After visiting the Airstream factory in Jackson Center, Ohio I headed in a northerly path towards Detroit. It was a blistering humid heat during the course of the factory tour but within minutes of pulling out of the driveway I could see a storm brewing out on the horizon. As I got closer and closer to the freeway the clouds got darker and darker. Suddenly it looked as if I was headed straight into the depths of hell! The winds had picked up to a dangerously ferocious speed, whipping the RV side-to-side on the road. I let off the gas and slowed my pace in order to regain control of the vehicle. Just then a huge gust smacked the side of the camper and somehow managed to suck half of the awning out from around it’s spool.
WOOSH! FWACKA FWACKA WFAWKA! The awning was now flapping vigorously in the storm against the broadside of the vehicle.
I found myself trying to keep this 24′ RV in between the lines and was fighting to counteract the gale force winds that were magnified by the fact that I now had what amounted to a giant sail attached to this land-boat! Not a good situation. I turned off the road and into the first driveway I could find to let the line of vehicles behind me pass.
I opened the door to take a look at what was going on with the awning and the second I did, a giant lightning bolt lit up the sky followed by a thunderous rumble. I was now smack dab in the middle of the storm. To make matters worse it started hailing! So I was left with a decision.
- Do I venture outside and try to open up the awning all of the way in order to try and re-wrap it around the spool?
- Or do I wait out the storm and risk having the entire awning and support bars get ripped off by a gust of wind creating an even bigger and more urgent set of problems?
I really wanted to fix it NOW. But every time I stepped outside to try, I would be pelted with little ice rocks. There was just no way I would be able to look skyward in order to fix the awning 8 feet over my head while having ice balls rain down into my eye balls. Not to mention the fact that in order to unravel the awning I would need to stand outside in this lightning storm with a 4-foot metal rod to un-hook the awning mechanism! I figured life was more valuable and useful when it comes to fixing whatever may happen with the RV. So I climbed back inside the vehicle and drove it around to the other side of a building to provide some isolation from the elements. I also re-positioned it in such a way that the awning was downwind and therefore somewhat protected by the up-wind side of the RV. About 20 minutes later the storm had died down a bit and I was able to fix everything without getting struck by lightning or going blind!
I was able to continue safely on my journey and along the way I saw not one, not two, not three, four, fix or six, but SEVEN semi-trucks that had been blown over by the winds! Holy Toledo, Ohio!
I guess I made the right decision.
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on June 29, 2012.
Filed under: North America,Orgish,Travel,United States | No Comments »
This rice pudding restaurant(?) totally nails it from a marketing POV. I must have spent 20 minutes in the store just reading all the signs before I eventually ordered a bowl of gooey goodness. If everyone is like me (and really they should be!), just think of all the people that would be in the store at any given time, which to any passerbys creates curiosity and in turn draws them into the fray. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Eat.
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on June 9, 2012.
Filed under: North America,Orgish,Travel,United States | No Comments »
Discovered this great quote today:
There are few things I enjoy more than those first days in an unknown city or countryside — where you can feel your memory of that locale being painted with broad, thick strokes of new experience.
– Craig Mod
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 1, 2012.
Filed under: Orgish,Travel | No Comments »
Reflecting back on 2011 here are 99 of my top memories (in chronological order). Thanks to all that shared in the experiences!
- Shared life goals and dreams with great friends at the Sanctuary of Truth in Ancient Siam, Thailand
- Smobbed through traffic running from the police on some janky scooters in Bali, Indonesia
- Scuba diving in the Gili islands of Indonesia
- Whitewater rafting down the Telaga Waja River in Bali, Indonesia
- Got buzzed off Luwak coffee in the hills of Ubud, Indonesia
- Listened to the chanting and watched the traditional Kecak Dance at the Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia
- Bungee jumped a BMX bike off a platform into a pool below in Bali, Indonesia
- Witnessed traditional Thaipusam rituals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Smelled the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Made $100,000,000,000,000 (that’s one-hundred-trillion) Zimbabwe dollars in Malaca, Malaysia
- Kayaked through the waters of Halong Bay, Vietnam
- Saw Ho-Chi-Minh’s body in Hanoi, Vietnam
- Nearly got run over by hundreds of scooters in the street of Hanoi, Vietnam
- Saw dogs heads for sale (presumably to be eaten) in Hanoi, Vietnam
- Got fitted for a custom tailored suit made in Hoi An, Vietnam
- Hiked through the MySon Relics of Hoi An, Vietnam
- Celebrated Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) with a spectacular fireworks show in Nha Trang, Vietnam
- Rode a red-eye sleeper train from Nha Trang to Saigon, Vietnam
- Shared beers (with dirty ice from a burlap sack) with some old Vietnamese men that didn’t speak a lick of English in the streets of Saigon, Vietnam
- Crawled through the underground Cu-Chi tunnels and fired an AK47 used during the Tet Offensive in Saigon, Vietnam
- Witness the effects of Agent Orange at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, Vietnam
- Hiked through Angkor Wat during sunrise in Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Watched the sun fall from atop a temple in Angkor Thom in Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Donated to the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund to help them remove more active landmines from the Cambodian/Thailand border
- Got tickled by fish that ate the dead skin off my feet while I sipped on a glass of wine in Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Road a horse through the old rice fields of Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Toured the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida
- Drove my RV on the famous Daytona Beach in Daytona Beach, Florida
- Ate a feast at The Wilkes House in Savannah, Georgia
- Peered through others peoples prayers at the smallest church in America in South Newport, Georgia
- Took a bike ride around St. Simons Island, Georgia
- Boated out to the start of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina
- Went rock climbing in Charleston, South Carolina
- Relaxed in the shade of the giant 400-year old Angel Oak Tree outside of Charleston, South Carolina
- Sat on “A Bench By The Road” on Sullivan Island, South Carolina
- Hollered in Spivey’s Corner, the “Hollerin’ Capital of the Universe”
- Deciphered the original Rosetta Stone at the British Museum in London, England
- Straddled the international dateline in Greenwhich, England
- Walked through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France
- Climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
- Listened to hymns at Notre Dame in Paris, France
- Road bikes and dominated baguettes & babies in Versailles, France
- Picnicked on the grounds of Marie Antoinette’s old Palace of Versailles in France
- Saw Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at Musée du Louvre in Paris, France
- Avoided paying for an overpriced ticket to Moulin Rouge in Paris, France
- Ingested a “Mother of Pain” currywurstspezialitäten (1,000,000 on the Scoville scale) after signing a liability waiver in Leipzig, Germany
- Witnessed the atrocities of Hitler’s concentration camps in Auschwitz, Poland
- Participated in a scavenger hunt through downtown San Francisco, California
- Launched a new version of MFI new hobby of kiteboarding in the Outer Banks of North Carolina
- Retraced the path of the Wright Brothers first 4 flights in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
- Marveled at the Bodies exhibit in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Witnessed an amazing 4th of July fireworks display in Savanna, Georgia
- Tried smoked rattlesnake meat in St. Augustine, Florida
- Witnessed the final launch of the Space Shuttle program (STS-135) in person in Titusville, Florida
- Flew my first international flight as a pilot in a Cessna 172 from Florida, USA to Freeport, Bahamas
- Snorkeled in the crystal clear waters from a catamaran of Icacos, Puerto Rico
- Whitewater rafting down the Pacuare River in Squires, Costa Rica
- Slept in a hammock at Rockin J’s in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
- Scuba diving in Bocas del Toro, Panama
- Took a private water taxi to Star Beach in Bocas del Toro, Panama
- Zip-lining through the tree canopy in Red Frog Beach, Panama
- Watched ocean-liners pass through the Panama Canal
- Performed my first “elevator jump” bungee jump into the fog above a river near La Fortuna, Costa Rica
- Soaking in the hot springs during a violent thunderstorm while lightening illuminated the silhouette of a volcano in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
- Went on a nature walk and saw sloths, monkeys, toucans, frogs, lizards, and more in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
- Spent the night on a converted oil rig in the waters of Semporna Malaysia
- Scuba diving in one of the Top 10 diving locations in the world in Spipidan, Malaysia
- Followed a Xmas parade down the cobblestone streets to a soccer game in Antigua, Guatemala
- Disconnected and relaxed along the shore of Late Atitlan, in Santa Cruz La Laguna, Guatemala
- Saw the ruins of Joya de Cerén in San Salvador, El Salvador
- Climbed the old Myan pyramids of Tazumal where the heads from human sacrifices used to roll down in Chalchuapa, El Salvador
- Roamed the colorful streets of Grenada, Nicaragua
- Hiked up and volcano-boarded down the black ash of Volcan Cerro Negro in Leon, Nicaragua
- Thumbed my nose at an antiquated embargo and traveled to Cuba
- Navigated precarious and unmarked roads in a rental car with a bent rim to Cienfuegos, Cuba
- Lived with Cuban families in “casa particulars” and learned about life in communist Cuba
- Listened to rumba music on the steps of Casa la Musica in Trinidad, Cuba
- Galloped on horseback across the Cuban countryside to a waterfall up in the mountains of Trinidad, Cuba
- Witness firsthand as Cubans lined up in a breadline (and milk-line) for their weekly rations in Trinidad, Cuba
- Sampled Cuba’s infamous $7.00 CUP ($0.40 USD) street pizzas in Santa Clara, Cuba
- Witnessed the final resting place and monument of Ernesto “Che” Guevara in Santa Clara, Cuba
- Stayed in a 5-star resort and relaxed on the white sand beaches of Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba
- Drank an overpriced, watered-down Mojito at La Bodeguia Del Medio in La Havana Vieja, Cuba
- Sipped daiquiris at Floradita Restaraunte Bar, Earnest Hemmingway’s old watering hole in Havana, Cuba
- Marveled at the communist propaganda throughout Havana, Cuba
- Photographed old school cars parked outside of the Capitolo in downtown Havana, Cuba
- Met the famous Cuban artist Leo D’Zázaro at his studio El Ojo Del Ciclón in Havana, Cuba
- Strolled down El Malecón while sipping on Havana Club rum in Havana, Cuba
- Watched kids playing stickball with a broom and bottlecap in the streets the Centro district of Havana, Cuba
- Shared a Xmas eve feast — Cuban style — with my hosts in Havana, Cuba
- Hitched a ride in a old “Yank Tank” with a Cuban, Mexican, and Lebanese to Playa de Este, Cuba
- Ate a Xmas day pig roast on the Santa MarÃa del Mar beach in Havana, Cuba
- Toured Partagas Cigar factory and bought some Cohiba cigars from shady factory workers in Havana, Cuba
- Walked through Necropolis Cristóbal Colón at sundown in the Vedado area of Havana, Cuba
- Swam from Playa de Cerado out to a reef and then scuba dove (because Cubans aren’t allowed on boats) in Ciamito, Cuba
- Ate a $1.00 CUP ($0.04 USD) scoop of ice cream at the state-run Coppelia in Havana, Cuba
- Photographed the murals and sculptures of Salvador González Escalona on Callejon De Hamel in Havanah, Cuba
- Celebrated the end of the year and the start of the next on Calle del Arco in Antigua, Guatemala
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on December 31, 2011.
Filed under: Asia,Bahamas,Cambodia,Costa Rica,Cuba,El Salvador,England,Europe,France,Germany,Guatemala,Honduras,Indonesia,Malaysia,Nicaragua,North America,Orgish,Panama,Poland,Thailand,United States,Vietnam | No Comments »
An incredibly inspirational presentation by Nomadz.nu
“Design your own life according to what you want to make out of it.”
Priceless.
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on April 1, 2011.
Filed under: Orgish,Travel | No Comments »
