louisiana Tech), and Ross Gruenky (GW). We played some video games and then I made my way back to the hotel to wish Ali a happy birthday and get some rest before the big day in Chicago tomorrow.

July 28 2009 - Milwaukee - Glenview

Today was an easy day on the bike as we moved from the Milwaukee suburbs to the Chicago suburbs!

We quickly made our way to Glenview so that we could make it to our Vaeth family sponsored meal. The lunch provided by Bob and Joy Vaeth was amazing and consisted of cheeseburgers with lots of extras and milkshakes. After lunch, I went to the library to catch up on journal entries and pictures, but was unable to catch up completely due to a time crunch. Seth Klondar, a past JOH cyclist, provided a fantastic dinner and presentation about translating our experiences on the bike into a resume builder. The presentation was helpful and sparked some thoughts in my head. I realized that I need to make sure that I write down some specific experiences from the trip that I felt helped me grow as a person.

After dinner, we had our mid-summer ritual in which we reflected on the summer thus far and refocused ourselves for the last few weeks of the trip. I was happy that we had our ritual because I needed to make sure that I am making the most of my experience and not looking too far ahead towards the end. It was a busy night and I need to get some rest for our big ride into the city of Chicago tomorrow!

July 27 2009 - Milwaukee

Another great day in the city of Milwaukee!

We were able to sleep in again this morning before leaving for our friendship visit at a local school. We put on a KOB for the elementary kids and then spent the rest of the morning playing four square. Afterwards, we left for our lunch at an Easter Seals Camp. We had Subway sandwiches and spent time with those with disabilities. While at the park, we had the opportunity to play with therapeutic dogs. We would take turns giving the dog commands and then praising them after we were successful.

We left the camp around 2:30 pm for an exciting game of wheelchair ice hockey. Wheel chair ice hockey is basically the same as regular hockey, but the game is played in regular sport wheelchairs and with shorter sticks. The game is very difficult because you have trouble stopping and maneuvering on the ice. I have to say that of all of the wheel chair sports, I was the best at wheel chair ice hockey. I had a great time and also scored on one occasion. Our JOH team played against the local athletes and the game ended in a tie. One of the star players for the opposing team was Gabi, who was a young girl with spina bifida. She was a ball of energy and was certainly one of the most memorable athletes in Milwaukee.

After hockey was over we went to a local mall to spend time with a group of young girls with disabilities. The purpose of the visit was to teach the young girls acceptable social behavior and to have a great time. Part of the visit was to complete a scavenger hunt throughout the mall and ask local sales people for various things. The exercise was great for teaching the girls how to interact with others. When we were finished with the hunt, we also completed accessibility surveys for 3 stores in the building. Ultimately, we found that Sephora was the most accommodating to those with disabilities.

After we were done with our visit we spent the rest of the evening in Barnes & Noble and returned to lodging.

July 26 2009 - Waukesha - Milwaukee

Today will be remembered as the sports day on the trip!

We had the opportunity to sleep in until 7:30 am this morning which was fantastic! Once we were packed up and ready, we had a fabulous sponsored breakfast from Kathy, the representative from Independence First who is organizing our days in Milwaukee, and her friends. The breakfast was delicious and included ham, egg, and cheese casserole, fresh fruit, muffins, juice, and French toast. After thanking our sponsors for the meal, we ran some errands with the 2 hours of free time that we had. I went to the bike shop with some of the guys to buy brake pads, adjust my derailleur, and purchase cleats for my shoes. It was a successful trip except I was unable to find some bike tape for my handlebars.

Our afternoon began with an arrival into a local park, where we were warmly greeted by Kathy and many others. We were then given a hosted lunch and let loose with many kids for sports activities. I was lucky enough to secure a wheel chair so that I could participate in wheel chair tennis. I must say that it was one of the most difficult sports when your mobility is limited. I then went inside to play Goal Ball, which is a game for the visually impaired. The basic premise is that the game is 3 on 3 with each team occupying a given space on one side of the gymnasium. Each team takes turns rolling the ball across the gym floor in an attempt to sneak it past the other team. The ball has bells inside so that you can hear it as it rolling towards you. In our case, we had on ski goggles with black tape around them so that we couldn’t see anything. It was an extremely challenging game which entertained me for quite some time. After playing several games of Goal Ball we had to head back to lodging for setup and dinner.

The nourishing sponsored dinner was provided by Qdoba Mexican grill. Our post dinner activities consisted of fishing and free time. The fishing didn’t work out too well because the moss growth on top of the pond was too thick to get the lure to pass through. As such, my fishing experience lasted about 5 casts and then I had to call it a night. I spent my free time tonight doing laundry and catching up on bike maintenance . It was a low key night, but I really enjoyed our Laundromat experience. We were in a Latin American area of town and so we walked up and down the strip shopping in various foreign food shops. I purchased some foreign desserts (cocoa wafers, fruit flavored soda, sesame pistachio sticks) and then made my way back to lodging with clean clothes.

Tomorrow we have a lot to do so I need to get some rest!

July 25 2009 - Rockford - Waukesha

Welcome to Wisconsin, famous for cheese and bratwurst!

Today was a fantastic day on the bike! The weather was sunny and cool for the most of the day and the roads were in better shape than the last few days. The ride was also exciting because we made our way into another new state! When we hit the border we all took our customary pictures then hoped back on the road. We needed to cycle quickly because we were given a rack point of 80 miles by 12 pm (5.5 hours of riding). As the ride progressed we were slightly concerned that we wouldn’t make it all the way because of time, but as we rolled into mile marker 80 we were 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

We then had an arrival to another Camp Easter Seal, for a picnic hosted by Independence First, which is an organization that benefits people with all types of disabilities. During the picnic, we played ladderball, Frisbee, and danced. We also had the opportunity to meet many of the assistants who are working regularly for Independence First. Once the picnic had concluded, we made our way to lodging to setup before dinner.

We were all looking forward to a great meal after the long ride, but we were blown away with the amazing experience that we had tonight. The parents of a former JOH rider (Brian Davidson) were kind enough to host our team for dinner, jet skiing, and s’mores at their house on Pewaukee Lake. The experience was exactly what the team needed after 12 days without a break. When we concluded for the evening we all made our way back to lodging to rest up for the short ride of 14 miles to Milwaukee tomorrow.

July 24 2009 - Dubuque - Rockford

Another day and another new state!

Early into our ride, we crossed over the mighty Mississippi and into the Land of Lincoln (Illinois). While it was exciting to be in a new state, the ride was disappointing because we only ended up riding 65 miles of the 110 miles that we were scheduled to do. The reason that we were unable to make it the whole way was because the road we were on (US 20) changed its traffic laws recently, outlawing cyclists on the road. Most of us weren’t that upset with the decision because the road was in bad shape and had a lot of traffic.

When we arrived in Rockford, we had an official arrival at the local Saturn dealership, where the sponsors provided snacks and drinks for the team. In addition, the owner of the dealership was also kind enough to pay for our hotel stay and dinner at the local Italian restaurant, Gerry’s.

There wasn’t any friendship visit tonight, but we did have an interesting evening with a tornado warning and severe thunderstorms battering the area. We are hoping for some great weather tomorrow as we travel 95 miles to Waukesha, Wisconsin!

July 23 2009 - Davenport - Dubuque

We headed back into the hills again today!

It was a gorgeous day as we rode through the farms and I made sure to snap a few photos to capture the beauty of the land. It was also a nice change of pace to be out of the rain and in the sun! As we made our way towards the Mississippi River, we began to encounter the bluffs and some larger rolling hills. The 90 mile ride wasn’t too terribly taxing until we had a 3 mile climb into lodging at the end of the day.

At around mile 80, we rode into the city of Dubuque. It was fun to ride through the town because part of Ali’s family is from that area and I have also had the opportunity to visit Dubuque on two occasions. The biggest reason that I was excited however, is because it is the town where Ali and I will be hosting our wedding reception!

When we entered Camp Albrecht Acres, our lodging for the night, we were warmly welcomed by the campers! We set up our bags and sat down to lunch before leaving for a team excursion to the Field of Dreams. The trip to the Field of Dreams was a lot of fun! We spent our time, playing baseball on the field, running through the corn, and buying up souvenirs. When we had our fill of baseball for the day we headed back to camp for dinner.

I actually skipped dinner for the evening so that I would have the opportunity to spend time with Ali’s family who lives outside of Dubuque. When her grandparents arrived at camp, I found out that Ali’s great grandmother actually had a bench in her name on the grounds of the campus. We found the bench and spent the next hour catching up. Unfortunately, we only had an hour to chat because I had to be ready for a dance at 7:00 pm.

The dance was a unique experience because the camp had an extensive wardrobe. All of us dressed up in the most ridiculous clothes possible so that we could dance the next 2 hours away!

After the dance ended, Ali, her brother, and her cousin made the trek back to the camp to visit again. It was a lot of driving and I really appreciated the opportunity to see her and her family before heading out of the great state of Iowa tomorrow.

July 22 2009 - Iowa City - Davenport

Another rain soaked day in the state of Iowa!

We left Iowa City this morning and made our way 60 miles to Davenport through the pouring rain and fog. The fog was so thick in the morning that we had to stop riding 20 miles into the ride for safety purposes. After a 30 minute wait, the fog began to clear and we made our way back onto the road to complete the remainder of the ride.

When we arrived in Davenport, we setup lodging at our hotel and rested for a couple of hours! Afterwards, we got ready for the evening friendship visit at a nearby pool. While at the visit, I spent most of my time playing croquet and bean bags with Tim. I was pretty exhausted from the long day so I didn’t actually end up hopping in the pool, but I had a blast playing various field games.

After the friendship visit was over we headed back to lodging and got ready for the big day ahead to Dubuque!

July 21 2009 - Cedar Rapids - Iowa City

The ride was only 27 miles, but it seemed a 10,000!

When we woke up this morning, it had already begun to rain. We thought that it would shortly subside, but the rain continued throughout the entire ride, and came down torrentially at times. When we arrived into City Park in Iowa City we prepared for our arrival to the Old Capitol Building. It was still raining, but it was fun to ride up to the Old Capitol Building with a group of individuals cheering us on.

The arrival procedures consisted of speakers from the community and university which were given in the Old Capitol building. The old capitol building is actually a museum today which caused an awkward situation when we arrived. Since we were soaking wet, the museum curator told us that we weren’t allowed to enter on account of the $250,000 worth of carpeting. After some persuasion, we were allowed to enter the building in our bare feet to continue with the preceding ceremony.

Afterwards we went to our lodging at the Iowa House Hotel. We had some terrific warm showers and then went to the Theta Theta house for a sponsored lunch consisting of subway sandwiches and chips. After lunch we had some free time in which Ali and I grabbed some hot and sour soup and crab rangoons for a snack. Dinner was another sponsored meal from the Youth Empowerment program at City Park. While there, I ran into Carson Hammer, a Virginia Tech Alumni who had recently moved to Iowa for work. We chatted about the chapter and exchanged fun stories before departing back to lodging. The rest of evening was left free so Ali and I watched a movie.

Tomorrow we will be riding 60 miles to Davenport, Iowa!

July 20 2009 - Marshalltown - Cedar Rapids

Today we rode into the city of 5 seasons, Cedar Rapids

The weather was nice and cool and the ride went by quickly as we made our way into town. When we arrived, we were greeted by participants at the Arc of Cedar Rapids. We then made our way across the street to the YMCA where we showered and got ready for our friendship visit in the evening.

The friendship visit was at the Arc where there where tons of board games and video games to play. I played polar bear bowling with two girls for a bit before shifting over to monopoly. I was beaten badly in both games, but I had a great time! After the friendship visit was over, we had a fantastic meal and then had the rest of the evening free.

Ali and I had a second dinner where we celebrated her passing her nursing boards! It was great to spend time together so that we could finally catch up.

Tomorrow we have short ride into Iowa City!