Seattle, WA

Mt. Rainier

I have now been in Seattle, WA for a whole week, and I can honestly say that I was not expecting this city to be this awesome at all.  Coming into the trip, people told me that I would love Seattle and described to me how cool it is, but I knew that it rained a lot and it was always cold.  The first day we were here, it rained most of the day and i wore pants and a pullover in May for the first time in my life. Since then, I could not ask for better weather.  This city really has a lot to see and explore, and the amazing weather made it even easier to enjoy.

The crew members arrived last Tuesday for crew training, and because the cyclists did not arrive until Sunday, there was a lot of time to bond and become good friends with fellow crew guys.  The weekend rolled around, and after a couple days of training, we were treated to an amazing dinner at a cyclist's grandparent's house just off the coast of Seattle on Bainbridge Island.  The house overlooked the water and had an amazing view of the city and Mt. Rainier.  The food was delicious (sloppy joe's and chicken salad), and of course we went down to the campfire and had s'mores afterwards.  This dinner was just a small preview of the care and generosity that will be displayed towards us the entire summer, and I could not be more thankful.

University of Washington Pi Kappa Phi House

The cyclists arrived yesterday, and after a long day of going back and forth from the hotel to the airport to pick them up, we got to sit down and meet all of the guys.  It was really cool to talk with them and see what life is like at their chapters and schools.  I know more stories will be told over the course of the summer and I will get to know them much better, but the initial greetings were exactly what I believed they would be...fun.  After all cyclists had arrived, we loaded the vans and took off from the hotel to the University of Washington.  I have never really heard anything about UW's campus and had no idea what to expect.  Boy was I blown away.  The campus was gorgeous.  Perfectly landscaped roads, buildings were very cool, a lot of green spaces, and greek row was something you could just stand and look around in awe.  The dinner provided by UW's chapter of Pi Kappa Phi was really good, and it was cool to talk to brothers from that house and see what attend their school was like.  After dinner, there was some team building exercises, and then departure back to the hotel where we attended a local folk music festival and walked around the city of Seattle some more.  Today and tomorrow are all about training for the guys who just got here and testing their skills on the bike, as well as more team building exercises.  I can't wait for Thursday and the kickoff to Enumclaw!

The Beginning

Today begins the long anticipated summer of a lifetime.  I said my last goodbye to my father this morning in Las Vegas before boarding the plane to Seattle.  Because he had a business trip there the past couple of days, he thought of the best 21st birthday present ever and invited me to join him for one last hurrah before the summer.  While he was in meetings during the day, I got to walk the Las Vegas strip and see many cool hotels and casinos.  Last night, we went to see Cirque du Soleil "Love," which is an acrobatic show played to a tribute to the Beatles.  It was absolutely mind-boggling what these performers were doing. While I did lose some money gambling, the amount I lost can be viewed as a victory to some people.  I guess beginner's luck is real.

This blog is mainly just to get started and introduce my trip to those who are not totally understanding of what it is I will be doing.  Each summer, Push America, Pi Kappa Phi's philanthropy organization, puts on an event known as the Journey of Hope, which is a cross country bicycle ride to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.  Three teams start out in three different cities on the west coast and all end in Washington D.C. at the end of the summer. Each day consists of cycling and friendship visits.  After waking up bright and early, an average of 75 miles is ridden on a bicycle to the next destination spot.  After this ride, lunch is normally provided by a sponsor that we have teamed up with for the day.  After lunch, there are normally activities such as wheelchair basketball, arts and crafts, dances, and other games set up by the sponsors so that we can play and have an absolute blast with people that have both physical and mental disabilities. This is just a very basic outline of a day, as many days will be much different and have different events.  The cool thing about this trip is the friendship visits that are organized, for it helps you truly understand what you are traveling across the country for and not just to say you did.  This on-hand interaction is said to be life-changing, and I would not expect anything less. I can honestly say that I do not think I have ever been this excited for something in my life, and after 9 days in Seattle to get properly certified and equipped with everything I need, I will be on my way. Check back regularly to see day by day updates and wonderful stories from what is expected to be the greatest summer of my life.