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.