A message from the Connecticut Burns Care Foundation

Ryan and Dwight hope to raise $10,000 to support the burn camp, which will host 70 children between the ages of 8 and 18. They are determined to reach the West Coast as a personal challenge as well as helping young burn survivors.

Started in 1991, the Arthur C. Luf Children's Burn Camp is located in northern Connecticut on 176 acres. Every summer, burn survivors come to the burn camp, which is a safe and fun environment that helps kids heal emotionally and physically. The Burn Camp is free to the children, who come primarily from the Northeast and some foreign counteries, but any burn survivor child anywhere is welcome. More than 70 adult counselors, primarily active and retired firefighters and burn unit nurses, occupational and physical therapists, child psychologists and even a doctor will serve as mentors for the week.

It's also our goal to promote burn awareness and fire prevention and education, which we do year around. We sponsor a burn survivor, burned in a car accident that involved speeding and drinking alcohol, who speaks to high school students throughout Connecticut. We also support the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital, helping to purchase equipment.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Where is Paradise?

It's on Route 462 in Pennsylvania between York and Gettysburg. Who knew? They probably put it there so that all those fallen soldiers wouldn't have too far to walk. Yesterday we road 58 miles from just east of Lancaster to Gettysburg. In Lancaster we went to a bike shop called Cycle Circle, to have some body take a look at Rosalita's chain action, as she had been temperamental about shifting gears, recently, and the rear wheel, according to Ryan, needed to be "trued." Tom, a true bicycle artisan, revealed things I had never known about Rosie's history, among other things evidence of a past accident in the displacement of her rear stays (I got Rosalita used at at an ABC tagsale in Madison, not knowing, until now, anything about her traumatic past). Tom noted that Rosie was not your typical touring bike, having only a two-ring crank and no aluminum wheels. Ryan told Rosie not to listen, and that she was a beautiful lady. Tom made some adjustments to make Rosie's unique anatomy work, and wished us luck on our journey.
On our way west we passed a small parade of evangelists, waving white flags and ringing bells as they yelled "praise the lord!" Some of them had some pretty sweet tattoos. They shouted encouragements at us as we rode by.

We fell upon the mercy of strangers, once again, for a place to sleep in Gettysburg, and through friends of new friends (Ryan's doing, once again) we found lodging with a fellow named Adrian, who is super nice and whose walls are covered with beautiful paintings by his own hand. Thanks to The Katies, Chelsea, and Adrian for taking care of us, and Katie V. for the wonderful cards she made us. Gettysburg is good people.

Week one is up, New Haven, CT to Gettysburg, PA. Almost 300 miles and we have suffered no flats, knock on wood.
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