Pedal Trans-America 2008: Powerfully Smelling Onions

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.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Powerfully Smelling Onions

Is apparently the meaning of "Chicago." Wow. Our first night in the city we went to a pub with Uncle Tommy (though a pub deemed not authentically Irish by the two full-blooded Sons of Erin who were my companions), followed by a tour of the city by water at sunset. We dined on vegan delights at the Chicago Diner, and finished the evening off at a nice little place in Boys' Town known as Hop Leaf. The second night we explored the northern neighborhoods with some friends of mine from school, and later on went out to all you can eat Sushi and a short-form improv show at Comedy Sportz, one of Chicago's many improv theaters. Thanks to my good buddy Neal for giving us a place to stay. Day three we mostly lazed about in Neal's apartment eating hummus sandwiches, before getting it together in the afternoon to go check out Millenium Park and the Art Institute. After that we didn't have long to wait before Chicago's fireworks display over Lake Michigan (they do it on the night of the third), which was awesome. Then we hopped on the train back to the south shore and spent one last night at Willis and Ginger's place.