Thursday, March 3, 2011

Flipped Car: First Responder.



What is an Adventure?

I think that everyone has an idea in their head of what an adventure is for them. Whether it is rock climbing, skiing the Matterhorn, or skinny dipping in the pool at the Holiday Inn. There could be millions of factors or requisites for Adventure identification, but to me there are only two necessary identification questions.

1. Does it get your Adrenaline flowing/blood pumping?

2. Does it create a cool/kick-ass story.

Based on those two key yeses, being the first responder on scene of a flipped vehicle is in fact an Adventure. Story below.

Flipped Jeep
After a weekend exploring the wilds of Southwest Michigan, my Brother-in-law and I set sights for home amid tempestuous winter conditions. Freezing rain pellets froze to the road, and created extremely dangerous driving conditions. We continued on undeterred, as Jason was drawn home by his pregnant wife. As we snaked through the rural backcountry, we passed a
Jeep Liberty that was on its side. In passing we noticed no other vehicles on the scene, and quickly pulled a U-turn. We were the first responders.

I thought to myself. "This is what you have trained for!" "This is what all of those years in Boy Scouts was all about!" I told Jason to call 9-1-1 as I exited our car. As I approached the overturned vehicle, I noticed a creepy little girl standing up in the front window of the Jeep. I thought that if this girl ended up in the front window, then her parents could be extremely beat up.

At this point I look over my shoulder and see that a pickup truck has also stopped, and is talking on the phone to 9-1-1 about what street we are on.

Back at the Jeep,I tried to lift up the handle of the front door, but it was locked. At that point, I was sure that I was going to get to smash at least one window, which I have always wanted to do. Unfortunately for my window smashing dream, but fortunately for the people inside, I heard a tapping from within on the glass of the back seat window. I was able to open the door and out pops the head of a man, and below him, within the wrecked fuselage, I can see his wife.

They said in broken English that they are only bruised and shaken up but not hurt, and that they will wait for help from within their still wobbling compact SUV. With a little nudging, I was able to convey the message that their current camping site within their recently rolled over car, was not a safe one, and they then agreed. Although I would have liked to smash a window, I am just glad that no one was dead, and the family was safe.

We were able to help them down from the side of the car, while bracing it from falling completely onto its roof. The local hillbilly type guy with the truck put the small family in his back seat, and waited for the police to respond.

With the family safe, we flipped a bitch, set our sights toward home and talked and joked excitedly in an attempt to diffuse some of the adrenaline that had built up within us.

Sometimes an adventure is being in the right place at the right time, and being prepared to do the right thing.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Chicago Travel and Adventure Show Review


A few weeks ago, I got an email from the people putting on the Travel and Adventure Show inviting me to attend this year's show for free. Because the price was right, I decided to attend, figuring that information gathered could prove useful for planning future ADVENTURING opportunities, also figuring that this would be a great opportunity to gaze into the future of the Travel and Adventure marriage.

I send my condolences to all of those poor saps that spent the $15 on the ticket and the $13 to park, because that show was a dud. There was no excitement in any of the booths. It might as well have been an insurance and actuarial convention. It was as if the entire show was sponsored by Nyquil or Ambien. I would have thought that the guy handing out 'Visit South Africa' sales literature would have been more amped than the lady from the 'Southeastern Wisconsin Board of Tourism', but that was not the case.

I was hoping to get information to help plan future trips to Europe and China, but anything good was few and far between. I should have expected it because the purpose of a show like this is to make money and generate sales, and not to present honest and or useful information. The only information I found relating to China was trips arranged by Trafalgar, with costs that accosted the soul.

Through this misinformation gathering, I learned what I always had known.
1. Plan your own trip
2. Beware of phonies

No one that is under 65 should ever leave the planning of their trips or adventures to 'experts'.
1. Planning a trip is half of the fun
2. When you get there you will know what to expect
3. When you get home, you will be able to tell someone where you have been and what you experienced.
4. It will save you a shitload of cash(Euros, Lbs, rupees, yen, dollas, shillings, dabloons, skrilla)

Now a word about shyster travel companies. As far as I know, I have never been taken advantage of by a travel company. Women, yes. Travel shysters, no.
1. Travel shysters are a bunch of phonies that only want your money. You will float down the Yangtze river in a semi-water tight tour bus, and probably won't see anything remotely cool. And they will rape you(r wallet) Plan your own trip.


Chicago Travel and Adventure Show
Highlights:
1.There was a camel there. I took a picture of his toe, and put it on my Facebook page. Don't you hate it when a Camel tracks dirt onto your carpet?
2. If anyone knows famed travel writer and personality, Rick Steves, they know that he may or may not be gay. He is ambiguous. Not that there is anything wrong with that, he just has some unique mannerisms. Anyway, his brochure that he was handing out promoting h
is tour company had the title 'Rick Steves: Europe through the back door'. That is some seriously funny stuff that made me cry with delight. You would think that someone would have caught that before he had one million copies made.

Lowlights
1. Being there.

Feast your eyes below with Rick Steves' back door review, and the camel-toe.