We made it!!!
Yep, this is the last blog for this trip. We did not post a blog on Thursday night after we arrived because of a lack of a wifi connection and lack of time.
Wednesday night we stayed on the Navy Cruiser. That was really cool, all the scouts enjoyed it!! We saw a movie about one of the neighboring ships (USS Sullivan). We stayed on the USS Little Rock (first guided missile cruiser in the US Navy). The submarine and USS Sullivan were also available for a tour on Thursday morning at 6:30. For any scouts that wanted to sleep in, they didn’t get the tour at 6:30.
Mrs. Kilmer, Anna Kilmer, Kate Kilmer, and Nathan Kilmer met us on Wednesday night at the Navy Park in Buffalo. They brought chocolate treats for the scouts. And the scouts signed an anniversary card for Mrs. Kilmer. Wednesday was Darlene’s and my 20th anniversary. Mr. Alder seems very concerned that I was on the bike trip on our 20th anniversary. So, he provided many coaching tips on how to make it right.
On Thursday morning, we had breakfast and started our 25 mile trip to Niagara Falls. The trip was uneventful. One of the crews became a little lost, but they made it. About 5 miles away, we could see the mist rising up in the horizon from the falls. We first stopped at Goat Island on the US side to see the falls from the US. After Goat Island sight seeing we had lunch and then went on the Maid of the Mist to see the falls from the bottom. Then we traveled to the Canadian side and went through customs. We had no issues with customs going into Canada or returning to the US.
We rode down to Horseshoe Falls and then rode the 3 miles to the campgrounds. Mark Shultz had bike trouble with his derailer, but we were able to limp into camp. Once in camp, the scouts cooked dinner and around 9:00 we headed back to the falls to view it at night. At 11:00 we headed back to camp and went to bed.
Joshua Kilmer’s grandparents joined us in Niagara Falls for the day with several home made chocolate chip cookies. Thanks!! They live in western New York about 1 hour away from the falls.
On Friday we packed up and went back to the falls to visit Clifton Hill see a couple movies and at 3:00 we headed to the train station in Depew, New York.
Again the ride was uneventful. Once we arrived we ordered several pizzas and 100 buffalo wings from Anchor Bar. Anchor Bar is where buffalo wings originated. Everyone enjoyed the buffalo wings and pizza, it was a great last dinner for the trip.
We hung out until the train arrived and then had a very relaxing ride on the train back to Chicago.
Dan Herrera “I want to say thanks to all my friends and family who supported me, and helped me along on the trip. Everyone was a huge help both physically, mentally, and financially. I want to say a special thanks to my parents for allowing me to go on this trip of a life time. I know it scared the heck out of them that I was doing this. Once again, thank you to all, and I had a ton of fun thanks to you.”
Brian Kilmer "This was a very different trip then the rest of the troop's campouts. The boys were great working together on the bike rides. Thanks for everyone who helped to make this trip a huge success."
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Two flat tires, one broken deraileur, one crash involving 3 scouts and we are now in Buffalo, New York. Jack Kish and Brian Alder had flat tires. Mr. Kilmer had a broken deraileur and is now riding the spare bike. The crash involved Mark Kennedy, Dan Herrera and Andrew Guevara. They are all now members of the skinned knee club. All of them are fine. Mark and Dan got too close and locked handlebars. They went down and took Andrew with them.
Last night the staff at Camp Merz ended up taking the scouts out tubing. The thunderstorm passed quickly allowing us to have some fun. We also watched movies (Pirates of the Caribbean) and played board games (Josh played Risk). The Camp was great!! They had dessert for us (brownies) and milk:). We slept great and let the scouts sleep in an hour to 6am.
The ride down the big hill was completely uneventful. Everyone made it down safely. The scouts were getting tired today. You could tell everyone has slowed down slightly.
The Naval Park is awesome!! The boys and adults are looking forward to sleeping on the ship. We are currently cooking dinner. We have the run of the ship tonight. They will show us movies and there is a flight simulator that all the scouts have had an opportunity to try out.
They have another fundraising party on the ship. As soon as they heard about us, they invited us to join them. Unfortunately they are drinking alcohol, so we declined.
Brian Alder “The hill was a slow hill.”
Michael Glass “The hill was disappointing. It was more fun going up.”
Shout out to the wives, we have the no shave rule in effect. Mr. Volk is starting to get wooly.
Getting the boys up in the morning is getting more difficult. Another sign they are getting tired.
Last night the staff at Camp Merz ended up taking the scouts out tubing. The thunderstorm passed quickly allowing us to have some fun. We also watched movies (Pirates of the Caribbean) and played board games (Josh played Risk). The Camp was great!! They had dessert for us (brownies) and milk:). We slept great and let the scouts sleep in an hour to 6am.
The ride down the big hill was completely uneventful. Everyone made it down safely. The scouts were getting tired today. You could tell everyone has slowed down slightly.
The Naval Park is awesome!! The boys and adults are looking forward to sleeping on the ship. We are currently cooking dinner. We have the run of the ship tonight. They will show us movies and there is a flight simulator that all the scouts have had an opportunity to try out.
They have another fundraising party on the ship. As soon as they heard about us, they invited us to join them. Unfortunately they are drinking alcohol, so we declined.
Brian Alder “The hill was a slow hill.”
Michael Glass “The hill was disappointing. It was more fun going up.”
Shout out to the wives, we have the no shave rule in effect. Mr. Volk is starting to get wooly.
Getting the boys up in the morning is getting more difficult. Another sign they are getting tired.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A couple things I left out:
Andy Hegg fell off his bike today. I don't know exactly what happened. He just fell. After falling he looked up and said "I got dirty". He was fine and the bike was fine. He didn't hit anything, he just fell off his bike.
Brian Alder stopped the entire troop to look at sports cars. There were a couple for sale that we stopped to look at. Before we left, the chase vehicle was there and another crew to look at the car.
Jake Kish "I hate hills"
We say 4 wild turkeys today. We rode by Lake Erie for most of the day. The views were great!!
8 of the scouts/adults made it up the 1400 foot hill without stopping.
The scouts are watching movies and playing games since we had a late day thunderstorm. Unfortunately the rappelling and skiing were cancelled.
Andy Hegg fell off his bike today. I don't know exactly what happened. He just fell. After falling he looked up and said "I got dirty". He was fine and the bike was fine. He didn't hit anything, he just fell off his bike.
Brian Alder stopped the entire troop to look at sports cars. There were a couple for sale that we stopped to look at. Before we left, the chase vehicle was there and another crew to look at the car.
Jake Kish "I hate hills"
We say 4 wild turkeys today. We rode by Lake Erie for most of the day. The views were great!!
8 of the scouts/adults made it up the 1400 foot hill without stopping.
The scouts are watching movies and playing games since we had a late day thunderstorm. Unfortunately the rappelling and skiing were cancelled.
We are in New York!! We crossed the border today from Ohio into Pennsylvannia and then from Pennsylvannia into New York.
Chris Alder is a pain in the shoulder!! He is putting on extra weight because he isn't exercising.
The big event of the day was the final 1400 foot hill we had to climb to make it to Camp Merz on Chautaugua Lake. The boys did a great job making it up the hill!! Mr. Alder was the first one up, I think he slept all the way up (in the sag wagon).
Everyone is doing great!! They are expecting thunderstorms tonight so we were not able to go repelling.
The Gagnons stopped by to see us today. They are heading to family in Buffalo. They brought cookies:) Thanks!!
Last night the scouts played a new game (Sideline Ball) with Troop 34 in Conneaut, Ohio. They also learned how to play Ambush which Mr. Price would be very good at!! Troop 34 will celebrate their 100 year anniversery in 2010. They were a great troop and have a lot going for them. They have a terrific church and feed us yesterday when we came in.
The camp we are at tonight has also invited us to their dinning hall. The boys are getting spoiled (only setup tents twice so far) and we have had several meals cooked for us.
A shout out to Mirt from Chris at Camp Merz!!
Also, A shout out to Darlene from Brian, Happy 20th Anniversary!!
Unfortunately, we will miss Mrs. Vensel. She had to leave the trip today because of a family issue. We will keep her in our prayers.
Have to run for dinner, talk to you later.
Chris Alder is a pain in the shoulder!! He is putting on extra weight because he isn't exercising.
The big event of the day was the final 1400 foot hill we had to climb to make it to Camp Merz on Chautaugua Lake. The boys did a great job making it up the hill!! Mr. Alder was the first one up, I think he slept all the way up (in the sag wagon).
Everyone is doing great!! They are expecting thunderstorms tonight so we were not able to go repelling.
The Gagnons stopped by to see us today. They are heading to family in Buffalo. They brought cookies:) Thanks!!
Last night the scouts played a new game (Sideline Ball) with Troop 34 in Conneaut, Ohio. They also learned how to play Ambush which Mr. Price would be very good at!! Troop 34 will celebrate their 100 year anniversery in 2010. They were a great troop and have a lot going for them. They have a terrific church and feed us yesterday when we came in.
The camp we are at tonight has also invited us to their dinning hall. The boys are getting spoiled (only setup tents twice so far) and we have had several meals cooked for us.
A shout out to Mirt from Chris at Camp Merz!!
Also, A shout out to Darlene from Brian, Happy 20th Anniversary!!
Unfortunately, we will miss Mrs. Vensel. She had to leave the trip today because of a family issue. We will keep her in our prayers.
Have to run for dinner, talk to you later.
Monday, August 3, 2009
I have been asked to put in a post on where to send a check if anyone wants to dontate to Juvenile Diabetes. You can make a check out to "ADA" or "American Diabetes Association" and mail it to my address at:
Troop 37
0N317 Feece Ct
Geneva, IL 60134
Below are several pictures from Jim Shultz.
Navigation meeting we have every day with the navigators and crew chiefs to talk about the route we will take the next day in detail.
Also, part of Crew 2 consisting of Mark Kennedy and Aaron Volk.
Part of Crew 2 consisting of Nick Crown, Dan Herrera, Joe Guevara, and Ron Volk.
Crew 3 consisting of Joshua Kilmer, Jake Kish, Chris Alder (before accident), Michael Glass, Jacob Haas and Ro Sparacio.
Crew 1 consisting of Mark Shultz, Andy Hegg, Brian Alder, Brian Kilmer, Alex Sparacio, and Blake Heslop.
This is Dan Herrera and Aaron Volk on the Dragster at Cedar Point. They are about to go 120 miles per hour.
Troop 37
0N317 Feece Ct
Geneva, IL 60134
Below are several pictures from Jim Shultz.
Navigation meeting we have every day with the navigators and crew chiefs to talk about the route we will take the next day in detail.
Also, part of Crew 2 consisting of Mark Kennedy and Aaron Volk.
Part of Crew 2 consisting of Nick Crown, Dan Herrera, Joe Guevara, and Ron Volk.
Crew 3 consisting of Joshua Kilmer, Jake Kish, Chris Alder (before accident), Michael Glass, Jacob Haas and Ro Sparacio. 
Crew 1 consisting of Mark Shultz, Andy Hegg, Brian Alder, Brian Kilmer, Alex Sparacio, and Blake Heslop.
This is Dan Herrera and Aaron Volk on the Dragster at Cedar Point. They are about to go 120 miles per hour.
It’s Monday night and we are in Conneaut, Ohio with Troop 34. Troop 34 is wonderful!! They made us a huge dinner when we arrived consisting of Spaghetti, Salad, Deviled Eggs, Fresh Fruit Salad, Italian Bread, Olives, Cake (4 types), Lemonade, and Potato Salad.
I forgot to mention last night that the two ladies (Mrs. Crown and Mrs. Haas) were locked in the laundry mat!! They made an agreement with the scouts that they will wash their clothes if the scouts detail Mrs. Crown car when they return to Geneva. Well, come to find out the laundry mat doors automatically lock at 9:00 pm. The doors lock so you cannot get in or get out. Mr. Volk came to their rescue by getting the back door open so they could get out. I do not know what Mr. Volk did, or if it was related to a previous life.
Another incident included Mr. Guevara while he attempted to take his shower in the outside shower stall. Someone apparently put toilet paper inside the nozzle which caused difficulties. In a desperate attempt to undo the shower head, he used his soiled underwear. Within seconds, the hose was like a fire hose spraying all over the place. To make matters worse, there was no one available to turn off the spicket which forced him to go across the parking lot half-naked!
This morning we had a late start. We slept in tents last night and it took the scouts a while to pack everything up, eat breakfast and be ready to leave. It took 3 hours. Unfortunately, their activity for today was to hang out at the beach for the afternoon. Because of the time we arrived, we were not able to go to the beach.
The church here is wonderful!! It is a gorgeous 100 year old church made out of sandstone and marble. It is huge!! The boy scouts have two rooms dedicated to them and a basketball court in the church. The scouts played basketball and some took naps.
Our plan tomorrow is for everyone to get up at 5:00am and get out as soon as possible. The activity tomorrow night is rappelling in a gorge (once we climb up an 8 mile incline on our bikes… joy to the world [this uplifting message brought to you by Aaron Volk]).
Dan Herrera: “I would like to say hello to my family and the newest member of my family, Lilly. And I hope that the human addition to my family comes soon. I love you Mom and Dad. I promise I will be careful coming down the steep hill.”
Andy Hegg: “I love to rub Mr. Guevara’s beard.”
Andrew Guevara: “The weeks are going by so fast, I can’t believe it’s already the 10th day! Hi to all my friends and family!”
Aaron Volk: “Mom, I don’t promise that I won’t be careful coming down the steep hill. I miss all you guys and look forward to coming home!”
I forgot to mention last night that the two ladies (Mrs. Crown and Mrs. Haas) were locked in the laundry mat!! They made an agreement with the scouts that they will wash their clothes if the scouts detail Mrs. Crown car when they return to Geneva. Well, come to find out the laundry mat doors automatically lock at 9:00 pm. The doors lock so you cannot get in or get out. Mr. Volk came to their rescue by getting the back door open so they could get out. I do not know what Mr. Volk did, or if it was related to a previous life.
Another incident included Mr. Guevara while he attempted to take his shower in the outside shower stall. Someone apparently put toilet paper inside the nozzle which caused difficulties. In a desperate attempt to undo the shower head, he used his soiled underwear. Within seconds, the hose was like a fire hose spraying all over the place. To make matters worse, there was no one available to turn off the spicket which forced him to go across the parking lot half-naked!
This morning we had a late start. We slept in tents last night and it took the scouts a while to pack everything up, eat breakfast and be ready to leave. It took 3 hours. Unfortunately, their activity for today was to hang out at the beach for the afternoon. Because of the time we arrived, we were not able to go to the beach.
The church here is wonderful!! It is a gorgeous 100 year old church made out of sandstone and marble. It is huge!! The boy scouts have two rooms dedicated to them and a basketball court in the church. The scouts played basketball and some took naps.
Our plan tomorrow is for everyone to get up at 5:00am and get out as soon as possible. The activity tomorrow night is rappelling in a gorge (once we climb up an 8 mile incline on our bikes… joy to the world [this uplifting message brought to you by Aaron Volk]).
Dan Herrera: “I would like to say hello to my family and the newest member of my family, Lilly. And I hope that the human addition to my family comes soon. I love you Mom and Dad. I promise I will be careful coming down the steep hill.”
Andy Hegg: “I love to rub Mr. Guevara’s beard.”
Andrew Guevara: “The weeks are going by so fast, I can’t believe it’s already the 10th day! Hi to all my friends and family!”
Aaron Volk: “Mom, I don’t promise that I won’t be careful coming down the steep hill. I miss all you guys and look forward to coming home!”
Unfortunately, we had an accident yesterday with one of the bikes. Mr. Alder will no longer be jumping man hole covers. Yes, our 50 year old child was trying to jump man hole covers with his bike. The bike came down, the front wheel twisted and he decided to become personnal friends with the road. He broke his collar bone. We spent last night at the hospital making sure there was nothing more serious.
Mr. Alder is done riding bikes but he will continue with us to Niagara Falls. We will drop him off in hotels at night. He will heel and we will talk to all the scouts today about safety. We inspected Chris's helmet and he did hit his head. The helmet took a blow to one side. Because he had his helmet on, he has no other injuries.
Outside of our bike accident yesterday was a great day. We only rode 25 miles. We spent most of the day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mark's aunt and uncle (Aunt Barb and Uncle Randy) stopped to see us in Cleveland. We had a 7 mile ride into the city, we rode by the Indians Stadium, Basketball Stadium (where the greatest player of all time plays - Lebron James), Federal Reserve Bank, Browns Stadium, Free Stamp, and other Cleveland attractions. We meet at a park next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had our Scout's own church service. The scouts did a great job.
We also did Roses, Buds, and Thorns. This is a tool to have the boys talk about what they liked (Roses), what they did not like (Thorns), and what they are looking forward to (Buds).
The Hall of Fame was great!! Ron Volk and I would have been willing to stay longer, but the scouts wanted to leave. We had a 18 mile ride to Eastlake, Ohio. The roads were clear on a Sunday and made it for easy riding if you avoid the man hole covers. It was along this ride that Mr. Alder had his accident.
We stayed at the Reformation Lutheran Church in tents in their backyard. There is a family restaurant right door where we all ate dinner. Once the tents were setup everyone went to bed.
Joe Guevara wants everyone to know he is going raw today (no underwear). I don't know why he wants everyone to know that. Bike shorts are made to not wear underwear.
I need to run over to pick up Mr. Alder, so I will post again tonight.
Mr. Alder is done riding bikes but he will continue with us to Niagara Falls. We will drop him off in hotels at night. He will heel and we will talk to all the scouts today about safety. We inspected Chris's helmet and he did hit his head. The helmet took a blow to one side. Because he had his helmet on, he has no other injuries.
Outside of our bike accident yesterday was a great day. We only rode 25 miles. We spent most of the day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mark's aunt and uncle (Aunt Barb and Uncle Randy) stopped to see us in Cleveland. We had a 7 mile ride into the city, we rode by the Indians Stadium, Basketball Stadium (where the greatest player of all time plays - Lebron James), Federal Reserve Bank, Browns Stadium, Free Stamp, and other Cleveland attractions. We meet at a park next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had our Scout's own church service. The scouts did a great job.
We also did Roses, Buds, and Thorns. This is a tool to have the boys talk about what they liked (Roses), what they did not like (Thorns), and what they are looking forward to (Buds).
The Hall of Fame was great!! Ron Volk and I would have been willing to stay longer, but the scouts wanted to leave. We had a 18 mile ride to Eastlake, Ohio. The roads were clear on a Sunday and made it for easy riding if you avoid the man hole covers. It was along this ride that Mr. Alder had his accident.
We stayed at the Reformation Lutheran Church in tents in their backyard. There is a family restaurant right door where we all ate dinner. Once the tents were setup everyone went to bed.
Joe Guevara wants everyone to know he is going raw today (no underwear). I don't know why he wants everyone to know that. Bike shorts are made to not wear underwear.
I need to run over to pick up Mr. Alder, so I will post again tonight.
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