I told myself that it would be ok if i didn't get to St. Louis even before i left. it is time for me to come home. mom, come and get me when you can.

I can continue on for a while but who know how long. i have seen alot of things. i have come to my conclusion about school. i am going to continue with the ROTC

Dad said that he would be willing to pay to replace the buckets but, it seems to me that continuing on my adventure is going to become too expensive to maintain

Two days ago, i noticed a hole in one of my buckets, then yesterday the other bucket also decided to get hole-y. then to top it all off, a tent pole is cracked

Well, riding with the girls didn't work out. they needed to ride 90 miles yesterday and i only made it 62.5 before i needed to set up camp.

Note to self: Virginia may look nice but at 1:30 pm it sure don't feel nice.

I met two ladies today. they are following the same route as I am. they are traveling faster than i have been going but i am willing to try to keep up

Camped under a pavillion and I

Heading out of Philly

I just got an email from Max's host in Philly - Peter Cartier - who sent these pictures of Max all geared up and ready to move on to his next stop.  He was hosted in CT by Geoff Cartier and a warmshowers host - He was hosted in NJ by my childhood best friend, Jennifer Brown Hurley for several days while he went into NYC each day, and then on to Philadelphia with my sister Judy and Peter for a few days visiting the historic spots in the city and they took him to outlying areas of interest, which they are so good at.  He is having a great time. Here he is on his trike in front of Peter's house.

And cycling off on his way to Valley Forge and then Gettysburg.

Max says the weather has been nice, humid, but nice.  We always feel the humidity more being climatized to the desert west.

Debbi

Got my ticket on the train to New York City from Norwalk, Connecticut. We'll see how it goes with my trike.

Concord to Manchester and Beyond!

It's a little late in coming but, here it is anyway:  After researching things, I came to a "dead" end.  The cemetery, to be exact.  Mom asked me to find the headstone of George Jackman Sargent, Sr. and take a picture.  So, I went to the graveyard on a tourist map of Concord.  I did find a Sargent but, no George.  I asked a man who lives next to the cemetery and he told me to ask at the cemetery office just down the street.  So, down the street I went.  I got to the office but it was closed.  I couldn't see much of it but I could tell there was a big graveyard attached to the office.  There was, however, a very nice lady, who had actually helped me earlier when I went to the library, walking out of the cemetery.  She asked how I was and why I was there.  She immediately thought of where the headstone might be.  I thought that was amazing but, it was Jackman as a surname and not a middle name.  She showed me some more places and my assessment of the size of things was confirmed.

I called the number listed on the office door and left a message. 

It was Friday night and I didn't want to spend the weekend. So I headed out of town.  I had intentions to use the same campsite that I had used before but, there was a gathering of men there and so I just kept riding.

I ended up here for the night:

View Second Campsite in a larger map

The next day, I rode to Hudson, New Hampshire and I stayed with my friend, Don, from warmshowers.org.

He had some good suggestions and a nice backyard.

More later!

Hey, I should have thought of this earlier but, I can post to the blog via text message.  This is a little easier for me, it will give you an idea of how things are going in real-time

Manchester to Concord

I was hoping Max would write more often, so before too much time passes, I will give the update I can from here.  Max didn't sleep very well at the airport and then took off for Concord in the morning, Thursday, traveling on the east side of the Merrimack River.  He camped in a city park and chained his bike to the tent.
The next day in Concord he did a little family history - well, actually quite a bit.  He went to the Historic Society and got some help digging about for information about an unsolved family mystery on our Sargent line.  He got some marriage records, birth records, census records to establish who a mysterious Jessie Sargent was, and discovered two of her sisters in the process.  He found the cemetery where our ancestors are buried - Blossom Hill Cemetery - a few blocks north of the Sargent family home on Penacook Street (though the house is no longer there).  He got there too late in the day, but inquired online about it and the director sent him scans of the cards for each of the family graves, along with a map indicating their location.  He got a form for me to request court records.  The next day he was on his way to Boston.  That was almost a week ago and I know he made it, but haven't heard anything more.  He took a digital voice recorder with him, so if he isn't writing, I hope he is using it now and then to record his experience.

I am checking in with friends and family on his route to see if they can put him up for a night during his travels.  He will go from Boston to NYC, then to Philadelphia, then to DC, and then . . . that is yet to be determined.

Getting a little anxious for news in Saratoga Springs.

Flight Day

Well, I am blogging from the airport.  Mom and I were up 'til 4:30 a.m. this morning.  Why were we up so late, you ask?  I was finishing my trike crate (pictures soon), finishing last minute laundry, organizing and my luggage.  Mom was helping lots with the laundry and luggage.  We were trying to get all of the luggage to be under 50 lbs.  Boy was that a pain!  First, the trike was going to be too heavy and not all the parts fit in the box, then my other bag that I wanted to check weighed 60+ lbs, then my carry on bag was too big! Ugh!  But, we finally got everything where it needed to go.

We finally decided that the carry on would make more sense as a checked bag and I was OK with paying the extra $50.

So, I was expecting to pay $100 extra for all my luggage. . . and Have a big huge conflict with the TSA about my packing practices.

Now that everything was decided, we had popcorn, watched an episode of Royal Pains, and went to sleep.  It was pretty fitful for me.

Mom, got me out of bed at . . . at . . . oh, I can't remember.  The point is I was up!

I put all the luggage in the car and mom forced some food into my hands and we were out the door.

I sat in the back seat so I could find all of the things I wanted to take and all the things that weren't allowed in checked bags. 

We stopped at a grocery store, because mom, who likes to remember things, remembered that I didn't have any food for that day.  I am glad we stopped.

Then we arrived at the airport.  I had to rent a baggage cart to get all of my things to the check in counter.  Usually, I avoid things like that but, I had three large pieces of luggage and mom was driving the car so, she couldn't leave or she would be ticketed.

When I checked in, I was pleasantly surprised when the lady said, "That'll be $50 extra."

"Only $50?" I asked.

"I know, I was expecting more, but the computer is saying that you just need to pay for the third piece of luggage," she replied.

"I won't argue with that!"

One hurdle gotten over in an unexpected way! Next, I had to take my bags to the TSA for inspection. 

Surprisingly, nothing happened.  Every thing went through just fine.

Second hurdle . . . destroyed by my awesomeness!

Now, on to the TSA agents who check you out.  I had all of my items in my jacket pockets. so, I just took off my jackets and stepped into the scary "see you naked" machine and it was easy.

Third hurdle . . . smooth and silky!

I went and found my gate and started this entry and I met Greg from Albuquerque.  I think he is a banker and he was looking at a bank in Idaho.  It turns out that he went to school at Utah State like I do.  Go Aggies!

I went for a walk to pass some time and by the time I got back to my gate, They had already boarded the plane.  I had paid extra for a priority spot in boarding line which became useless because Southwest is open seating.  There was, however, enough room that I didn't have to sit right next to anyone.

The actual flight to Phoenix was uneventful. Except that I thought that the plane was landing at the same time that my next flight was leaving.  Thankfully, I was just unaware that Arizona does not practice Daylight Savings Time.  Just another reason for getting rid of all timezones and daylight savings time.  If the whole world based the time of day on one place, every one would be on the same page.  ok Just kidding. . . sort of.

This time, I stayed by the gate and got in line (in my priority postition), I found the first open window seat and took it.  As more passengers filled in Julie Baxter sat next to me.  She is an aspiring author and will be famous and make movies based on her books.

We had an interesting conversation and then I tried to sleep.  ("tried" being the key word).  Planes are just plain noisy. 

We got in to Manchester and I rented another cart, I wish that I hadn't.  I think that I would have felt safer without all my luggage on an easy target.  Any ways, I couldn't really sleep at the airport, so I just started to put things together.

I waited until dawn and then I got out of there!

Dizzy with exhaustion

Max was up till 4:30 AM packing for his trip, and I stayed up to help as best I could.  He really had to engineer his bike crate to meet the specifications required by the airline.  He took his trike apart and fit most, but not all of it in the crate.  The seat wouldn't fit - not no way, not no how.  Luckily it fit in his big suitcase.  There was a lot of weighing and measuring going on - and once the trike was all packed, we struggled to get his big suitcase under 50 pounds, trading things from it to the duffle bag back and forth several times.  In the end he decided to check both bags as well as the crate and only carry on his laptop.  Both bags were very heavy and awkward, but none were over the weight limit!

So after a tiny bit of sleep, it was time to get up and get to the airport.  We stopped along the way to get some packing tape and some carry on food so he wouldn't have to rely on airport dining.  I dropped him off outside of Southwest Ticketing - he rented a cart to put his crate, big suitcase and duffle bag on and push them into the airport.  He kissed his mom goodbye and off he went on his adventure!

He left a message that it all went remarkably well - easy - and instead of charging him $50 extra because the crate was over-sized, and another $50 extra for the third bag - they only charged him $50 for the extra bag.  Cool!

Max has a funny way of projecting his needs out to the universe and having them met as hoped and planned.  Not that he doesn't also do the work needed, but honestly, sometimes what he hopes seems a bit far fetched, and then, low and behold, he gets just what he wants.  Maybe not in the romance department, but with most other stuff he does!  So it is not as worrisome as it might be for me that he is really winging this trip a great deal.  He has no firm plans, no firm schedule, and he did NOT train at all, though I kept bugging him to do it - he just didn't have time.

I was doing some filing while he was here for the last couple days and told him to look through a growing collection of his mail I'd been saving - which he did.  I guess I'd saved it a VERY long time, because there was a check from 2009 - the return of a deposit for an old apartment he lived in during his UVU days for $170!  He rushed off to the bank with it, and they said it was too old, and the issuing bank also said they couldn't honor it when it was 2 years old.  So he called the apartment office and they said to bring it in and they would issue a new one!  It will come in the mail shortly - and I can deposit it.  Timely!  That will come in handy for this trip!

I was loopy driving home from the airport - if I'd been stopped and tested for sobriety, I probably would have failed though I haven't had a drop of alcohol since I was 16 - so tired, I'm too old to pull all-nighters and still function the next day.  But it was worth it.  Hope Max gets some sleep on the plane and that all his luggage arrives with him, safe and sound.  It will be too late to do anything but hang out at the airport till tomorrow morning.

Now for a nap.
Deb-Mom

Finally!

Hello everyone!

All projects and tests have been turned in and taken, All grades have been entered, all residents have been checked out of their rooms, and all my stuff is safely at my mom's house or in storage.  I leave for Manchester, NH on Wednesday and I have so much still to do but, the semester is finally over!

Before I left USU, I found an abandoned suitcase which was perfect for my trip.  I wanted something that I could throw away with out feeling bad so, finding it was Ideal.  But, I found out that it was not as perfect as I had hoped.  The appearance didn't bother me, I wasn't going for style points, I just wanted something that could last one trip.  Unfortunately, the zipper was broken.  So, today I went out to the local thrift store and I found something for three dollars. 

For my trike, however, I went to a local bike shop to beg for a box.  They had one and it was big enough!  Now all I have to do is make it TSA compliant, AKA available for rummagers who think that I am a bad person with bad plans...

I am not a bad person!!!  I just want to fly in peace!

More Later. . .

One more thing

I found this blog before I started mine.  If you read it, it really parallels my reasoning for my trip.  It is also interesting to note that he lives on the eastern side of the country and is flying to the west and biking home and I am doing the same thing except mirrored.  I live in the western part of this great nation and I am flying to the eastern side and biking west.

It's gonna get . . .

Is it gonna get better before it gets worse?  or worse before it gets better?

Goodness, I can't believe how much I need to get done this week, the week before I leave.  I have been so busy, that I haven't really been keeping track of how close I really am.  I finished making my Panniers from buckets. . . .  ugh!  For the amount of money I spent on the "homemade" version, I could have purchased professionally made Panniers.  But there's no turnin' back now.

I have decided to take the trike with me on the plane and not ship anything.  The only uncertanty with that is how much I will be charged to take it.  It's either $50 or $100.  On the airline's website it says:

Non-motorized bicycles, including Bike Friday and Co-Pilot, will be accepted in substitution of a free piece of checked baggage at no additional charge provided the bicycle is properly packaged and the box containing the bicycle fits within the 62-inch sizing limit and weighs 50 pounds or less. (Maximum weight is 50 pounds and maximum size is 62 inches (length + width + height per checked piece of luggage.) The handlebars, kickstand, and pedals must be removed and placed inside the box. A $50.00 each-way charge applies to bicycles that don't meet the above criteria. Bicycles packaged in a cardboard box or soft-sided case will be transported as a conditionally accepted item.




So, to me, that sounds like I will end up paying $50.  But, I called the airline and they said that I would be charged $50 for having a bike box and $50 because it is bigger than their 62 inch limit.  


But, I can't really think about that now because I need to get back to work.

Doing Something awesome!

Doing something awesome!

Max had to regroup when his plans for the summer didn't materialize and checked in with me to see what I thought.  Hoping for a summer job to make lots of money, but that often doesn't turn out, I suggested Max do something awesome and not worry about making lots of money.  He manages pretty well with grants and on campus employment to pay his way at this point, and, after all, he may never be in a position to just choose what he will do for an entire summer ever again, why not make it something awesome???  What about the Peace Corp?  What about a cross country bike trip???  AH-HAH!!!!  That struck a chord with him and thus we have Tri-Lime Express.  The bike is a recumbent tricycle - a GREEN recumbent tricycle - and it won't be ALL the way across the country but it will be an AWESOME adventure!

Max is pretty pro-active when he knows what he wants.  He bought the trike after one trip to the store in Payson and then sold his car, and has got his airline ticket back east and most of his gear.  He has his maps and his route plotted out.

But Max - what about training????  Are you training for this????

I like writing.  Max doesn't.  I will ask questions to make it simple to get a story going.

Excited Mother

All Aboard!

Welcome to the Tri-Lime Express!  This blog chronicles the adventures of me, your conductor, through the Great Eastern Cities and the Appalachian Mountains to St. Louis.

The name of the blog has significance for two reasons: One, I named my vehicle of choice for this trip "Tri-Lime" and two, it is a misnomer because the only people who consider going 30 miles in one day an "Express" form of travel have been dead for over a hundred years.

I hope that you enjoy reading about my adventures on a recumbent, tadpole-style tricycle.

All Aboard!