Hello Friends of CC2C,
When we last left you we were en route to pick up from our skate endpoint in Portland, AR. We were planning on skating that evening from Portland to Crossett, AR which were about 25 miles apart but instead found ourselves on a roll (pun intended) and wound up skating about 75 miles all the way to El Dorado. We skated through the night on 82 which was amazingly void of cars and has the smoothest, cleanest shoulders I've ever seen. By skating in the middle of the night we were able to use a road that would otherwise be too busy to even be considered and it is the most direct route which saved us a lot of time and effort trying to find semi-paved backroads. We saw a good number of deer and a possum or two while we were out as well as an amazing array of stars and constellations. There have been a lot of Bigfoot sightings in western Arkansas so we're keeping an eye out for him while we're on the road. We had two conversations with the police while we were underway and the farther along we get the more shocked and supportive they are of our mission to get to California. One officer described our journey as being "like Forrest Gump on skateboards!" We rolled into El Dorado at 4:00 AM and checked into the Super 8 at 6:00AM so we were reserved through the day and the next night.
We made good use of our beds and slept till 2:00 when we rose for breakfast-lunch and promptly fell back asleep after. We rose from our exhausted sleep around 7:00 and hit the road. We made it to Magnolia around 1:30 AM after finding a few more hills in Arkansas than we had hoped and returned to our hotel to crash. In the morning we woke up to greet Shayne's grandparents who had been traveling cross country with their camper and met up with us at the hotel. They are outstandingly kind and supportive people who have gone so far as to deck their camper out with skateboarding emblems and information about Shayne and the website. We ate a delicious lunch at a local BBQ place called Cranky Frank's and chatted with his grandparents. Afterward we headed up to Delight, AR and have been enjoying the company and hospitality of Kris' family ever since. The more family we stay with the harder it is to leave, particularly this bunch who are kind, warm and welcoming. We've been getting in touch with Little Rock press since we're in the area and this is the biggest town we've been near in awhile. So far it looks good since we're foregoing our evening skate in order to be at the channel 4 station at 5:30AM tomorrow to be on the morning news show KARK 4 Today. Wish us luck and keep an eye out if you're in the area!
-The CC2C Crew
Monday, June 21, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Louisiana!
Hello Friends of CC2C!!
What a whirlwind day it has been. We are currently blogging for the first time while actually on the road with our new Verizon Air Card which in itself is pretty cool. Where are we blogging from you might ask yourself and the answer may surprise you as it has surprised us. Right now we are driving through the back country of Louisiana on our way back to Arkansas to pick up where we left off last night. Why are we in Louisiana? The day began in Greenwood, Mississippi with 9am temperatures reaching around 94 degrees. We had decided to not start early in the morning to give us more time to rest and plan our day trip to Jackson, Mississippi approximately 2 hours south of our location at the time. The main goal of that trip was to get Alex's wrist x-rayed to determine if in fact he had broken it. We departed around 11am after a glorious breakfast at the Holiday Inn and made our way south and east towards Jackson. Upon our arrival around 1:30pm we headed to the Central Mississippi Medical Center for the verdict on Alex's wrist. Fortunately the x-rays came back negative suggesting that he had suffered a severe sprain but no break which the group found relieving. After a short lunch at a local Chinese Buffet we headed into Jackson to beat the heat for the remainder of the day before hitting the road again in the hopes of making it to Crossett, AR before nightfall. Our route took us once again across the great Mississippi River into Louisiana in which we will follow highway 65 until we cross back into Arkansas. We should get a good few hours of skating in before night falls and the relentless swarms of blood-sucking mosquitoes attacks again. For now we are enjoying the scenery of beautiful Louisiana. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures of the CC2C Team!!!
What a whirlwind day it has been. We are currently blogging for the first time while actually on the road with our new Verizon Air Card which in itself is pretty cool. Where are we blogging from you might ask yourself and the answer may surprise you as it has surprised us. Right now we are driving through the back country of Louisiana on our way back to Arkansas to pick up where we left off last night. Why are we in Louisiana? The day began in Greenwood, Mississippi with 9am temperatures reaching around 94 degrees. We had decided to not start early in the morning to give us more time to rest and plan our day trip to Jackson, Mississippi approximately 2 hours south of our location at the time. The main goal of that trip was to get Alex's wrist x-rayed to determine if in fact he had broken it. We departed around 11am after a glorious breakfast at the Holiday Inn and made our way south and east towards Jackson. Upon our arrival around 1:30pm we headed to the Central Mississippi Medical Center for the verdict on Alex's wrist. Fortunately the x-rays came back negative suggesting that he had suffered a severe sprain but no break which the group found relieving. After a short lunch at a local Chinese Buffet we headed into Jackson to beat the heat for the remainder of the day before hitting the road again in the hopes of making it to Crossett, AR before nightfall. Our route took us once again across the great Mississippi River into Louisiana in which we will follow highway 65 until we cross back into Arkansas. We should get a good few hours of skating in before night falls and the relentless swarms of blood-sucking mosquitoes attacks again. For now we are enjoying the scenery of beautiful Louisiana. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures of the CC2C Team!!!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Arkansas
Hello CC2C friends,
This morning got off to an interesting start with the discovery of a flat tire on the Bulletproof Tiger aka the Volvo station wagon. It was inevitable that we get at least one flat on this trip with all the shoulders of roads, gravel and rocks we drive over and fortunately as far as flat tires go this was a Grade A situation since we were in the parking lot of our hotel. Definitely better than the middle of nowhere and with air conditioned rooms and a pool to keep us company till the tow truck arrived. By the time everything in the car was back in order it was the hot part of the day so we missed out on morning skating all together. Fortunately we were ahead of schedule anyway and still made it to our mile goal for the day with some evening skating. We crossed the mighty Mississippi, Shayne took a dip in it but then had to run from the Bull Sharks, and we all went to Arkansas for the first time. So far Arkansas seems to be really flat, which would be wonderful if we could find some back roads that are actually paved like they say on the map. Lots of rice paddies and lots of mosquitoes. When driving back to our hotel in Mississippi in the dark it sounded like we were going through a light rain from he noise of the bugs hitting the windshield. Tomorrow we plan to go back down to Jackson, Mississippi to get the skaters various aches and pains checked out and hopefully be able to follow through on some publicity opportunities since it is one of the larger cities in the state. Since it will be the weekend tomorrow we're hoping to be able to capitalize on different traffic patterns and use some bigger roads that we know are actually paved. Wish us luck!
-The CC2C Crew
This morning got off to an interesting start with the discovery of a flat tire on the Bulletproof Tiger aka the Volvo station wagon. It was inevitable that we get at least one flat on this trip with all the shoulders of roads, gravel and rocks we drive over and fortunately as far as flat tires go this was a Grade A situation since we were in the parking lot of our hotel. Definitely better than the middle of nowhere and with air conditioned rooms and a pool to keep us company till the tow truck arrived. By the time everything in the car was back in order it was the hot part of the day so we missed out on morning skating all together. Fortunately we were ahead of schedule anyway and still made it to our mile goal for the day with some evening skating. We crossed the mighty Mississippi, Shayne took a dip in it but then had to run from the Bull Sharks, and we all went to Arkansas for the first time. So far Arkansas seems to be really flat, which would be wonderful if we could find some back roads that are actually paved like they say on the map. Lots of rice paddies and lots of mosquitoes. When driving back to our hotel in Mississippi in the dark it sounded like we were going through a light rain from he noise of the bugs hitting the windshield. Tomorrow we plan to go back down to Jackson, Mississippi to get the skaters various aches and pains checked out and hopefully be able to follow through on some publicity opportunities since it is one of the larger cities in the state. Since it will be the weekend tomorrow we're hoping to be able to capitalize on different traffic patterns and use some bigger roads that we know are actually paved. Wish us luck!
-The CC2C Crew
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Crops, Sunsets and Bugs
Hello friends of CC2C!
We got another early start this morning and made our way through Greenwood, Mississippi. Although we had to improvise several alternate routes to get there the older, past its prime industrial boomtown was beautiful in the morning. Alex met with the staff from the Hampton Inn and they were kind enough to donate a room for the night so we checked in early and took a much needed siesta through the heat of the day. We are becoming semi-nocturnal to maximize our schedule for miles, publicity and enough rest since we're all starting to feel the effects of being over 1,000 miles into our trip. After having a Wal-mart dinner we skated through a beautiful landscape of crops against a setting sun to reach Indianola, our mileage goal for the day. There in abundance to welcome us to town were mosquitos. Lots of them. That then set up residence in the car. I think overall in the casualty roster between blood suckers and bitten skateboarders we came out about even for all of our bites since the front of the car and roof storage unit got a pretty thick layer of custom decoration from all the bugs out after dark. Tomorrow we're on the way to Greenville, our last stop in the state before we cross the Mississippi river.
Till tomorrow!
-The CC2C Crew
We got another early start this morning and made our way through Greenwood, Mississippi. Although we had to improvise several alternate routes to get there the older, past its prime industrial boomtown was beautiful in the morning. Alex met with the staff from the Hampton Inn and they were kind enough to donate a room for the night so we checked in early and took a much needed siesta through the heat of the day. We are becoming semi-nocturnal to maximize our schedule for miles, publicity and enough rest since we're all starting to feel the effects of being over 1,000 miles into our trip. After having a Wal-mart dinner we skated through a beautiful landscape of crops against a setting sun to reach Indianola, our mileage goal for the day. There in abundance to welcome us to town were mosquitos. Lots of them. That then set up residence in the car. I think overall in the casualty roster between blood suckers and bitten skateboarders we came out about even for all of our bites since the front of the car and roof storage unit got a pretty thick layer of custom decoration from all the bugs out after dark. Tomorrow we're on the way to Greenville, our last stop in the state before we cross the Mississippi river.
Till tomorrow!
-The CC2C Crew
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Route and Dates!
Hello CC2C Friends,
Here is our intended route and dates for the remainder of the trip. Remember that our schedule is highly subject to change since we are affected greatly by weather, terrain and traffic, but this should give you a pretty good idea. If you have any connections in these areas and would like to help please let us know!
MISSISSIPPI
Winnona - 6/16
Indianola - 6/17
Greenville - 6/18
ARKANSAS
Crosset - 6/19
El Dorado - 6/20
Texarkana - 6/21 and 6/22
TEXAS
Mt. Pleasant - 6/23
Greenville - 6/24
Dallas - 6/25
Fort Worth - 6/26
Graham - 6/27
Haskell - 6/28
Aspermont - 6/29
Post - 6/30
Brownfield - 7/1
Bronco/Tatum - 7/2
(Might see some changes through Texas for publicity and perhaps to visit military posts in San Antonio)
NEW MEXICO
Roswell - 7/3 and 7/4 (For the Fourth of July we can be flexible about driving to locations where we could do publicity events)
Lincoln - 7/5
Carrizozo - 7/6
Socorro - 7/7
Datil - 7/8
Quemado - 7/9
ARIZONA
Eagar - 7/10
Pinetop-Lakeside - 7/11
Heber - 7/12
Payson - 7/13
Camp Verde - 7/14
Prescott - 7/15
Congress - 7/16
Gladden - 7/17
Hope - 7/18
Parker - 7/19
(In Arizona we will be passing almost directly between Phoenix and Flagstaff which means we can make publicity events and interviews in either city)
CALIFORNIA
Rice- 7/20
Twentynine Palms - 7/21
Desert Hot Springs - 7/22
Moreno Valley - 7/23
Pomona - 7/24
Venice Beach! - 7/25
(The California towns are a very loose prediction and are likely to change when we get a better look at alternate routes through LA)
See you on the road!
-The CC2C Crew
Here is our intended route and dates for the remainder of the trip. Remember that our schedule is highly subject to change since we are affected greatly by weather, terrain and traffic, but this should give you a pretty good idea. If you have any connections in these areas and would like to help please let us know!
MISSISSIPPI
Winnona - 6/16
Indianola - 6/17
Greenville - 6/18
ARKANSAS
Crosset - 6/19
El Dorado - 6/20
Texarkana - 6/21 and 6/22
TEXAS
Mt. Pleasant - 6/23
Greenville - 6/24
Dallas - 6/25
Fort Worth - 6/26
Graham - 6/27
Haskell - 6/28
Aspermont - 6/29
Post - 6/30
Brownfield - 7/1
Bronco/Tatum - 7/2
(Might see some changes through Texas for publicity and perhaps to visit military posts in San Antonio)
NEW MEXICO
Roswell - 7/3 and 7/4 (For the Fourth of July we can be flexible about driving to locations where we could do publicity events)
Lincoln - 7/5
Carrizozo - 7/6
Socorro - 7/7
Datil - 7/8
Quemado - 7/9
ARIZONA
Eagar - 7/10
Pinetop-Lakeside - 7/11
Heber - 7/12
Payson - 7/13
Camp Verde - 7/14
Prescott - 7/15
Congress - 7/16
Gladden - 7/17
Hope - 7/18
Parker - 7/19
(In Arizona we will be passing almost directly between Phoenix and Flagstaff which means we can make publicity events and interviews in either city)
CALIFORNIA
Rice- 7/20
Twentynine Palms - 7/21
Desert Hot Springs - 7/22
Moreno Valley - 7/23
Pomona - 7/24
Venice Beach! - 7/25
(The California towns are a very loose prediction and are likely to change when we get a better look at alternate routes through LA)
See you on the road!
-The CC2C Crew
Mississippi Mud
Hello from Mississippi!
We crossed over the border yesterday into Colombus, MS through a summer storm that got us soaked but kept us cool. During the middle of the day and the heaviest part of the rain and wind we took shelter in the Holiday Inn Express that was kind enough to donate a room for the night. We are now in Winona, MS about halfway through the state and are extremely grateful to the Holiday Inn Express for yet another donated room in this town. We got up at 4:30 this morning to get on the road before the heat and traffic got to be too much. The alarm clock rang too early but its a good feeling to have 30 miles under your wheels before 10:30. The rains from the day before resulted in some mud on the roads and lots of horseflies to keep us company on the country roads. We had good luck in the morning with empty, smooth side roads but had some trouble finding alternate routes as we got close to Winona. Fortunately the main road into town had two lanes, high visibility and few cars so we were able to make good time. After an evening skate we're all feeling good and hoping to follow the same schedule tomorrow. But maybe without the horseflies.
-The CC2C Crew
We crossed over the border yesterday into Colombus, MS through a summer storm that got us soaked but kept us cool. During the middle of the day and the heaviest part of the rain and wind we took shelter in the Holiday Inn Express that was kind enough to donate a room for the night. We are now in Winona, MS about halfway through the state and are extremely grateful to the Holiday Inn Express for yet another donated room in this town. We got up at 4:30 this morning to get on the road before the heat and traffic got to be too much. The alarm clock rang too early but its a good feeling to have 30 miles under your wheels before 10:30. The rains from the day before resulted in some mud on the roads and lots of horseflies to keep us company on the country roads. We had good luck in the morning with empty, smooth side roads but had some trouble finding alternate routes as we got close to Winona. Fortunately the main road into town had two lanes, high visibility and few cars so we were able to make good time. After an evening skate we're all feeling good and hoping to follow the same schedule tomorrow. But maybe without the horseflies.
-The CC2C Crew
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sweet Home Alabama
Hello Friends of CC2C!!
What a long crazy day it has been. We arose with the sun bright and early at 5:30am to try and beat some of this Alabama heat that had taken its toll on the crew the day before. No longer are we going to try and ride through the middle of the day while the heat index is pushing past 105 degrees. However starting early seemed to work out nicely for us as we were able to knock out 25 miles from outside of Birmingham to about half way to Tuscaloosa. We then drove back to Birmingham to rest during the hottest part of the day and prepare for our night skate. We got a wonderful breakfast at the local hotspot, the Homewood Diner, which was exactly what we needed after 4 hours of morning skating. We met up with Bovine, our account manager, to pick up our air card which we will use to update the site and blog while out and about on the long weary road. After planning out our route for the next two weeks at a local Books-A-Million, we decided to head out towards Tuscaloosa during a late afternoon thunderstorm which cooled us off a couple degrees. We arrived around 5:30pm and took a quick tour of the town driving through the Crimson Tide clad school and business districts. We stopped off for a bite to eat at Los Calientes Mexican Grille and enjoyed some much needed comfort food. America's Best Value ended up being our hotel for the evening and pre-nightskate rest. Departing from Tuscaloosa we ended going about 15 miles from the city before it had gotten too dark. Now we reside back at the hotel, lounging and regaining our energy. Tomorrow's gonna be an early one as well so it's off to sleep!
CC2C Team
What a long crazy day it has been. We arose with the sun bright and early at 5:30am to try and beat some of this Alabama heat that had taken its toll on the crew the day before. No longer are we going to try and ride through the middle of the day while the heat index is pushing past 105 degrees. However starting early seemed to work out nicely for us as we were able to knock out 25 miles from outside of Birmingham to about half way to Tuscaloosa. We then drove back to Birmingham to rest during the hottest part of the day and prepare for our night skate. We got a wonderful breakfast at the local hotspot, the Homewood Diner, which was exactly what we needed after 4 hours of morning skating. We met up with Bovine, our account manager, to pick up our air card which we will use to update the site and blog while out and about on the long weary road. After planning out our route for the next two weeks at a local Books-A-Million, we decided to head out towards Tuscaloosa during a late afternoon thunderstorm which cooled us off a couple degrees. We arrived around 5:30pm and took a quick tour of the town driving through the Crimson Tide clad school and business districts. We stopped off for a bite to eat at Los Calientes Mexican Grille and enjoyed some much needed comfort food. America's Best Value ended up being our hotel for the evening and pre-nightskate rest. Departing from Tuscaloosa we ended going about 15 miles from the city before it had gotten too dark. Now we reside back at the hotel, lounging and regaining our energy. Tomorrow's gonna be an early one as well so it's off to sleep!
CC2C Team
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Anniston, AL
Hello!
After coming to the end of the paved, flat Silver Comet and Chief Ladiga Trails we found ourselves in Anniston, Alabama. We stopped at the Goal Post to try the BBQ that made the list of 100 things to eat in Alabama before you die and met the owner Lamar. The food lived up to its hype and Lamar was kind enough to help us get a deal on lodging in town at the Victoria Inn. We were told to check out the local bike and skate shop Wig's Wheels in downtown Anniston. It was great to meet to owner and he was kind enough to give Erin's bike a tune up and told us about a big skate event that was planned for the next day at the Jacksonville skate park. Since Kris Markovich was going to be there and we were still hoping to make press engagements we decided to stay the night. We went to check out the skate park and enjoyed meeting much of the local skate community. One such local was Jessica, who was kind enough to let us camp in her yard in beautiful rural Alabama for the night.
We were up at first light to head back to town for an interview at the WHOG radio station with the "Mon-E Man." We had a good long chat on air and went outside to find the Anniston Farmer's Market in full swing and packed with delicious produce. Playing live music was Harold Hall, owner of the local bar and grill Heros that was dedicated to celebrating military service members. The skate show started at 1 and we got to see skate pros do what they do best and shared our cause with Kris Markovitch. From there we hit the beautiful backroads on our way to Birmingham and will shore up for the night in Lincoln and will be in Birmingham before noon tomorrow where we have an interview in the works with ABC 33/40.
So far we've all been pretty impressed with Alabama's beautiful countryside and hospitality.
Goodnight!
-The CC2C Crew
After coming to the end of the paved, flat Silver Comet and Chief Ladiga Trails we found ourselves in Anniston, Alabama. We stopped at the Goal Post to try the BBQ that made the list of 100 things to eat in Alabama before you die and met the owner Lamar. The food lived up to its hype and Lamar was kind enough to help us get a deal on lodging in town at the Victoria Inn. We were told to check out the local bike and skate shop Wig's Wheels in downtown Anniston. It was great to meet to owner and he was kind enough to give Erin's bike a tune up and told us about a big skate event that was planned for the next day at the Jacksonville skate park. Since Kris Markovich was going to be there and we were still hoping to make press engagements we decided to stay the night. We went to check out the skate park and enjoyed meeting much of the local skate community. One such local was Jessica, who was kind enough to let us camp in her yard in beautiful rural Alabama for the night.
We were up at first light to head back to town for an interview at the WHOG radio station with the "Mon-E Man." We had a good long chat on air and went outside to find the Anniston Farmer's Market in full swing and packed with delicious produce. Playing live music was Harold Hall, owner of the local bar and grill Heros that was dedicated to celebrating military service members. The skate show started at 1 and we got to see skate pros do what they do best and shared our cause with Kris Markovitch. From there we hit the beautiful backroads on our way to Birmingham and will shore up for the night in Lincoln and will be in Birmingham before noon tomorrow where we have an interview in the works with ABC 33/40.
So far we've all been pretty impressed with Alabama's beautiful countryside and hospitality.
Goodnight!
-The CC2C Crew
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Enter the Realm of the Blog
Hello friends of CC2C!
We finally got our blog set up and will be putting up (hopefully) daily posts about where we are and what we've been up to. Currently we are staying with family in Marietta and doing a few press releases in Atlanta. Yesterday we discovered the Silver Comet Trail which is miles and miles of beautiful pavement from Atlanta to the middle of Alabama and spent the day enjoying stress free skating. If you're in the Atlanta area keep an eye out for us on either Fox or CBS tonight and tomorrow!
-The CC2C Crew
We finally got our blog set up and will be putting up (hopefully) daily posts about where we are and what we've been up to. Currently we are staying with family in Marietta and doing a few press releases in Atlanta. Yesterday we discovered the Silver Comet Trail which is miles and miles of beautiful pavement from Atlanta to the middle of Alabama and spent the day enjoying stress free skating. If you're in the Atlanta area keep an eye out for us on either Fox or CBS tonight and tomorrow!
-The CC2C Crew
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