Swamp Gypsies - Traveling the USA the low-budget way!

Clingman's Dome, Smoky Mountain National Park, TN

2010-11-02T15:42:00.002-04:00

When I was about 12 years old, I went on a trip with my best friend, Andrew, from Florida to Tennessee and back. Along the way we had camped at a bunch of forgotten sites, hiked up a few mountains I'll never remember the names of, and swam in who knows how many rivers. Aside from that, and a couple camping trips with friends, I hadn't really spent too much time in the mountains before Andrea and I left on our journey.

Last year, a group of friends and I camped at Ft. Mountain State Park (which was incredible, and I have yet to find its equal in terms of beauty and mystery on our trip so far). Some of us had totally improper gear, some of us brought extraneous items, and although we have all done long hiking trips together in Florida, I'm pretty sure not a single one of us had been backcountry camping in that type of terrain.

The result: I think we had a three mile hike out to our site and it basically beat us all senseless. Granted, if we had the proper gear and brought only the essentials we probably would have made light work of the trip. Regardless, it was probably one of the best experiences of my life but the bottom line is that, in my experience, Floridians suck at mountain hikes.

When Andrea and I decided to hike Clingman's Dome (tallest mountain on the Appalachian Trail, the Smoky's, and all of Tennessee), we chose a difficult hike, about 22 miles round trip over three days. We started at the top of Clingman's Dome (elevation 6,684 feet) and hiked down to the bottom, about a 5,000 ft descent, then made our way back up to the summit. Andrea had only hiked one mountain before, Grandfather Mountain in NC, and I had only a handful under my belt. The hike was beyond our experience level, which was a concern of mine from the get-go, but we thought if we took it slow and made sure to eat and drink enough we would be OK.

The first day was an 11 mile hike, all downhill, and we were lucky enough to have crisp, cool, dry weather. As far as physcial exertion goes, it was not too bad, but I ended up getting a trail blisters the size of quarters from my big toe down to my heel on both feet. The last mile-and-a-half or so were excrutiatingly painful for me... worse yet, we had left a little later than planned and wound up hiking for about an hour in total darkness. I had a flashlight and a backup head-lomp, but Andrea had left her backup behind and her primary broke... Things started getting a little scary after dark... The head lamp was nearly useless for hiking, and toward the bottom of the mountain we had to cross several streams in the pitch black night, which was quite tricky at times.

Yayy for dead trees!

The second day was a breeze, we had only a four mile hike to the next site. While hiking, the weather was great again. We got to the site at about 5pm, gathered wood, started a nice warm fire, and ate dinner before bed. We had decided to share the one person tent to cut out some weight from our backs (my 2 person tent is pretty heavy and bulky). HUGE MISTAKE! About a half hour after getting into the tent the temperature dropped to about 40 degrees and it started raining. I woke up at about 3am and found myself lying in about 3 inches of cold water... the water had come through where our bodies were touching the sides of the tent! I was wearing all the warm clothes I had brought, which were all made of cotton... Cotton clothes hold about a gazillion times their weight in water and take forever to dry. Luckily, Andrea was wearing a fleece and leggings that wicked repelled and dried quickly.

This is about the driest I was all day.

The next day I had to hike 7 miles back up the mountain, blistered, tired, and sore, with about 30 extra pounds on my back and no dry clothes to keep me warm. The entire way back up was cold and rainy, and all the rain since the night before had cause the streams to swell to near rivers and the boulder hopping to become pretty much impossible. We had to wade across the streams, which were often belly-button deep, cold as all hell, and moving swiftly. It was difficult to keep a footing, and we had a few tumbles and spills - luckily nothing serious. Miles away from any help, we had no choice but to forge on.

We made it to the car!

There were some pretty frightening moments that third and final day on the trail. I think I was experiencing early signs of hypothermia, and Andrea was concerned about her calorie intake because she kept getting getting light headed... meanwhile we were tip toe-ing across a narrow trail that often had 20, 30, 60 foot drops directly adjacent. The last hour or so of the hike left me exhausted. I had been weighed down by my pack, my wet clothes, my waterlogged boots. That, coupled with the bleeding blisters on my feet left me able to only make about 8 inch steps. The last leg of the hike seemed to drag on forever, but eventually we were safely back in car with the heat blasting full throttle. WE DID IT! Clingman's Dome beat the crap out of us, but what an experience! If nothing else, it was a great learning experience! Cotton is NOT your friend while hiking...

Leaving Bloomington and heading to St Louis!

2010-10-29T14:07:00.000-04:00

Updating from the car right now... haven't had time to update the last few days, still have to write up posts for the Smoky's, Pulaski, our weekend with Andrea's parents in SC, Boone, Columbus, and Bloomington!!! I hope to do some today or tomorrow, so check back!!

Looking Glass Falls, NC

2010-10-25T19:07:00.001-04:00

After leaving Boone, NC, we headed for the Smoky Mountains to stay a few nights. Although it was out of the way, I decided to surprise Andrea with a pit stop at Looking Glass Falls, a beautiful waterfall I had visited on a camping trip I took in middle school. If you're ever in the Asheville area, it's a great site to see and it's very easy to access. You can park right on the side of the road and it's about a 2 minute walk down. Once there, you can stand on the bank and enjoy the view, walk along the rocks in the water, or even wade out and swim underneath the falls!

In retrospect, it would have been nice to stay a night in Asheville and check out some of the other sites like Chimney Rock, Sliding Rock, etc. So much to see in the area and it would have saved us from having to spend the $25 (!) it took to camp our first night in the uber touristy Smoky's... BTW I will be posting about the Smoky's soon, but will focus on our backcountry camping, so for now I just wanted to let everyone know that Gatlinburg, TN is a tourist trap (quite comparable to International Drive in Orlando), front country camping in the Smoky's is not at all worth it... However, there is no entrance fee into the park and back country camping is FREE in the Smoky's!! If you're planning a trip to the Smoky's, I would definitely recommend back country... just try to do a hike within your experience level and bring proper gear... I will go into further detail on the importance of this in the next post. Lesson learned!!!

Boone, NC Grandfather Mountain

2010-10-12T01:16:00.001-04:00

While we were in Boone, we wanted to get at least one good day hike in, and our host, Jen, took us over to Grandfather Mountain. Grandfather Mountain is about an hour outside of Boone, NC. It was privately owned until 2006 and from my understanding is being turned into a state park. All the signs in the area boasted that it was the tallest mountain in the area and that it was North Carolina's numero uno natural tourist attraction.

Visible from the road is a big ol' swinging bridge connecting two of the higher peaks on the mountain. I've gathered that it's called the 'swinging bridge' because it sways in the high speed winds (sometimes up to 200 mph!) at that altitude. Although it's accessible by car, we didn't get to see the tourist center or the mile high swinging bridge, which just gives us an excuse to go back and check out Boone again :D

Hiking the trail was Andrea, Jen, and I as well as Jen's dog Djinni, and an extremely lovable (but mildly retarded) beagle named Rosie who somehow hopped aboard the car on our way out of Boone. We hiked Profile Trail, to Grandfather Mountain Trail, to Calloway Peak, which is the highest peak on the mountain and is more secluded than the touristy side of Grandfather Mountain, so we only encountered a few other hikers along the way.

So, in the last year or so before this trip I went from being in some form of good shape to an atrophied puddle of once-man. I had stopped working out, riding my bike, and eating right and replaced all that with stress over school, junk food, and spending lots of quality time with the circa 1973 floral-patterned yellow grandma-couch that somehow kept finding its way back in the house from the shed (long story). This played a pretty big toll on me throughout the day.

It was a 7 mile hike round-trip and about a 2000 foot change in elevation. The first mile and a half was a breeze. I was hopping up on rocks, playing with the dogs, screaming for Rosie every time she'd gotten lost, and gleefully skipping over tree roots without so much as breakin' a sweat. Then I hit a wall. The rest of the climb up was TOUGH. More than anything, I was having trouble breathing, which may actually have more to do with my Florida lungs being unable to cope with the altitude change than my ex-couchfriend, but whatever it was, my body was well aware that something was not right. I was huffing and puffing and sweatin' bullets.

Once we made it to Calloway peak, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the wind was kickin'! It was well worth every drop of sweat and strained breath and every step of every mile to earn the view we saw from that mountain top. It was clear, blue skies with near perfect visibility. The five of us sat on the boulder we'd just climbed up and soaked it in for a while before heading back.

Dog of the Year

Well... the four of us... Rosie got stuck on the ladder and just kinda stared at the ground for a while til Jen untangled her.

Linville Falls, NC

2010-10-11T20:38:00.002-04:00

During our stay in Boone, we were lucky enough to have our friend Jen as our personal tour guide. When we weren't out gallivanting and partying at her house, we were checking out the natural attractions to see in the area (which were more than plentiful).

Linville Falls is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway about an half-hour to an hour from Boone. We hiked around the park and saw the falls from several different points. The falls were breathtaking from all angles... words cannot describe, so I'll just post a bakers buttload of pictures for all to see.

Our friend Jen and her dog Djinni

The Givers, Boone, NC

2010-10-11T16:56:00.001-04:00

Been a while since my last update... SOO hard to find time! Ok, so I am now in a little town in west Tennessee, using internet in the Giles County Library. Theres a lot that's happened since the last blog update, so I'll just focus on the highlightsfor the next few entries!

First and foremost, I have to mention The Givers, an awesome indie band that our friend Jen introduced us to during our stay in Boone, NC. In all honesty, Andrea and I were dead tired and resisted going out that night, and even upon arriving at the Boone Saloon (even though it was a great little venue) we really just wanted to go home and get some sleep. We got there between sets and unfortunately we missed the opening band, The No-Eyes. We played a game of pool while waiting for The Givers to go on, and ran into some people we had met earlier in the week. (As a sidenote, that was one of the great things about Boone... we met a lot of awesome people at a potluck one of our first nights in town and at different gatherings afterward and because it's such a small town we were running into people we'd met previously just about everywhere we went! We had only stayed for about 2 weeks and it seemed like we knew half the town already!) After a few beers we still weren't really feeling all to great about being out, but once they started playing it totally changed our moods and before long we were dancing our arses off!

Having never heard The Givers before, I didn't really know what to expect, but they were talented, energetic, fun, and had a very unique sound. I'm no music critic and would fail to do them any justice by trying to exemplify their sound through writing, so I'll just post a video I found on their MySpace page.

"Saw you first" from eliot brasseaux on Vimeo.

The drummer/vocalist/ukulele player, Tif Lamson, was an animal. Beautiful and magnetic, I think she born to be an entertainer. Although I already posted their MySpace video, I have to post a little snippet of her going nuts on the drums from the night at the Boone Saloon, as her prowess as a percussionist is not shown in the previous video. I had tried to get footage of her in one of her many musical fits several times throughout their performance, but due to angle restrictions, lighting, timing, and my inability to stop dancing, this was the best one I could capture:

She just looks like she's having so much FUN,

doesn't she??

Take my word for it, give 'em a chance if you have the opportunity! They are about to explode, and you will be hearing a lot more of them soon enough!

You can buy their CD from the link below!

Cousin Leah's!

2010-09-20T19:03:00.000-04:00

Ha ha ha! Leah had a bunch
of photos from a period of my life
I had never seen....

Thanks for the finds, Leah!!

To keep a long story short, my biological father left when I was about 3 years old, and because of that I missed out on keeping in touch with his side of the family. I have always had memories of my cousin Leah and uncle Dink from when i was about 2-3 years old, but until about a year ago had no contact with them. Leah found me on Facebook, and we sent a few emails back and forth, and when she found out I was doing this road trip, she invited Andrea and me to stay her place for a while!

It was great catching up with her family... even though we were pretty much complete strangers, it was surprisingly comfortable interacting with them. We arrived on Labor Day, unpacked our things, and went straight to the pool to get our drank on. After about an hour of being around them we were all crackin' jokes as if we had known each other for years.

Skrate off the drawing
board!

Leah's husband, Andy, runs fiddlebackforge.com, where he sells his hand-made knives. While I was there, I helped Andy and Dink in the shop wherever I could (I'm not the handiest guy around, and their work is serious business! Andy is an artist, it takes years of experience to do much of what he does). I was able to cut out, glue up, and sand down a handle on his Hunter model (found under 'Our Line' on the fiddleback homepage), and as a reward Andy let me KEEP the knife! Brotus!

Pattern and steel cut-out

The knife is absolutely gorgeous... it has a stabilized walnut crotch handle, 4 carbon-fiber pins at the top and his signature lanyard tube at the bottom of the handle. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of abuse it can take, but judging by the review at woodsmonkey.com, I'm guessing it can handle anything I'd be likely do dish out.

It was great catching up with long-lost family, and although there's much we've missed out on together, it's good to know that the bond is still there. Our week long stay with Leah was great, but not long enough... I look forward to meeting them up some time, somewhere, and repaying them for their kindness! Hopefully we can meet again over the holidays, and I can finally meet my long-lost brother, Bret, and maybe even my little sister, Shannon, for the first time as well!

This trip has already proven more rewarding than I could have imagined...

looking through oldschool
pictures

Cutting carbon-fiber rods

Finished product (sorry for photo quality,
took with my phone last minute)

ATL, Georgia

2010-09-10T15:20:00.000-04:00

Andrea and I made our second stop at a community center in Atlanta next to the Lake Clair Land Trust, located about a mile or so away from Little Five Points. Little Five Points is frequented by the hipster-indie crowd. There were flyers for shows, stickers advertising websites, graffiti, and street art oozing from every imaginable structure. Almost every establishment we entered offered organic, vegetarian, or vegan options as well as an abundance of locally grown and manufactured goods.

Although we did not have the opportunity to experience any of the night-life in Atlanta, there was lots going on, including Dragoncon, "the largest multi-media/pop-culture convention focusing on sci-fi and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe" ...like anyone could ever even know that. It was definitely the talk of Little Five Points the entire weekend, and had we not been busted broke, we would have made it out for sure!

We did, however, get to eat at the Brewhouse, located right on LFP the first night of our stay, on our way to the house we were staying. They had a decent selection of beer, lots of menu options, and apparently are a local favorite to many we talked to. Andrea was excited to try Georgia's own Sweetwater Brewing Company, and picked the 420 brew. She loved it, but it was wayyyy too hoppy for me, so i stuck with the familiar and ordered a Newcastle. I had a gyro, she had some kind of portobello mushroom sandwich, which was out of this world!

Upon arriving at our destination, we were greeted by a guy named Zach who gave us a brief rundown of what their establishment was all about, and what would be expected of us on our stay. He then turned us over to Spencer, who gave us the grand tour of the property, including The Hearth, which we would call home for the next few days.

The Hearth was absolutely B-E-A-utiful! It was kind of Escher-ish in its architecture, with multiple entrances and stairways, and huge vaulted ceilings contrasted by areas with ceilings and doorways so low you had to crouch to get through them. I am unsure of how many floors there actually were in the building, but there were at least three, with two half-floor overlook/den floors in between. When not occupied by travelers like us on the weekends, the hearth serves as an after-school day care facility for grades K-5. The bottom floor is a large empty gymnasium type room, with an art studio and a stage to encourage the performing arts, the shared living area has a fully functional kitchen for feeding time, couches for lounging (or jumping on, I'd imagine), and the whole house has crayons, coloring books, and novels like White Fang tucked away for the kids to read.

In exchange for a place to stay, we were given a few chores. We had to pull some weeds, move some lumber from point A to B, dig up some old electrical lines... nothing major, and more than fair considering the accommodations provided for us!

Although we did not get to experience the nightlife in downtown Atlanta, the nightlife in the Land Trust was probably just as good! Our first night there, we were serenaded by 'the elders', who founded the land, as they jammed together and played a few covers for anyone who cared to listen, fully acoustic, fully awesome. Saturday night, we attended the bi-weekly(?) drum circle for about an hour. Once again, everyone we encountered was very warm, welcoming and friendly.

Our neighbor Beth made us some
scrum-diddly-umptious cookies!

Georgia - 2, Florida - 0

The Hearth is open to the public all weekend, and from 7am - 2pm on weekdays. There is always something going on in the Land Trust, be it the elders jammin on Fridays, drum circles on Saturdays, or a venue for live shows! They offer a wide range of services to the public, so check out their sites (above) or, better yet, check 'em out in person!

Providence Canyon State Park

2010-09-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

WOW! I have had such little time! I have been dying to get on here and share our experiences so far, but with all the distractions and spotty internet connection, this has been my first opportunity to post since we left 5 days ago. I will try to keep this one short and sweet, so there are tons of awesome details that, although I would love to share, will be left out to avoid turning my blog into a full on novel.

Here goes:

Our first stop was in a little town called Lumpkin which lies on the Georgia side of the Georgia-Alabama border about an hour or so south of Columbus, GA. We had planned to camp at Providence Canyon state park but found a free camp site right on the water about 10 minutes away, so we opted for that out of sheer practicality. We stayed at Providence Canyon for a day hike before heading to our site at Rood Creek Landing Recreation Area.

Providence Canyon!!

Providence Canyon system consists of 16 canyons, all formed from faulty farming practices. The run-off from farms in the early 1800's began eroding the soft sand, leaving behind ditches which over the years became 150 foot canyons! Although these canyons are aesthetically pleasing, they really are just a scar on the earth which weighed heavy on my mind throughout the hike. Providence Canyon serves as a reminder that our recklessness can be devastating and long lasting.

Although the canyon system is a sort of ecological disaster, there is much to be learned from the exposed layers of sediments. The strata across the canyon give insight into the natural history of Georgia. There was a lot of cross-bedding in areas which shows that the sediments were deposited in quickly moving water; in other areas the layers are kind of amorphous and look like limestone, which may have been deposited in a marine environment(?) I'm not an expert by any means, so I'm not too sure - maybe I should have taken a guided tour...

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

I was lucky enough to have the pleasure of meeting the park's ranger of 12 years, Joy Joyner, who truly was a 'double joy'. I was saddened to hear that Joy was the park's only employee due to state budget cuts. Last June, there were 95 jobs lost in Georgia's department of Parks and Recreation, and many more since. The park had to shut down its visitor center/gift shop, which brought in the majority of its revenue.

She keyed me in to the important services the park offers the community. The park hosts field trips, tours, guided hikes, senior citizen trips, and serves as a learning tool for geology classes far and wide. It is important that children be brought to places like this. What better way to learn geological history than to get out and see it first hand and see how the land around you has been laid down grain by grain over millions and millions of years? The field trips correlate with Georgia Performance Standards, can accommodate about 75 guests, and there are several companies out there that offer field trip grants, so if you're in a position to plan a field trip, I would suggest it!

Our view from our site on Rood Creek

It really WAS delicious, despite
the horrible look on my face :)

Rood Creek was amazing as well! Since it's managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, camping is F-R-E-E!! We definitely need to find more sites like this! As I mentioned before, we were planning to camp at Providence, which is still pretty cheap at 9 dollars per person, especially considering the surroundings. Since we're working with a ridiculously tight budget, we had to opt for the cheapest route, which probably worked out to our favor. Having such easy access to fresh water was oh-so-nice! We purified it, made some tea, and Andrea made a delicious concoction of vegetables, dumplings, and river water that was out of this world! Since we didn't have to hike out to the site, we pitched our tent next to the car and had everything we needed at hand.

Rood Creek was about 8 miles from Providence, and about a half-hour from Eufaula, AL where we could access wi-fi for Andreas job, so it wasn't too far from civilization. It was nice to go into town and interact with the locals. It is amazing how different people treat each other here in GA. People are polite, warm, and welcoming, which is almost completely foreign to me, being from south Florida.

We have since left the little town of Lumpkin and are staying in Atlanta at a community center where we are volunteering in exchange for a place to stay (which just happens to be an entire 3 story house, pretty much all to ourselves!). We have been welcomed very warmly by those that live on the property. They are doing lots and lots for the community here in ATL and I to spread the word on their mission, I will be posting a blog on monday, complete with pictures and hopefully some video as well!

Thanks for reading!
-Augustus

Almost ready!!

2010-08-20T18:23:00.003-04:00

We were able to get rid of a lot more stuff today! I can't believe how hard it is to get rid of your possessions... I am not even talking about the emotional attachment or knowing that some of the stuff would reeeeaaaalllly come in handy at some point down the road... It's just hard to find a PLACE for it all!

Luckily, there's a guy in the neighborhood that is near notorious for looking for free stuff. When people heard we were having a yard sale, they warned us he would be by, haggling the price of every item and trying to get a lot of things for free. When I first met him, I kind of thought that he was trying to take advantage of us, but over the weeks of interacting with him, I realized he's a nice guy.

He has come to our house several times now, knocks on the door every once in a while to see if we have any more stuff we're getting rid of. I talked to him for a little bit here and there and he's got quite the sense of humor, always making little remarks on his surroundings in attempt to get a smile or a laugh.

He told me that most of the stuff he picks up, he recycles for money. He only gets about 3-4 cents per pound of metal he turns in, which I imagine hardly pays for the gas he uses to search for it. Considering the amount of time and effort he puts into collecting scrap metal, and the little pay he receives in turn, I think he is a hard worker that, having been retired for some years now, just wants to stay active and keep a work routine. Today, Nowels and I helped him load up his truck with about 200-300 pounds of random items which he will take home, disassemble, and organize into what is and what is not recyclable.

I took a liking to Humberto and asked Andrea to take a few pictures while we loaded up his trailer so our interactions with him could be documented and not merely forgotten like so many others. A few minutes and several quips later, he gave a kind 'thank you' and hopped into his van. After fiddling with the ignition for a minute, his engine started, and he puttered away.

Thanks for the help, Humberto!!

Another day closer...

2010-08-19T12:57:00.002-04:00

Well, looks like Grandpa is doing alright after yesterday's surgery. What an ordeal that turned out to be! Couldn't feed him after 10pm, he was freakin' out all night. The next morning sprayed in the house, and then on me, when we were trying to put him in the kitty carrier, and then cried the whole 45 minute drive to the vet.

While he was there, Andrea and I explored the town where the vet was at. We had 6 hours to kill and weren't familiar with the area, so we just picked a direction and drove. At first this town, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, seemed to consist of little more than mile after mile of pawn shops, check cashing stores, flea markets, and bodegas, until we came across a part of town I used to ride my bike through. The Cross Seminole Trail cuts through Seminole county from Oviedo to past I-4 in Lake Mary, and I used to ride it frequently, but never strayed too far from the trail. Upon recognizing a pedestrian/bike overpass I had used several times, I knew where to kill some time nearby!

We ended up heading to Big Tree park, home of The Senator. The Senator is the nations largest (and I believe oldest) cypress tree, and is the largest tree east of the Mississippi! It stands at about 118 feet tall right now, after a 1925 hurricane snapped off the top 47 feet of the tree, and a trunk diameter of 17.5 feet! When standing at the base and looking up at this tree, it really gets the imagination going. Throughout the last 3,500 years of war, religion, sprawl, creation, destruction, innovation, love, hate, and discovery, this tree just stood. It stands as a testament to the triviality of drama. While we were out conquering, murdering, building and changing the world around us, this tree just stood, efficiently using the nutrients around it and offering nutrients, oxygen, and a home to probably trillions of other organisms. Human lives, civilizations and empires began and ended umpteen times over in The Senator's lifetime, as he stood unwavering.

Sorry for the poor picture quality, neither of us had cameras, so i had to use my phone.

The Senator

Picked up this little guy along our walk to see The Senator

After going to Big Tree park, we stopped at a little Thai market where we picked up some jackfruit, lychee juice, drangonfruit juice, mangosteen juice, and almost bought some durian at a pretty good price, but decided against it. While in the cooler rummaging through the various juices I saw this little gem poking out to say hello:

Upon further inspection, the can actually read 'grass jelly drink'.

I don't know which one sounds worse.

Found a home for Grandpa!!

2010-08-17T18:20:00.003-04:00

Thank you Kara for being kind enough to take care of Grandpa! I have been panicking more and more as our departure date approaches, not being able to find a home for him... Andrea and I have to get up super early tomorrow morning to take him in to have his manhood removed :(

For those of you who don't know, Grandpa is my cat. He was a stray that I started feeding, and he grew on me like whoa! When I found him, he was starving, ribs showing, malnourished, and eating garbage (he left a 'present' for me on the back porch soon after we met, and all he had in him was plastic and newspaper). I think feeding him after a period of famine encouraged him to latch on to me more than other cats I'd had in the past. He follows me around the neighborhood on walks, comes when he's called, and is trainable... It's going to be hard to let him go, but I have to do what's best for him.

I will be taking lots of pictures of him tomorrow. It's going to be a big day for him!

Home

Guess I had to...

2010-08-15T20:31:00.002-04:00

I finally broke down and got a twitter account... I've been resisting for some time, but have been advised by several people that doing so, and keeping up with it, will help me spread the word about my blog. I have no idea how to operate it though! Pretty confusing! If anyone would care to follow my twitter, the address is http://twitter.com/augustuspoplos

I am totally useless with it at this point, but hope to get a better understanding of it and hopefully it will generate some traffic to help us share our experiences on the road.

In other news, Andrea and I are tying up all the loose ends around the house, giving our stuff away, getting organized, and making our final preparations.

Look how pumped she gets! That's gotta be one of the hardest thumbs up I've ever seen. Luckily, there were no strains or sprains and her thumb is still in tip-top shape.

Checkin out .22 caliber rifles for Andrea. Girls DANGEROUS! LOL!
Just thought it would be a good idea to have a backup plan in a survival-type situation.
Ended up gettin' a li'l Mossberg Plinkster

We leave for south Florida in a few days, and I suppose that will be sort of a pre-adventure-adventure. We will be very busy, so it's not quite vacation, but I hope to have some fun while we're down there, too!

Also, I have been trying my hardest to find a home for my kitty... his name is Grandpa and was just a stray i started feeding, but he grew on me somethin fierce. If anyone has any room in their house and in their heart for a new cat, please, please, PLEASE contact me and let me know! He still needs to be neutered and get his shots, but he is the snuggliest, friendliest cat you'll ever meet. He also comes when called, is trained to stand-up on his hind legs on command, and you can direct him to jump onto things and tell him to get down from places and he listens very well!

Grandpa... please help me find him a good home! He deserves it!

Home

Unexpected Turn

2010-08-12T18:51:00.002-04:00

First off, I'd like to welcome the new followers! Thank you for taking the time to check out the blog! Andrea and I leave for south Florida in 5 days, and from there we may be heading to the Keys and the west coast of Florida for a few days before coming back to Orlando to say our goodbyes.

In all the commotion of getting all of our last minute preparations in order, we had to deal with a last minute burden: it looks like our trio may be down to two... Nowels had something unexpected come up that he has to handle, and he may not be able to come with us... The savings he had put aside have to be dipped into and he may have to save up for a bit and meet up with us later. I can't even express how disappointing this is... we've all been looking forward to our departure and have sacrificed a lot in order to get we we are today. He is handling it like a champ though and, knowing him, will do whatever it takes to get his ducks in a row and join up with us further down the road.

This changes the entire game plan, but Andrea and I plan to forge ahead. We have too much time and energy invested in all this to back down. The situation reminds me of a quote from a documentary I recently saw, 180 South, which pointed out that "the word adventure has just gotten over-used... for me, adventure is when everything goes wrong. That's when the adventure starts".

Nowels - I know you can do this and I can't wait to pick you up at some random bus station on some random date and head off in some random direction with ya. We're all going to miss out on you not being there, but we'll have plenty of time to catch up. We'll be ready whenever and wherever you are, buddy.

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Solillaquists and Astronautalis

2010-08-10T01:20:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was a busy, busy day for us! After yet another sleep deprived night, we made another attempt at the yard sale to sell the remaining stuff, but we got rained out after the first hour. I decided to go onto craigslist and search for people who needed donations and give it all away instead. We gave a bunch of books and art supplies to a senior center and gave a mother of two a bunch of clothes, school supplies for her kids, and a laptop for her daughter. We still have some stuff left over that we're trying to get rid of... Have some yard tools and trash picker upper majigs I'd like to donate to an organization that does pond restorations or roadside cleanups or the like, so if anyone knows of anything please let me know!

After the yard sale, Nowels and I went to go see the Solillaquists of Sound play at stardust in Orlando. They played a great set, and I met a few awesome people in the crowd who were very interested and supportive of our upcoming journey. More importantly, I was caught by surprise when I happened upon an artist I had never heard of before - Astronautalis.

I only caught about 15 or so minutes of their set, but their lead vocalist (at least I think he's the lead vocalist), Andy, is probably the most entertaining freestyle artist I've ever seen. He was asking for topics from the crowd to rap about... some of the responses he got back were pretty silly, others sentimental, political, and meaningful. In the end, he was able to not only remember, but successfully rhyme a story that included all the topics suggested to him in one of the most creative performances I've seen in a long time. Although I can't remember all the topics exactly, it ended up clearing BP of any negligence in the oil spill, instead blaming it on ninjas, which he was able to fight off with his tight new haircut with the help of a boxing kangaroo and an uncircumcised wombat, or something to that effect... I realize this sounds absurd, but he was working with what the crowd gave him and was still able to point out some very serious social problems, common struggles through the recession, and my personal favorite - he made a remark about the difficulties finding a job in todays economy and suggested proudly living life freely out of tents on the road as another option.

I wasn't able to take video of his performance and couldn't find it online, but here's a video I found of him from back in '07.
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I talked to him for about a half hour after the show, and our conversation just made me all the more excited to get on the road. I think he said he's been on the road for over three years now, and he highly recommends it. He suggested we read a book that he found inspirational. I have yet to check it out, but it is titled 'Dishwasher', if my memory serves me correct, and is written by a guy who decided to become a dishwasher in all of the 50 states. He invited us out to one of his shows if we're in the southeast for his fall tour, and said if we can make it out that he'd put us on the guest list. Nice guy. I wish the best for him.

Looking back on my life, there are certain events or periods of time that seem to separate my life into chapters. It's easier for me to remember things that way... rather than knowing what year an event occurred, my memory seems to catalog memories in terms of these chapters. There was the high school chapter, the living in squalor with my buddies Andrew, Hiram, and Kevin chapter, the short one about the Navy, the Lauren chapter, and the lengthy Orlando chapter. The Orlando chapter of my life is rapidly coming to a close, and I imagine the final sentence in this chapter will end with an ellipse... or maybe a question mark... but seeing him perform was a very well-placed period toward the end of it.

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Yard sale!

2010-08-07T18:23:00.002-04:00

Whoa! I had no idea a yard sale could be so tiring! We were practically giving our stuff away (and a lot of it we literally gave away to nice people) and some people were so rude, and no matter how generously you price an item people still try to haggle with you! We were selling DVD's for 50 cents, an awesome collection of books from 25 cents to a dollar a piece, and people will literally try to talk you down from a 25 cent book! Though, in the end, we met some really nice people and got rid of a lot of stuff, which was the goal. We have to have another one tomorrow since we only were able to get rid of about half our stuff.

We were jam packed for the 3 hours that we were able to keep the sale going, but had to shut down shop early because a storm rolled in. :(

We planned on taking pictures, but just did not have the time. Andrea and I only got about an hour and a half of sleep, only to wake up and move furniture, organize, price, put up signs, etc. in the Florida summer heat. Maybe tomorrow we'll be better prepared and more rested and can take a few minutes here and there for photo-ops. I bet you guys can't wait to see yard sale pictures...

We had a few friends stop by for a visit, and hopefully we will have a few more tomorrow...

By the way, Nowels wasn't able to make it cause he was walking the stage at his graduation! "Proud! Proud? Proud."

OK, well I am about to hop in the shower and go to sleep (at 6:30pm!). Too tired to go on, and we have a ton to do tomorrow!

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Hangin at the bull and bush!

2010-08-05T22:40:00.001-04:00

Kinda wish there were more pictures of the other night... it was a ton o' fun and got to see some friends that will be sorely missed! Jay played an awesome set and Hurley made silly faces and showed me his chest hair.

These are the things I will miss about Orlando.

Good times and stink-eye

This is my friend Hurley. Chicks dig him, and I totally get that.

Can't wait til all these characters plus more are under one roof for our going away partaytay!

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Just saw an awesome and inspiring blog if anyone wants to check it out

2010-08-04T20:41:00.001-04:00

http://nobailouts.blogspot.com/2009/02/lost-your-house-lost-your-job-and-need.html

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Feelin happyyyyyy!

2010-08-04T17:25:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been about 2 weeks since I've slept in a real bed and my room is absolutely barren! I have emptied it of everything, save an air mattress, a small stack of clothes I am bringing with, my laptop and a desk. No more posters, pictures, furniture, or any of the useless junk I've acquired over the years.

While sorting through all my possessions I realized that a lot of the stuff that I've been toting around with me for years I haven't used in forever and probably never would have even if I'd kept it. Some stuff was hard to let go... gifts from friends and family, letters from high school sweethearts, notes I had taken in classes I enjoyed... but in the end I doubt I'll really miss much of it. Just items taking up space.

The reality of the whole trip is sinking in as our departure date approaches. I am already getting a feel for simplicity and think it will be more comfortable than I had initially imagined, to not have a permanent place of residence. Although I am kind of roughing it right now, I still have access to a lot of luxuries that will probably be dearly missed in the coming months. The house is in shambles as we all organize for the yard sale, and the place looks like a total squatter pad right now, but we have air conditiong, a microwave, stove, oven, and a comfortable couch to sit on. Soon enough the condition of our air will be controlled only by nature, our food cooked on open fires or our cheap little propane grill, and our seats will most likely be logs and stumps and dirt, as we already have tons of stuff to pack in the car and may not have room for certain amenities... like chairs... lol, smiley face. I have made some money selling some of my stuff and still have a lot more to sell, which is great because we will need every penny we can earn over the next month to pay for our communal needs... camping stove, non-perishable foodstuffs, gas, camping fees, etc.

It looks like we are leaving Florida on September 1, but my girlfriend and I still have to make a trip down to south Florida for about a week before hand, so this month should fly by probably too quickly. We have much to do and less time to do it in, but we would like to see all our friends in Orlando before we leave! Time and money constraints limit our ability to visit friends one-on-one, so we will be planning a bon voyage party, probably a few days before we leave. To all my friends reading this, I really hope you can all make it! Details to come, and an event invitation will be posted to your facebooks! :)

And as for my friends abroad: if you're reading this, contact me if you would like us to make a pitstop in your area! Facebook, text, call, or comment!

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Voyage date approaching!

2010-08-02T21:02:00.001-04:00

Ok, so the economy in Orlando is awful, rent is high, jobs are scarce... I have some savings and have decided that, rather than wasting it all on rent hoping to find a job, I could stretch it out and tour the USA with two of my numero uno homies. Andrea (my girlfriend), Nowels (my roommate), and I came up with the idea about a month ago... with the Gulf oil leak constantly spewing death on our beaches, there was a good chance that our economy would crumble even further and on top of that there have been rumors circulating that the Florida budget can not handle another category 3 or higher hurricane without going bankrupt. Rather than sit idly by hoping for the best, we decided to evacuate.

Fast forward one month: the oil leak is under control (at least for now) and evacuation seems less mandatory, but the groups sense of adventure has been tickled and we are gung-ho to satisfy it. We are currently in the upheaval process... Sorting through all our material belongings and donating/selling everything that is not completely necessary (with the exception of Andrea's bumble bee costume for the Umphrey's Mcgee Halloween show in St. Louis and some travel reading material). The reality of the situation is starting to sink in as my house gets emptier and emptier, item by item. Every day I cycle through just about every imaginable emotion as I wander into the unknown. I experience intense feelings of excitement which are quickly washed away and replaced with waves of fear and extreme anxiety, which are in turn replaced with utter certainty that this is going to be an amazing life changing experience... all within a matter of minutes. It's strange to feel this way... I don't think I've ever undertaken anything that has had the effect on me.

All in all, I feel pretty good about our decision and look forward to reporting back my experiences on the road to anyone who is willing to hear about it! One of the most exciting parts of this whole trip for me is knowing that there will be so many personal connections made along our travels, so, if anyone out there has ever done anything like this and has some pointers, or is interested in doing something like this, or whatever, feel free to comment or email me any time!

-Augustus Poplos

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