Pictures

Day 18: A Town Smaller Than Mine

Today was our second time crossing the border of another state on our journey to Washington, D.C. It’s a 90 mile day for us which can be pretty exhausting. We arrived at Thompson Falls High School with no problems though. It is a really small high school with only about 150 students in four grades. It is very similar in size to Valley though, which makes it feel more like home.

We all hung out at the high school until it was time for dinner when we decided to go to a place called Minnie's Cafe. They had a pretty decent menu for the small town we were in too. I got a Jumbo Deluxe Burger and it was really delicious! After dinner we headed back to the high school to hang out until it was time for bed. I decided to roam around Thompson Falls High School and see what the school looked like. I walked down one of the halls and into the room at the end and found a ton of taxidermy on the walls and lost my breath. Of all the places in the world I did not expect to see those there. It really took me by surprise.

I made my phone calls for the night and talked to some of my friends and then I decided to go ahead and call it a night. Being on the road all the time is exhausting. Tomorrow we're heading to Missoula, Montana and I'm super excited for it. I have a friend there, Olivia, that I haven't seen since my junior year in high school. She and I both attended the symposium held by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and we haven't seen each other since. So we're looking forward to being able to hang out and catch up while I'm in town. I'll be there for two days, so I'll also have a chance to do laundry. I'm really looking forward to that too. Oh! I'm also sending some things home because apparently I over packed?? How you do that for this trip is beyond me.

Day 17: Sandpoint!

Today the team only went about 40 miles to Sandpoint, Idaho. Upon arriving we went inside after lunch and had free time until 5:40. I took the time to catch up on my social media as well as give my dad a call. Then one of the guys decided they wanted to go get some coffee so we went exploring around town. We found this little coffee shop called Kokonee which is named after a type of fish. Then we went and looked around this old antique store before heading into actual downtown. We found our way to the Sandpoint City Beach which was really, really pretty. There was a pier that stuck out in the water and I took advantage and got some chill pictures. We went to this place called the Laughing Dog for dinner because they were sponsoring this meal as a fundraiser for a local group of women that are also biking across America for Autism so we came into town during just the right time. When we finished there we went to get some food for one of the guys that stayed back in order to watch all of our gear and bikes. As we were leaving with his food it started to hail storm! We all had to rush back to the vans to avoid getting hit. Once we got back some of felt a little hungry still so we decided to go to Jack in the Box for some food. They have really good prices on their food. It was my first time eating fast food since I decided not to as my new years resolution over a year ago so I started out small and just got some chicken nuggets. They tasted equally as good as I remembered them. Once we got done eating we headed back to lodging and used the rest of the time to rest for the night. Everyone went to bed relatively early because we had a 90 mile day ahead of us to Thompson Falls, Montana! Our second “official” border crossing of the trip!

Day 16: Crossing the Border!

We did it! Today was the first time crossing a state line and we all stopped to take pictures at the Washington-Idaho line. Our drive to Idaho was only 35 miles so it was a short day for the cyclists. I took a nap immediately upon arriving after lunch while some of the team went on hikes, went fishing, and explored the area. We stayed in cabins for a night which was a night relief from the constant aches and pains associated with an air mattress. Oh! Before I took my nap some media showed up which was great! The guy that came to interview the team got some shots while they were in Spokane and then also came out to the camp where we were and got even more footage. It ended up being a really great two minute segment on the news! When I woke up it was almost time for dinner which was sponsored by the camp we were staying at. We had some spinach stuffed pasta that was delicious, salad, grapes, and apple cobbler. It was really delicious. Once we all finished eating we needed to make a WalMart run and some of the guys wanted to catch the Heats v. Celtics game too so we all ended up going into town and eating at this place called Crickets in Coeur D’Alene. Jonathan Faler, one of the cyclists, and I decided to split an appetizer because we weren’t that hungry. Once we were done we headed back to lodging. We didn’t have any friendship visits in Rathdrum so it was almost like another day off which I know the cyclists were thankful for. Tomorrow’s journey will take us to our second location in Idaho, Sandpoint! It will only be a 40 mile day so it shouldn’t be too bad.

I think it is also important to mention that I am not driving across the country like I assumed I would be. The insurance company has a policy where nobody under 21 can drive the company vehicles so therefore I am just a passenger all summer. However, I have been assigned van #4 all summer along with my fellow crew member, Scott Hatfield. He is originally from Indianapolis and he’s from the Alpha Sigma chapter at the University of Tennessee. He’s in charge of photography and uploading pictures to the Flickr site daily for people to keep up with. He’s really cool except for the fact he listens to country music way more than me. We often find ourselves having “country” days or “Zach’s music” days, seeing as how my music consists of many types. It’s really cool to have someone to ride with all the time. The cyclists get to switch groups every day so they’re constantly talking and learning things about each other. So it’s really nice to have Scott to talk to all the time because I get to talk to him about ritual, I can ask him questions about what they do with recruitment, wish socials, with formal, and many other aspects of Greek life.

Day 15: To Spokane!

Day 10 with the cyclists! The entire team is super excited for this visit because it also means our first day off since starting the trip. We started out trip out with a crew chief breakfast and made our way to Spokane, Washington. When we were about ten miles outside of the city we stopped on the side of the road to get ready for our first stage up. What this means is that we have a police escort that leads us into the city and to a specific location. Normally there would be media there to film the coverage but for today there was none. As the crew made their way into town I went ahead with our Project Manager, David Stinnette. He’s the one that goes ahead of all the cyclists and makes sure everything is set for our meals and with lodging. We arrived, got the keys, checked the place out, and welcomed the cyclists as they entered.

Once everyone got unpacked and ready, we headed to the headquarters for the People to People program. When I was in middle and high school I got letters from the program and they offer a variety of programs for students to go out of the country and experience first-hand the culture of being in a different country. They interact with families there and get to do all sorts of site-seeing. I never knew their headquarters was in Spokane, Washington of all places. In the building they also have other programs like Discovery Student Adventures and more. One of the guys that work there, Trevor Brink, is a Pi Alpha and allowed us to use the shower facilities. After showering we headed back to lodging and hung out there until it was time for dinner.

Our dinner was at the People to People headquarters and they made us some PHENOMENAL Mexican style food. After dinner the guys were catching a basketball game on television and then we made our way back to lodging to explore some more before bed time. While in Spokane I was able to explore a bit and I went to this great coffee shop called INDABA. They are a local shop and I got a hazelnut caramel mocha. When I ordered it the barista asked which espresso flavor I wanted in it and I said surprise me.  It was literally the best mocha I’ve ever had. 

On our second day in Spokane, we woke up rather early and got ready to head to breakfast with the Arc of Spokane. They made us several types of breakfast casserole and we had a friendship visit with the members there. Some of them had us sign pages because they wanted our autographs and we were also able to play dominoes, we put together a puzzle, we played pool, we colored and did an art project, and many other activities. One of the directors also had us place a star on a map of where we’re from to see how diverse our group really is.

Throughout the day we had some free time to get errands done. Some of us went to do laundry and some went exploring around the city and to bike shops. I went with a cyclist, Tyler Earley, to one of the bike shops there because he had to get something fixed on his. It was cool to look around the shops and price how much things are going to cost me once I get into cycling at the end of this summer. My plans are to ride in the JOH next summer since I’m crewing this year. Which route do you think I should ride? Should I ride TransAmerica even though I will have already seen all the sites or should I ride North or South?

When time for dinner came around we drove out a little ways to the Nelson’s house. It was secluded outside the city limits of Spokane. They ordered Panda Express for all of us and had tons of fresh fruit and desserts. They also had a volleyball net set up outside, hillbilly golf, ping pong, and they had a television ready with the game on downstairs for the guys that wanted to see that. It was such a great time because both of her sons were Pi Kapps and her daughter was a Theta too at Washington State University. While playing volleyball I really hurt my pinky toe because the grass was wet. That didn’t feel too good. I think I’ll stick to volleyball on a court. After dinner we headed to lodging to rest up for our ride tomorrow to Rathdrum, Idaho. This will be the first time officially crossing the line of another state on our way to D.C Earlier in the week we were able to goes on a late night excursion to Oregon because one of our stops was only 12 miles away from the border. It was pretty cool because I was able to be in two places at once by standing on the border of Washington and Oregon.

Day 14: Pullman!

So this is our ninth day with the cyclists and today we headed towards Pullman, WA. It is about a 115 mile trek which for the Crew meant tons of stops and water refills. We made it to Pullman for the day and we had our typical crew chief lunch which usually consists of a two-meat-one-cheese sandwich or a PB&J. If any of you know me, you know my extreme dislike for PB so I always choose the prior of the two. Once we arrived in Pullman we had snacks and showered up at the Theta Iota chapter house of Washington State University. It was the second Pi Kapp house that I’ve been able to step foot into and each one leaves me wishing more and more that Zeta Pi had one to share with the JOH when they pass through Huntington. Once every one was squeaky clean we got together and headed towards our friendship visit with a local church. We sang karaoke, ate pizza, we tossed around little footballs with the kids and we also played with the parachute thing that we were all so enthralled with as children where you threw it up in the air and everyone ran to the other side before it fell down.

One of the interesting aspects of the friendship visit was that some of the children brought these little pink strips of paper to each table with some tape and told us to make the longest chain we could by joining the pieces of paper. Each table did so and at the end, the members of the church took the chain and placed all the cyclists in the middle of the circle. They did this to symbolize that we were in their thoughts and prayers for safe travels. It was very creative and thoughtful of them. Once everything was over we helped clean up, we stacked chairs, and we moved the tables to their rightful places before heading to lodging.

Once we got to lodging it took us a little bit of time to figure out where to park. We eventually got it together and as soon as we stepped foot into the gymnasium where we would be sleeping a wave of nostalgia came over me. The gym was decked out in blue and grey colors all over. I also found out their mascot is the Greyhound and it truly blew me away. How ironic that the gymnasium we stayed in was the same mascot and colors of my alma mater. The high school itself was a lot larger and they were fortunate to have their own football stadium, baseball field, and a ton of other amenities.

After we all got settled in to the gym we had our first weekly team meeting. These are held once a week and its basically an opportunity for cyclists to talk about things they want to see other cyclists improve on like speed, calling out objects, turn signals, etc. It is also a tradition for two awards to be given out. There is the G award which is for attitude, morale, and enthusiasm. This time it was Nick Eckstein, a cyclist from Purdue University. He’s riding the bike that belonged to David Riley Feltner, a guy from his chapter that passed away one year ago from tomorrow (June 5). His attitude is astounding and he is always so full of life. He can light up a room by just walking in to it. The second award given away to Sloan Dickey and it was in the form of an American flag bandana. Sloan tied it to his bike and will give it away at the next weekly meeting.

Day 13: Walla Walla

First I want to apologize to everyone that has been keeping up with my blog. It's been about three or four days since my last post and I'm sorry. We haven't had access to the wireless internet like we anticipated and therefore I haven't been able to update in a few days. I'll make sure this post is extra long so that I can include everything.

So on Thursday we had our first day on the road. We were only going about 40 miles from Seattle to Enumclaw, Washington. It was a relatively easy ride for the cyclists and they were able to make it there with only one or two flat tires and few turns as well. Once we arrived in Enumclaw we made our way inside and the cyclists began to unpack for the night and get accustomed to the place as it was our first place of lodging for the summer. Some of us took a cat nap before we got up to get ready for our first friendship visit on the road. We went to this place called the Ashley House which is sort of like a chain in Washington. At the Ashley House they take in children that suffer from a disability or that sustain extreme trauma in their early years. The house is set up with each child having their own room and they have a special group of workers that help out with each individual child. The downstairs is all of the bedrooms and the upstairs is offices and bedrooms for parents if they want to come stay. The house is designed so that the children living there have the absolute best opportunity to live normal lives. The rooms we saw were really decorated and FULL of personality. Once we arrived we played with the kids and got to know them a little bit and then had dinner. It was the best baked potato I've ever had in my life and they baked us tons and tons of cookies too. They said there is never a day that goes by when they don't have freshly baked cookies in the house.

One of the kids we were able to meet was such an inspiration. His name was Gilbert. He was about 12 or 13 and has no control of his body below his neck. Gilbert has a chair that he moves around in and he moves the chair with his mouth. There is a special mechanism that allows him to do that. While talking to Gilbert we were able to find out he had an extreme admiration for the movie Cars and when we walked into his room, it was very apparent. His entire bed was COVERED in Cars pillows. He also showed us how he plays video games too. There was a race car game on his computer and he also played that by using his mouth as well. It was truly wonderful to see him get so much joy out of that.

Oh! I forgot to mention that as we were having dinner we were able to talk to the director and ask questions. Hugo, one of the brothers on the ride, asked what the significance of the quilts were on the wall behind her. We were in a room with a ton of chairs and there were quilts hanging on the wall behind her in a variety of colors and patterns. The director then proceeded to talk about a lady that works at the Ashley House that belongs to a quilting club. She said that when ever a child leaves the house to go home, when they become too old, or when they move to a different facility for different treatments that they always leave with a quilt from the house so that they can always carry a piece of the Ashley House with them.

Our second day on the road was probably one of the "best worst" days of my life. We had to climb what is known as Cayuse Pass and White Pass. They are both on the same route to Yakima, Washington. The cyclists literally had all day to make the trek because we all knew it was going to be one Hell of a ride. We had one crew stop set up that was right at a scenic view point where Mt. Rainier was in the background. The clouds were starting to clear as we got there so as time progressed we were able to see more and more of it. Before coming out west I had never seen snow-capped mountains and let me tell you. If you think we have mountains in West Virginia, you're more than wrong. Those are mole hills compared to the Mountains in Washington. I have sent a few photos to Facebook so that people can see them but there really is no photo that can do what I'm seeing justice. After climbing both passes, we cruised our way to Yakima where we stayed at a local church and had a dinner that was fabulous. We had been looking forward to "Taco Town" all day! A local family sponsored our dinner and helped us with the lodging as well. When we woke up the next morning to depart for Richland, we had a sponsored breakfast with another family too. It was french toast and sausage. Best french toast I've had in awhile!

So on Saturday we made our way to Richland, Washington. It was a beautiful ride and was truly amazing to see the drastic change in climate. We went from rainy Seattle to a beautiful mountain range covered in snow to an almost desert, arid climate. The temperature increased drastically and it had all of us dropping layers like flies. The ride went relatively smooth and we were in Richland before 2pm. There was a news station there that did some interviews and we were staying at the local YMCA. We had a friendship visit with the Arc of Tri-Cities too! We played bingo with some of the members and staff and had an absolute blast. I won a stuffed Teddy Bear named Germania. It was a Beanie Baby bear and I chose it because my sister Frannie always loved her Beanie Baby bears. I placed an Arc of Tri-Cities button on the bear over the German flag and renamed it Arcadia. See what I did there? We also had dinner with them and it was again, delicious! They had a Mexican themed dinner and they had those ice cream cups we all had in elementary school! They were soooooo good! Once coming back to the YMCA we had a team meeting on the lawn outside the YMCA by the river. It was really nice because we also had a special tradition for the TransAmerica route that was sort of ritualistic. Needless to say, I think it helped me out a lot and helped me let go of a few things I was holding on to.

Today we all woke up pretty early (like every day) and we all got ready to leave for Walla Walla Washington. We had to hustle though because we had to make rack point by 11am. If you are a cyclist you have a certain mileage point that you're required to make before a certain time to ensure that you arrive in a city in enough time to shower and get ready for the sponsored meal/friendship visit. Once we all arrived there was more media there and they did some interviews and got ready for lunch. We were invited to lunch by a local sponsor who cooked us a fantastic lunch of lasagna, cooked asparagus, bread, and salad. We also had some great sweet iced tea which I haven't had since leaving West Virginia so that was HUGE blessing!

After lunch we all came back to the YMCA and hung out until time to depart for our friendship visit. Tonight we hung out with the Lilly Rice Center. It's a place for people with disabilities to go to find employment within their community. The center has about 60 clients and they do everything from assembling hoses used in certain medical equipment to mowing lawns to janitorial duties and many more. The center was started by a woman named Lilly Rice who wanted to create an atmosphere where people with disabilities could go to escape and it transformed into an employment center where the employees said they work hand-in-hand with the clients as if they're coworkers. With the grant they received from Push America last year they purchased a basketball hoop for their yard and one of the employees said they literally play basketball every single day. She even added that if they didn't put it up in the winter that they would be out there then too. It doesn't seem like much, I know, to provide a grant for a basketball hoop. However, if you think about the amount of joy and excitement that those clients have from that hoop, it is completely worth it to me.

I have realized I complain a lot. Sometimes its just within the boundaries of my own mind. I'll say things in my head that I wouldn't dare speak and I often find myself complaining about the simplest of things. Since being on this trip though, I can't give myself that excuse. No matter what I'm going through, no matter if I'm tired of waking up at 5 in the morning, no matter if I'm tired of filling up water coolers every night, no matter if I'm tired of putting out my crew stops. All of these challenges and things are nothing compared to what people with disabilities face every single day. My troubles and my pains will disappear at the end of this summer. In August I'll be done with these tasks but people with disabilities won't. They will never be done facing adversity and stereotypes based upon something out of their control. I have truly been blessed beyond belief and this trip is just a small reminder of how little my pains are in the grand scheme of life.

I'm too blessed to be stressed.