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.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Hank the Tank

After our stop in Emden we continued on to Easton, IL where we met up with a great rain storm, at first. Then the lightening started and it wasn't long before the lightening was striking right next to us. We came to the decision that we should stop riding and look for the next porch available to take cover under. The next porch happened to be guarded by Hank the tank, a very territorial 100 lb. male, fawn, boxer. We didn't know of his presence until we were halfway down the driveway and it was too late to go back. He was barking violently, slobbering everywhere and stayed within ten feet of us, watching our every move, as we tip-toed to the front door. His head, chest and paws were massive.

Hank the Tank

We finally got to the front door to be greeted by Dorris and she invited us into her house to take shelter from the lightening storm. We talked with Dorris and played with her cat to pass the time during the storm, she even made us some food as the lightening persisted.


When it looked like it had cleared up (around 6pm) we checked the weather channel to discover that there was only going to be a brief break in the storm and scattered thunderstorms were going to continue all night. Dorris and her husband invited us to stay the night, take showers and she washed our dirty laundry for us. She let us help ourselves to some breakfast in the morning and left us with some provisions for the road ahead.

She is a great example of the awesome people we're running into on this trip.
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