I know I haven't written in this blog for a while which may disappoint our four loyal fans. This is even more inexcusable because I have not been idle the last 3 months with nothing to talk about. In fact, it is quite the contrary. I have found myself in 29 different states, 4 different countries, and 2 different continents.
To top it off, in the next month I have plans of seeing at least 4 new countries I have never been to. Following that, I have plans to hike a little over 2000 miles straight hitting every state from Georgia to Maine. To say I feel blessed to have this opportunity is a pretty huge understatement.
With that said, I figured I would lay out my American Road Trip for you in a somewhat brief manner. I took the trip with a friend named Joe that got out of the military around the same time I did. We left November 2nd with the goal of being in Time Square when the ball drops. Fucking tight, right?
So here are the places we stopped along the way:
San Diego, CA
Yosemite National Park, CA
Sacramento, CA
Eugene, OR
Seattle, WA
Boise, ID
Salt Lake City, UT
Denver, CO
Canyonlands National Park, UT
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Zion National Park, UT
Phoenix, AZ
Houston, TX
Austin, TX
Lafayette, LA
New Orleans, LA
Panama City, FL
Tampa Bay, FL
Everglades National Park, FL
Miami, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Charlotte, SC
Atlanta, GA
Frankfurt, KY
Washington, D.C.
Cleveland, OH
Fort Wayne, IN
Chicago, IL
Milton, WI
Fort Wayne, IN
Detroit, MI
Toronto, Canada
Montreal, Canada
New York City, NY
New Haven, CN
Boston, MA
New York City, NY
Trenton, NJ
Philadelphia, PA
New York City, NY (New Years!!!)
Columbus, OH
Fort Wayne, IN
Chicago, IL (from here I flew to London, UK)
Of course that is a very summarized version of our trip. I am working on writing a more detailed version of our trip, which will be posted in time.
Also, tell all your friends about how B.A. our blog is…
Jan 31, 2010
Jan 18, 2010
The Adventures of G-Money in Djibouti
So my Bonhomme Richard adventure has finally come to a close. It was a bittersweet departure for me. Bitter as I left behind a few dear friends and my girlfriend Nicki, but sweet because one of my best friends that I had made was also leaving along with me and we were both escaping together.
I’m sure Ryan is currently writing up his own blog post explaining all the wonderful details of our departure so I thought I would tell you about the not so wonderful ones.
Have you ever met that guy? You know the one I’m talking about, the guy that has the answer to every question and doesn’t mind spitting them out in your face every five seconds. The guy that interrupts you mid sentence with information pertaining to whatever it maybe that you are talking about, or about something that you may not be talking about. The know-it-all, the one-up-er, you know, that guy.
His name is G-Money and we have the privilege of being his traveling partner until whenever it is that we get back to the states. The whole G-Money nickname started as a joke between myself and one of the other guys that is traveling with us.
You see G-Money had interrupted me mid-sentence while I was sitting in the galley eating dinner. I was talking to one of the other guys I’m traveling with, a GM who is transferring to a frigate back in SD. I was comparing itineraries with him and finding out that we were in fact on the same flights, when out of no where chimes in G-Money, “You know there is this really kick-ass club in Ethiopia!”
I was polite. Really, I said, obliging him. “Yeah,” he said, “It’s not far from the airport and it’s kick-ass.”
Seeing that I had no answer to this stupidity my friend chimes in, “I don’t think that is a good idea seeing that I don’t have a passport.
“Nah, it’s ok. I went last time and I didn’t have a passport.”
Silence. This was my first encounter with G-Money and it happened less than 5 hours in. It’s now day three and we still have at least a day and a half to go.
As annoying as someone like this can be he has turned into a constant supply of laughs. Just today we were supposed to fly out from Djibouti to Ethiopia where we were to have a 7-hour layover but at the last minute our flight was canceled. G-Money as you can imagine did not take this news well. He got upset and excused himself outside. One of the guys traveling with us turns to Ryan and myself and says, “Guess he is going to cancel that bottle service at the club. Hope he can get his money back.”
We just lost it.
Tomorrow starts the very long flying portion of our adventure and who knows what that will hold for G-Money plus seven.
Mark
San Diego or Bust!
Ok, so here Mark and I sit at a little place called 11 Degrees North in Djibouti, Africa.
Mark will give you all a version describing some the more humorous encounters thus far, I wanted to give you a quick run down of everything we've done since leaving the ship two days ago.....
As some of you may know we are separating from the Navy after five years of dedicated, selfless service....hehe. We flew off the great ship USS Bonhomme Richard and sailed on a USNS ship for two days, which is basically a floating hotel that refuels Navy ships.
After a glorious night to ourselves in our own rooms on board the USNS ship, we pulled in to Djibouti, Africa. There is a joint task force base here where every branch of our service has some type of presence, this is where we have the privilege of staying for two days until flying out. I say privilege because this place is awesome in every way. First off, the food here is absolutely ridiculous and would put an buffet you've ever eaten to shame, guaranteed! They have a regular menu plus a speed line that servers everything from grilled chicken breasts to chili dogs and everything you can imagine in between. They also serve ice cream, and I mean real ice cream, you would think Baskin Robins was running this thing. The only flaw, and I mean only, is that it's only open 22 hours a day!
Anyway, Mark and I met up with our friend Mando (short for Armando) who was stationed with us on the Bonhomme Richard and he gave us a brief tour of the base. After showing us the gym, we agreed to work out with Mando later on after dinner. The workout came and I think all three of us thought we were going to die! It was a Crossfit workout consisting of 5 rounds of the following: 20 box jumps, 20 burpee pushups, and 20 kettlebell snatches. Now, I would like to consider myself in decent shape but Mark and I seriously almost lost our dinner shortly after beginning, oh and the work out took about 25 minutes to complete.
After showering away the nauseousness, we strolled down to 11 Degrees North, had a beer, watched the Cowboys get destroyed, watched the wings lose in a shootout, and then passed out.
We awoke promptly at 0645 to go meet Mando for a morning run at the base running trail. It was a nice run, 4.2 miles and there was a nice overcast to keep the heat away. After that we showered, ate breakfast, and headed over to one of the base lounges where we relaxed and watched some documentary on the Rolling Stones. Not long after that we headed back to our barracks, packed our things, loaded them into a van and headed toward the airport. We made our first stop to confirm all of our travel plans and found out our flight, which originally had been from Djibouti to Ethiopia, was now rerouted through Yemen. Apparently, this isn't allowed at the moment due to current conflicts between our countries so here we sit.
After walking all over the base to find and access point that would allow me to actually load a page, Mark and I decided to grab a couple African brewed beers and update the blog. By the way, the beer is called Tusker, it's brewed in Kenya and is very tasty!
So now knowing the how, where, and why of our current situation you can see why I called this post "San Diego or Bust". The sooner we get to San Diego, the sooner we can finish up our separation and begin traveling....Peace!
Ryan
Mark will give you all a version describing some the more humorous encounters thus far, I wanted to give you a quick run down of everything we've done since leaving the ship two days ago.....
As some of you may know we are separating from the Navy after five years of dedicated, selfless service....hehe. We flew off the great ship USS Bonhomme Richard and sailed on a USNS ship for two days, which is basically a floating hotel that refuels Navy ships.
After a glorious night to ourselves in our own rooms on board the USNS ship, we pulled in to Djibouti, Africa. There is a joint task force base here where every branch of our service has some type of presence, this is where we have the privilege of staying for two days until flying out. I say privilege because this place is awesome in every way. First off, the food here is absolutely ridiculous and would put an buffet you've ever eaten to shame, guaranteed! They have a regular menu plus a speed line that servers everything from grilled chicken breasts to chili dogs and everything you can imagine in between. They also serve ice cream, and I mean real ice cream, you would think Baskin Robins was running this thing. The only flaw, and I mean only, is that it's only open 22 hours a day!
Anyway, Mark and I met up with our friend Mando (short for Armando) who was stationed with us on the Bonhomme Richard and he gave us a brief tour of the base. After showing us the gym, we agreed to work out with Mando later on after dinner. The workout came and I think all three of us thought we were going to die! It was a Crossfit workout consisting of 5 rounds of the following: 20 box jumps, 20 burpee pushups, and 20 kettlebell snatches. Now, I would like to consider myself in decent shape but Mark and I seriously almost lost our dinner shortly after beginning, oh and the work out took about 25 minutes to complete.
After showering away the nauseousness, we strolled down to 11 Degrees North, had a beer, watched the Cowboys get destroyed, watched the wings lose in a shootout, and then passed out.
We awoke promptly at 0645 to go meet Mando for a morning run at the base running trail. It was a nice run, 4.2 miles and there was a nice overcast to keep the heat away. After that we showered, ate breakfast, and headed over to one of the base lounges where we relaxed and watched some documentary on the Rolling Stones. Not long after that we headed back to our barracks, packed our things, loaded them into a van and headed toward the airport. We made our first stop to confirm all of our travel plans and found out our flight, which originally had been from Djibouti to Ethiopia, was now rerouted through Yemen. Apparently, this isn't allowed at the moment due to current conflicts between our countries so here we sit.
After walking all over the base to find and access point that would allow me to actually load a page, Mark and I decided to grab a couple African brewed beers and update the blog. By the way, the beer is called Tusker, it's brewed in Kenya and is very tasty!
So now knowing the how, where, and why of our current situation you can see why I called this post "San Diego or Bust". The sooner we get to San Diego, the sooner we can finish up our separation and begin traveling....Peace!
Ryan
Dec 18, 2009
Hammock Shmammock
Over the last few months Ryan and I have been researching gear for our upcoming AT thru hike and I must say it is quite ridiculous just how much information there is out there about gear.
There are websites related to almost every type of gear that you can imagine there is even an entire forum dedicated to hammocks. Yes, hammocks. Don't believe me? Check it out. Crazy huh?
I thought so until I started reading some of the post on there. These guys are freakin pros. I could not think of one single question to ask that wasn't already answered in great detail. Bravo Sirs.
After much research and consideration Ryan and I both decided to go the hammock route. We both purchased Hennessy ulta-lite A-syms from the peeps over at www.HennessyHammock.com as these turned out to be the lightest, best priced shelters that we found. With the 4 season super shelter and a 15 degree bag we will be toasty even in the coldest weather that the Southern winter can throw at us. Please don't take that as a challenge Mother Nature.
Some may say, "A hammock?" To them I say (to steal a quote from my friend Justin) "What is more comfortable than a hammock?" I know what your going to say and yes a king sized pillow-top mattress is in fact more comfortable than a hammock, but I would imagine that those are incredibly hard to hike with. I've never tried though.
Long story short, we are attempting to hike as light as possible and hammocks are just the best option. They are significantly lighter, they compress smaller and they take little to no time to set-up. The only downside is that when hanging off the ground your bag can compress and there is little to no insulation on your back. Hence the super shelter which will put us in business and is only 13 oz.
There are websites related to almost every type of gear that you can imagine there is even an entire forum dedicated to hammocks. Yes, hammocks. Don't believe me? Check it out. Crazy huh?
I thought so until I started reading some of the post on there. These guys are freakin pros. I could not think of one single question to ask that wasn't already answered in great detail. Bravo Sirs.
After much research and consideration Ryan and I both decided to go the hammock route. We both purchased Hennessy ulta-lite A-syms from the peeps over at www.HennessyHammock.com as these turned out to be the lightest, best priced shelters that we found. With the 4 season super shelter and a 15 degree bag we will be toasty even in the coldest weather that the Southern winter can throw at us. Please don't take that as a challenge Mother Nature.
Some may say, "A hammock?" To them I say (to steal a quote from my friend Justin) "What is more comfortable than a hammock?" I know what your going to say and yes a king sized pillow-top mattress is in fact more comfortable than a hammock, but I would imagine that those are incredibly hard to hike with. I've never tried though.
Long story short, we are attempting to hike as light as possible and hammocks are just the best option. They are significantly lighter, they compress smaller and they take little to no time to set-up. The only downside is that when hanging off the ground your bag can compress and there is little to no insulation on your back. Hence the super shelter which will put us in business and is only 13 oz.
Dec 16, 2009
Channel Fever or Trail Fever?
According to blog protocol, I guess this is the part where I introduce myself.
My name is Ryan and first off I, like Mark, would like you to know that I am not a bitch. Although, I do recall hearing a song made about Mark highlighting qualities one would define as "bitchy", but we'll save that for a later post.
I was born and raised in Toledo, OH where I spent my youth playing street hockey, climbing trees, causing my parents grief and eating large quantities of Oreo pie.
I worked all through high school at the small, family owned Inky's Fine Italian Restaurant, I couldn't have asked for a better first job and I still keep in touch!
After high school I worked at UPS and did a semester of college before realizing that UPS nor college was interesting enough to stick around. Before I knew it I was following in my good friend Mike's footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Only Mike was stationed in Virginia and I ended up with orders to San Diego, as far apart as we could possibly be in the continental states. I dealt.
I am by no means a suck up, but I wouldn't have met these fine gentleman had I not been stationed here, on this ship. I would also like to clarify that I do not hate the Navy or my decision to join. I joined for change, travel, education benefits, and most importantly, time. I needed time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and more specifically what I wanted to go to school for.
So here I am five years later, time invested, world travels, and a prepaid college degree, what more could I ask for?!
Now for today's post.....
Not only am I making my blog debut with this post, it will serve as the first of many that will highlight our post-Navy adventures. Most important being the Appalachian Trail, making this a win-win for me!
There are dozens of unwritten blog entries that belong here. Problem is, we've been having so much fun the past 8 months that this thing was put on the back burner and forgotten. If Justin, Mark, or I were to take the time keeping this thing up to date you would have read about everything from late night drunken rap battles, bowling, or Rock Band to what happens in Patong Beach,Thailand on Halloween(ok...you'd be better off without this knowledge).
First, I'd like you to know the number of days Mark and I have spent on land over the last 3 months can be counted on one hand....
Now, on to an update as to where each of us is and what we're doing. As you may know the three of us are in the Navy. Well, Justin was released about a month ago. Yes I said released, this place resembles prison more than prison. As for Mark and I, we are still here for another month at which time we fly back to San Diego and finish the final out processing. Our lives right now lack excitement, on the other hand Mark and I have logged enough hours playing NHL 10 to qualify for a Guinness record. As I type this, Justin and Joe are making a cross country road trip with plans on being in Time Square for New years. Reason number one why the Navy is similar to prison, you can't take dope ass road trips when you want to.
Now, on to the things that turn my frown upside down. Mark and I purchased our first pieces of gear needed for our upcoming thru-hike. That's right, we're thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail! We chose March 8, 2009 as the official start date and should finish sometime in July. If you don't know, the trail is a grueling 2,175 miles long and runs through 14 states from Georgia to Maine! I'm not going to give you a history lesson, just a few significant numbers related to it such as Maine and the final 100 miles, a.k.a."Hundred Mile wilderness" have a total elevation change of over 100,000 feet, which is equal to 3 Mount Everest's.
Let the misery begin......
Mark and I will be doing a couple overnight hikes when we get back to "test drive" all of our new gear. Seeing as how this stuff will become an extension of us for awhile, we'd like to break it in a bit so there are no surprises when we hit the real trail. As well as make sure we have everything we need, something a few overnighters might shed some light on. So far we purchased our pack, sleeping bag, and shelter. Those are really the biggest "make or break" items so to speak, often referred to as the "big four" in trail language. I don't want to steal too much of Marks glory on this, after months of research, we've opted to go with hammocks as our shelter of choice. I'll let him fascinate you with that in an upcoming post.
This wasn't quite as informative as I's hoped but it feels good to see something finally posted! Mark and I will continue to keep this thing updated (even if it's completely random) until further notice....enjoy!
Ryan
My name is Ryan and first off I, like Mark, would like you to know that I am not a bitch. Although, I do recall hearing a song made about Mark highlighting qualities one would define as "bitchy", but we'll save that for a later post.
I was born and raised in Toledo, OH where I spent my youth playing street hockey, climbing trees, causing my parents grief and eating large quantities of Oreo pie.
I worked all through high school at the small, family owned Inky's Fine Italian Restaurant, I couldn't have asked for a better first job and I still keep in touch!
After high school I worked at UPS and did a semester of college before realizing that UPS nor college was interesting enough to stick around. Before I knew it I was following in my good friend Mike's footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Only Mike was stationed in Virginia and I ended up with orders to San Diego, as far apart as we could possibly be in the continental states. I dealt.
I am by no means a suck up, but I wouldn't have met these fine gentleman had I not been stationed here, on this ship. I would also like to clarify that I do not hate the Navy or my decision to join. I joined for change, travel, education benefits, and most importantly, time. I needed time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and more specifically what I wanted to go to school for.
So here I am five years later, time invested, world travels, and a prepaid college degree, what more could I ask for?!
Now for today's post.....
Not only am I making my blog debut with this post, it will serve as the first of many that will highlight our post-Navy adventures. Most important being the Appalachian Trail, making this a win-win for me!
There are dozens of unwritten blog entries that belong here. Problem is, we've been having so much fun the past 8 months that this thing was put on the back burner and forgotten. If Justin, Mark, or I were to take the time keeping this thing up to date you would have read about everything from late night drunken rap battles, bowling, or Rock Band to what happens in Patong Beach,Thailand on Halloween(ok...you'd be better off without this knowledge).
First, I'd like you to know the number of days Mark and I have spent on land over the last 3 months can be counted on one hand....
Now, on to an update as to where each of us is and what we're doing. As you may know the three of us are in the Navy. Well, Justin was released about a month ago. Yes I said released, this place resembles prison more than prison. As for Mark and I, we are still here for another month at which time we fly back to San Diego and finish the final out processing. Our lives right now lack excitement, on the other hand Mark and I have logged enough hours playing NHL 10 to qualify for a Guinness record. As I type this, Justin and Joe are making a cross country road trip with plans on being in Time Square for New years. Reason number one why the Navy is similar to prison, you can't take dope ass road trips when you want to.
Now, on to the things that turn my frown upside down. Mark and I purchased our first pieces of gear needed for our upcoming thru-hike. That's right, we're thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail! We chose March 8, 2009 as the official start date and should finish sometime in July. If you don't know, the trail is a grueling 2,175 miles long and runs through 14 states from Georgia to Maine! I'm not going to give you a history lesson, just a few significant numbers related to it such as Maine and the final 100 miles, a.k.a."Hundred Mile wilderness" have a total elevation change of over 100,000 feet, which is equal to 3 Mount Everest's.
Let the misery begin......
Mark and I will be doing a couple overnight hikes when we get back to "test drive" all of our new gear. Seeing as how this stuff will become an extension of us for awhile, we'd like to break it in a bit so there are no surprises when we hit the real trail. As well as make sure we have everything we need, something a few overnighters might shed some light on. So far we purchased our pack, sleeping bag, and shelter. Those are really the biggest "make or break" items so to speak, often referred to as the "big four" in trail language. I don't want to steal too much of Marks glory on this, after months of research, we've opted to go with hammocks as our shelter of choice. I'll let him fascinate you with that in an upcoming post.
This wasn't quite as informative as I's hoped but it feels good to see something finally posted! Mark and I will continue to keep this thing updated (even if it's completely random) until further notice....enjoy!
Ryan
Apr 5, 2009
Brinner & Camden = Heavenly
When Mark and I arrived to London, we had to fill out little cards with our passport information and whom we were visiting and an address for that person. Of course Mark and I are incredibly responsible so we didn't bring an address. We explained to the lady that she lived in Middlesex, but that didn't help much because saying someone lives in Middlesex is like saying someone lives in Montana. She asked for another form of identification and Mark showed her his military I.D. and she says "Oh!" and abruptly stamps our passports and waves us by. Even in the U.S. the military doesn't get that sort of reaction or trust.
45 minutes later we have traveled the '1.7' miles home from the airport. If there's one area that the British should pull their heads out of their asses, it's with their road system. Everything is a roundabout with 31 lights and everyone driving like their running late for the World Cup.
The first day we just chilled, Brigid made us some Pokemon mac n' cheese with some hot dogs, and then Brinner later on. (Brinner is the shiznit) We crashed early.
The next morning we took Dexter (Brigid's puppy) to a nearby park to get a morning workout in. It was a pretty nice park with a 1 mile route which is much better than a track. We also saw this incredible cemetery next to the park. I'd show pictures but we're going to see a better one in the next couple days here.
We did, however, get a great Crossfit-esque picture at the park. If only we had our Crossfit shirts on...
After showering and what-not we went to an area of London called Camden. It is definitely the coolest Market I've ever been to. There were so many cool shirts and hats and shutter shades and glow in the dark spiky beanie hats... no, seriously. There is a store there called Cyber Dog that literally looks like a Rave house. All the clothes are ridiculous, there was a D.J. there at 2 p.m., and of course the bin of glow-sticks available by the door. Good news, we got D some sweet ass raver clothes!!!
I would go on to tell you what we did that night, but I can't remember any of it. I'll leave that to Mark. Peace!!
45 minutes later we have traveled the '1.7' miles home from the airport. If there's one area that the British should pull their heads out of their asses, it's with their road system. Everything is a roundabout with 31 lights and everyone driving like their running late for the World Cup.
The first day we just chilled, Brigid made us some Pokemon mac n' cheese with some hot dogs, and then Brinner later on. (Brinner is the shiznit) We crashed early.
The next morning we took Dexter (Brigid's puppy) to a nearby park to get a morning workout in. It was a pretty nice park with a 1 mile route which is much better than a track. We also saw this incredible cemetery next to the park. I'd show pictures but we're going to see a better one in the next couple days here.
We did, however, get a great Crossfit-esque picture at the park. If only we had our Crossfit shirts on...
After showering and what-not we went to an area of London called Camden. It is definitely the coolest Market I've ever been to. There were so many cool shirts and hats and shutter shades and glow in the dark spiky beanie hats... no, seriously. There is a store there called Cyber Dog that literally looks like a Rave house. All the clothes are ridiculous, there was a D.J. there at 2 p.m., and of course the bin of glow-sticks available by the door. Good news, we got D some sweet ass raver clothes!!!
I would go on to tell you what we did that night, but I can't remember any of it. I'll leave that to Mark. Peace!!
Apr 4, 2009
London or Bust
So it turned out that Ryan was unable to receive his passport in time for our trip out to see Bridge in London so he had to stay behind. :(
Our friend Nadia was nice enough to give Justin and Myself a lift to the airport. We parted ways and she told us that she felt really sad, "I feel like my babies are leaving me," she said as we walked away. She'll make a great mom someday.
We arrived almost 2 hours before our flight because we we're unsure what to expect since neither of us has ever traveled internationally. At least not outside of the Navy that is. Well it didn't take us long to realize that this was in fact a mistake and now we were going to have to sit and wait the remaining 1 hour and 45 minutes before our flight.
Lucky for us there was a bar.
1 hour 44 minutes, countless drinks, and multiple drunk texts to friends and family alike I realized that there was no longer anyone at our gate. The flight attendant was actually about to close the door so we quickly and clumsily gathered up our carry-ons and stumbled to the gate, Justin still choking down his final shot. (what a mess)
Needless to say, we made it with mere seconds to spare. *whew*
The flight to San Francisco was short but not without incident. Justin and I were both being obnoxious and the guy sitting next to us would have none of it. He told us multiple times to, "Watch our mouths," and Justin ended up nicknaming him the Pope, which I believe he called him to his face on a few occasions.
Luckily we made it off the airplane without being arrested or getting our asses kicked.
The layover in SF was shorter than I expected and we ended sprinting to our gate beers in hand, which we had just purchased moments before. lol. Typical.
We, again, barely made the flight.
Once we found our seats Justin sat down and began making conversation with the Lady he was sitting next to and I went to stow my carry on. The bag wouldn't fit right away and the old man sitting behind me spoke up, "Isn't that the model reviewed by Consumer Reports and is supposed to be 2 in too big for overheads?" I looked at him, turned my bag sideways, and said, "Mark 1, Consumer Reports 0, in your face Consumer Reports." He just laughed.
The flight went by rather quick. Shortly after take off they served dinner and after that the previously consumed alcohol took over and made the pair of us pass out. I didn't wake back up until we were flying over Iceland. That is less than an hour from England.
So for all of you thinking how irresponsible we were for our previous actions, all i have to say is this. It is less than two days into our trip and both Justin and I are completely adjusted to the time zone difference already. lol. Although this may not be the most intelligent way to travel, it is important to note that it does in fact work. Enter disclaimer here.
Well. I am sure I missed something so I will let Justin fill in the blanks when he gets a chance. I'll write more soon. For photos: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2018778&id=1425669475
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2018889&id=1425669475
Our friend Nadia was nice enough to give Justin and Myself a lift to the airport. We parted ways and she told us that she felt really sad, "I feel like my babies are leaving me," she said as we walked away. She'll make a great mom someday.
We arrived almost 2 hours before our flight because we we're unsure what to expect since neither of us has ever traveled internationally. At least not outside of the Navy that is. Well it didn't take us long to realize that this was in fact a mistake and now we were going to have to sit and wait the remaining 1 hour and 45 minutes before our flight.
Lucky for us there was a bar.
1 hour 44 minutes, countless drinks, and multiple drunk texts to friends and family alike I realized that there was no longer anyone at our gate. The flight attendant was actually about to close the door so we quickly and clumsily gathered up our carry-ons and stumbled to the gate, Justin still choking down his final shot. (what a mess)
Needless to say, we made it with mere seconds to spare. *whew*
The flight to San Francisco was short but not without incident. Justin and I were both being obnoxious and the guy sitting next to us would have none of it. He told us multiple times to, "Watch our mouths," and Justin ended up nicknaming him the Pope, which I believe he called him to his face on a few occasions.
Luckily we made it off the airplane without being arrested or getting our asses kicked.
The layover in SF was shorter than I expected and we ended sprinting to our gate beers in hand, which we had just purchased moments before. lol. Typical.
We, again, barely made the flight.
Once we found our seats Justin sat down and began making conversation with the Lady he was sitting next to and I went to stow my carry on. The bag wouldn't fit right away and the old man sitting behind me spoke up, "Isn't that the model reviewed by Consumer Reports and is supposed to be 2 in too big for overheads?" I looked at him, turned my bag sideways, and said, "Mark 1, Consumer Reports 0, in your face Consumer Reports." He just laughed.
The flight went by rather quick. Shortly after take off they served dinner and after that the previously consumed alcohol took over and made the pair of us pass out. I didn't wake back up until we were flying over Iceland. That is less than an hour from England.
So for all of you thinking how irresponsible we were for our previous actions, all i have to say is this. It is less than two days into our trip and both Justin and I are completely adjusted to the time zone difference already. lol. Although this may not be the most intelligent way to travel, it is important to note that it does in fact work. Enter disclaimer here.
Well. I am sure I missed something so I will let Justin fill in the blanks when he gets a chance. I'll write more soon. For photos: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2018778&id=1425669475
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2018889&id=1425669475
Mar 9, 2009
80's Party Craziness
So a couple weeks ago I was sitting on the couch talking to Keith when Justin walks up.
Justin: "We need to throw another party soon."
Me: "Sounds fun. Any ideas?"
Justin: "...80's."
Fast forward a week or so later and we're inside the Salvation Army Thrift store.
note: Thrift stores fucking rock!
Moving on...We had ironed out most of the details for the party and we were actively looking for costumes. Justin, Ryan and myself had decided that glam rock was the way to go. That being said we were on the hunt for girl jeans and shiny shirts.
We were pretty much trying to find the most gaudy outfits imaginable. For Justin this was a easy task. 5 minutes into our search he pulled a pair of orange jeans off the rack that looked as though they had been wore to the 4th grade last week.
He proceeded to try these on and walk around in them. Ryan and I were almost in tears.
Ryan and I had no such luck in the ridiculous outfit department so we went in search of something different. Here is what we ended up finding.
On the way left is our man Adam. I'm the idiot in the orange windbreaker. And although you cannot see them I am wearing black Velcro shoes, and yes the straps are crossed. Old school! Ryan is the crack head in the middle, and Justin is the fly ass mother fucker on the right.
So needless to say the party went off without a hitch. Our friend Nadia bar tended for us and all was well. Merriment was had by all...well except for maybe Perser. He didn't have such a good night, but we won't talk about that.
Click here to check out everyone in all their 80's glory!
Justin: "We need to throw another party soon."
Me: "Sounds fun. Any ideas?"
Justin: "...80's."
Fast forward a week or so later and we're inside the Salvation Army Thrift store.
note: Thrift stores fucking rock!
Moving on...We had ironed out most of the details for the party and we were actively looking for costumes. Justin, Ryan and myself had decided that glam rock was the way to go. That being said we were on the hunt for girl jeans and shiny shirts.
We were pretty much trying to find the most gaudy outfits imaginable. For Justin this was a easy task. 5 minutes into our search he pulled a pair of orange jeans off the rack that looked as though they had been wore to the 4th grade last week.
He proceeded to try these on and walk around in them. Ryan and I were almost in tears.
Ryan and I had no such luck in the ridiculous outfit department so we went in search of something different. Here is what we ended up finding.
On the way left is our man Adam. I'm the idiot in the orange windbreaker. And although you cannot see them I am wearing black Velcro shoes, and yes the straps are crossed. Old school! Ryan is the crack head in the middle, and Justin is the fly ass mother fucker on the right.
So needless to say the party went off without a hitch. Our friend Nadia bar tended for us and all was well. Merriment was had by all...well except for maybe Perser. He didn't have such a good night, but we won't talk about that.
Click here to check out everyone in all their 80's glory!
Mar 1, 2009
Hello my name is ______
Justin, Ryan, and I decided a while back to create this blog in order to chronicle our adventures, or as it sometimes turns out, misadventures.
Up until this point Justin has been making all of the posts on here while Ryan and myself have been being what Justin has put it on many occasions "bitches". Well not anymore!
Hello world. My name is Mark and I would like to let you know that I am in fact not a bitch.
Moving on.
Let me start by telling you all a little about myself. You know a kind of "get to know me" section. Or something like that. Should be fun!
I was born and raised in St. Charles, Missouri. I never really fit in there although that never stopped me from trying.
When I was 19 I decided that school was no longer the way for me and I dropped out. I ended up taking a job and working for about a year before I decided that I needed a change. I wanted to get away. (There is way more to it then that, but I will leave that for my other blog.) So I wound up joining the Navy.
Fast forward 4 years and here I sit. Since joining I have been halfway around the world. I have snowboarded indoors in Dubai when it was a hundred plus out side. I have snorkeled in Hanauma Bay in Hawaii. Walked the streets of Victoria Canada. I've seen the sunrise in D.C. and I've seen the sunset at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego. And that is just a taste.
I have experienced more in the last 4 years of my life than most people do in their entire lives, especially if they are from my home town. I remember meeting people when I was growing up who had never left St. Charles in their entire lives. I remember telling myself, "That won't be me. I'll never be like that."
For me this was where the idea to live my life differently originally came from, although I didn't realize it until much later.
Now you all should know that I am by no means pro Navy. Sure, without the Navy I would not be where I am today, but it is not an organization that I would like to work for any longer than I have to.
I like to think of the Navy as a springboard. It's has given me countless life experiences and eventually (next year) will give me the money I need to get my education.
In the meantime I am going to live life to the fullest and experience everything I can.
Jan 24, 2009
Las Vegas!
Joe, Ryan, Armando, and I went to Las Vegas for New Years. Here are the results of our malarkey!
Pre-game in the hotel.
Being ballers in the limo!
You can see how ridiculously crowded the street is.
'Rampage' was so excited that he got to meet Justin McMillan!
Pre-game in the hotel.
Being ballers in the limo!
You can see how ridiculously crowded the street is.
'Rampage' was so excited that he got to meet Justin McMillan!
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