Brad on the Travel Bug

Our collective travel bug has really been a defining force in our family and I think it began at some level with Mom and Dad. How many nights have we entertained ourselves, wives, and kids with stories of our infamous trip out West. If you think about that trip, how many parents would have taken on that vacation with 3 boys? I think that trip was the launching pad for our interest in travel.

My experience is unique to the two of you because I didn’t blaze a travel trail like each of you. I benefited greatly from each of you moving to “exotic” places after school. I remember how crazy my classmates thought it was when I was in junior high and high school and I was going to San Francisco, Spain, and Hawaii. I was only afforded those experiences because you guys were living in those places and Mom and Dad were committed to traveling to see you. How lucky for me was that?!?!

I believe we are lucky to have, or perhaps chose wisely, spouses that embrace the spirit of travel and adventure that is instilled in us. For me, Sheila has always encouraged my sense of adventure. For example, my close friend Nathan lived in The Netherlands for 10 weeks during dental school. He asked me to visit, and I found an amazingly cheap flight, but wasn’t going to go. We were less than 2 years out of college and didn’t have lots of money. Sheila basically said I was crazy for even considering not going, so I did. Nathan and I still talk about that trip, an experience I’ll never forget for sure. Other examples include me leaving her in London so Ed and I could meet Marc in Sarajevo. She is also completely supportive of my plans to leave her and the girls alone in January 2013 for 2 weeks to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I’m sure you all have similar stories of spousal support, and we wouldn’t have traveled as we have without support and encouragement from Holly, Jennifer, and Sheila.

Despite the examples of traveling without Sheila, we talk often about the girls getting old enough that we can travel as a family. Sasha & Kira have definitely hampered our travel the last couple years. Hearing about Ed’s family adventures has made us so excited for when we’ll get to share travel experiences with our girls. As you can imagine, we’ve got a lot planned…because that’s what we do is plan…which is another topic on travel. I’ll get to that one soon in a separate post.

So I guess in summary: thank you Mom and Dad for opening our eyes at a young age; thank you brothers for giving me lots of awesome places to go; and thank you Sheila for supporting and encouraging my continued sense of adventure!

Marc on the Travel Bug

To be honest, I don't know what causes some people to get the travel bug. You mentioned how small the world has become, and maybe because of cable TV, travel shows, and the internet, people don't feel the need to travel anywhere in person. They just sit in their lounger in the living room and watch Rick Steves walking through the Sistine Chapel and say, "Wow, cool."

For those of us that have been lucky enough to travel, we know that watching it on TV isn't the same as being there. I'm sure that you guys would say that walking across the "Old Bridge" in Mostar isn't quite the same as seeing it on a YouTube video. Laying on the beach on the Costa del Sol in Spain isn't the same as reading about it in a travel book. I guess my point is that unless you've experienced it, you just don't realize the fun of traveling. You also have to do it once or twice to realize that it's not as "exotic impossible" as you might think. I never ever imagined that we would have a boys weekend in Sarajevo, Bosnia, but we figured it out!

I'm amazed at how many of my classmates from OCHS have never been outside the United States, or even outside of the State of Iowa. I'm sure that you know some people like that. When you talk about traveling to Europe, or Africa, or Asia, you can tell that they're not even really "in" the conversation. It's all a bit far out or fantastic to them, like a science fiction book that you can't really seriously consider.

On a side note, I have noticed a HUGE change in the military culture since I joined back in the "Join the Navy, see the world" days. When we put in our "dream sheets" during school in Monterey, everyone that I know wanted to go overseas. The last thing any of us wanted was to stay in the United States for a tour of duty. In my graduating class, of the 15 or 20 Sailors that I knew, only two had orders to stay in the USA, and those were the "unlucky" ones. But things are different now. Not only do you have to drag people kicking and screaming to the overseas billets these days, most of the new military crowd don't even want to go to another station within the USA! They want to be somewhere like San Antonio, Texas, and do an entire military career there. It's just a different military and sometimes it baffles me. Granted, the overseas opportunities are far more limited now, but that should make it even easier to find people to fill those billets.

As I look back at my own travels, traveling and living overseas has creates a unique bond with people. It has created catalogues of memories for me. Today I sat around the lunch table with a few other old Chiefs like myself, and we found ourselves telling stories about the glory days, and almost all of them were from an overseas tour or an overseas deployment. We as brothers have some great memories of traveling or meeting in other parts of the world together. Jennifer and I often talk about our days back in Spain and when we do they seem to have been the best days of our lives.

I don't know if it's a bug at all; maybe some people are just predisposed to wanting to have a broader perspective of the world we live in. At any rate, I'm very thankful for all the opportunities that I've had to travel!

The Travel Bug

Needless to say, I've got it. And I believe I can speak for both my brothers in saying they've got it too. I'm just completing reunion tour of sorts to Europe with the family, the first time we've been back on European soil since we left England in July 2009. And boy did I miss it. After four days in London we ventured to spots where we haven't ever traveled - Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria. All were incredible. I'm typing this from Munich, where we fly home from tomorrow.

My point in making this post is my amazement at how BIG and SMALL the world has become. All of us as brothers have traveled the globe unlike any of the prior generations within our family. And when I've traveled we always seem to run into folks from Iowa, Missouri, or from wherever we hail from. That's amazing to me considering I've been literally half way around the world. But I guess the special sites attract those from all over the world.

So how did we, as brothers, come by the Travel bug? Did we all contract it in the same way, or in our own different ways? Did prior generations not value travel the same, just not have the same means as we do, or both? While I recognize there are reasons why they didn't travel as much as we have, is there a reason they didn't find the time or money to travel outside the US or North America? And what was it that led each of us to do so more robustly? There are some obvious answers, but there may also be some surprises in the answers to these questions.

I love traveling and hope I have the means a.k.a. time and money, to continue to do so. And I always want to travel to some place new, with only a few places I've ever been being ones that I would return to as a preference to a new unknown location.

There are some incredible things to be learned from traveling, and that's why we've traveled with our kids when we can. My kids have a global outlook on the world, one that I'm sure will serve them well as they grow up. They have a very broad view of the world and all its people and cultures, and I love that about them.

I'm eager to hear my two brothers chime in on this topic with their views, as their travels have been different than mine, but equally interesting. There have been a few occasions where our collective travels have been fed by each other, traveling to see one another on different continents and in different countries. Bosnia, for example, what an incredible trip.

I'm headed home tomorrow and travel also gives me a renewed appreciation for home. I'm not just talking about KC, I'm talking about the good ole' USA. What a great place! The privileges, the people, the cultures, the mountains, the valleys, the plains ... from sea to shining sea!

Ed on the Don't-Whine-It's-Time Sprint Triathlon

I think this is a really great idea. We could speak with the Mayor and the Chamber of Commerce and see how and if they would be willing to support such an event. Since I'm sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Germany I didn't look at the links, but I think it would be very cool to have the course re-create some of the significance of the Hub City. That also will likely increase the likelihood of sponsors such as Hub City Beer, Leo's, etc. Many of the businesses in Oelwein have roots to the long and rich history of Oelwein.

I'm not sure how much I can contribute to this, but I'm sure Brad can tell me. Again, I fully support the idea and we would be doing a really great thing for our hometown. Can you imagine how proud Mom and Dad would be of such an event, being championed by their three sons? Holy shit, the Oelwein Daily Register better get ready to promote, promote, promote! And one of their sons is a CWO. Marc, can you arrange a fly over by someone other than Frank?

Love this idea, but unsure how to proceed. Brad, would you like me to contact the Mayor and Chamber of Commerce in Oelwein?

Ed on the Waterloo Indians

Great memory to pull from the noggin Brad. I remember those games, those nights, and all the memories you and Marc resurrected. I don't have much to add, other than the fact that I really don't remember who we went to the games with, do either of you? Was it Jane, husband and boys? One further memory I have is getting the complete set of Waterloo Indian baseball cards for like $2 bucks, and Dad thinking that was a total rip off! Why would any kid want baseball cards? What do you do with those things anyway?

And yes, I remember Von Hayes, he was MONEY!

The "no whine" Oelwein sprint triathlon - let's tri it!

I dredged up some information gathered regarding hosting a triathlon in Oelwein. I think it would be a really great challenge and something ultimately that could be awesome for Oelwein. So, here is a list of items we would need to address at some point. I’ve also mapped out a potential course and have links provided.

Give it some thought and let’s discuss.

Items to address:

Mission & goal – why are we doing this & what do we hope to accomplish

Financials
1. Revenue - $7,250 entry fees ($75X100 participants less estimated active.com fee)+ $10,000 sponsorship (5 title sponsors @ $1,000, 10 other sponsors @ $500)
2. Expenses - $2,500 promotion, $5,000 equipment rental (total guess), $700 event insurance (100 participants @ $7), $500 park rental, $2,500 prize purse, $1,000 giveaways, $5,050 to give to Oelwein in some way

Choosing a date

Promotion – how do we inform potential participants about the race
1. Other triathlon and running races
2. Triathlon clubs in Eastern Iowa
3. Colleges and universities with triathlon clubs
4. Distributed race calendars
5. Trifind.com

Community support
1. Support from police & fire department
2. Support from school district
3. Support from city parks & recreation department - park reserved
4. Support from community at large

Sponsorship & In kind giving
1. Items for “swag bag”
2. Food/drink for aid stations and post race
3. Prize money

Participant registration options
1. Risk management
2. Race insurance – http://www.fdean.com/triathlon/index.html

Equipment needed - registration area, volunteer organization area, start/finish, transition area, swim course, bike course, run course, post race

Recruitment of volunteers - school system, park & recreation department, friends & family

Raceday logistics - closed park, course setup, safety support for swim (kayaks, boat, spotters), volunteer organization, leader chaperone (motorcycle)

Equipment rental and race expertise
http://www.pigmantri.com/jmsracing.html
http://www.rainbowracing.com/

Bike route
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ia/oelwein/182128517187460089
Run Route
http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ia/oelwein/741128517232387796

Marc on the Waterloo Indians

I would have never been able to pull the name of Von Hayes out of my memory banks. I had forgotten all the names, but I'll tell you what I DO remember.

First of all, going to those games was a summer highlight! It always felt like a real treat to take the "long" trip to Waterloo to go to a baseball game. I think Mom and Dad used to take us when the "Famous Chicken", more commonly known as the San Diego Chicken, was in town. That was more exciting than the baseball game itself!

I think we were even lucky enough to snag a foul ball occasionally, and Dad was smart enough to hide it quickly so that they didn't come and ask to have it back (as they always did). I think they used to give you some coupons to a pizza place or something if you gave the ball back, but who wants to do that?

The most prominent memory of the Waterloo Indians involves the little red bat that became the stick of choice for our indoor baseball games. We would get so sweaty running the bases on our knees in the living room! I don't know if you guys remember, but for years there was a red-colored divot in the living room wall from that little bit slipping out of someones hands. I don't think it's there any longer... we'll have to check next time we're home.