Peter and Hanneh go to Florida!

Name: Hanneh Shiheiber
Date: 3/8/13 - 3/15/13
Destination: Panama City Beach, Florida
Latitude and longitude coordinates: 30.1764 N, 85.8056 W
Road Trip Miles: 1324
Total trip miles: 7,317.36 miles

I went to Panama City Beach, Florida from March 8 to March 15. Panama City Beach, Florida was founded on May 2, 1936. The city received its name because it was the nearest American port to the newly opened Panama Canal. In 1935, Gideon Thomas built the Panama City Hotel because he saw great potential in the area for tourism. Many people criticized his vision and said no one would come to beach because it is not attractive. Thomas responded to saying, “I’m not attempting to grow vegetables here; I’m trying to grow people.” Today, Panama City Beach is a vacation spot for travelers all over the world.

Taylor and Jonathan's Journey

Name: Taylor A. Cheatham.
Date: May 1st-May 6th, 2013
Destination: Carbondale, Illinois
Road Trip Miles:16
Total Miles:2621

I went to my apartment which is a few miles off campus with Jonathan, and back, which entailed a long, trecherous journey of about 16 miles in total. 8 miles there, 8 miles back. It was quite the grueling test. Through long hours on the road, walking many miles along the way, we were able to successfully make it there and back without any sort of problem.

Jonathan Heads to Ol' (West) Virginny

Name: Evan Noffke
Date: March 9 through March 16, 2013
Destination: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Latitude: 37.7939 N
Longitude: 80.3036 W
Road Trip Miles: 1198
Total Miles: 2605

Sit, my brethren, and I shall wind a tale.  On March 9th, 2013 at 5:00 AM, Jonathan and Evan embarked on an epic journey the likes of which have rarely been seen by man, be they ancient or modern.  The two stalwart companions had at last come of age, and their wonderlust had pushed them to leave the town of Carbondale, Illinois for the greener hills of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.  Within the robust Chevy Tahoe, amongst a fellowship of men and womenfolk alike, the duo crossed many miles of terrain both rugged and rolling.  The quest this band of students was on was unlike any Spring Break odyssey that had yet been undertaken by any member of the humble fellowship.  For 'twas a mission ordained by the gods themselves which lead them to West Virginia, seeking to offer their hardy services to Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization which constructed affordable housing for those in need.

Upon arrival in the mountain town, the company of volunteers were to meet yet another travel-wary company who hailed from the eastern lands of Pennsylvania.  The same quest had brought this band of men and women to West Virginia.  Work was to begin in the morning.

For five long days, the league of volunteers toiled under the sky. Whether it spit snow or shined bright with the sun's mid-day rays, Jonathan and his companions put up siding, soffit, mounted plumbing fixtures of brass, and painted.  Upon the sixth day, the company's overlords allowed the humble volunteers a day of freedom to explore the region.

Jonathan and his brethren headed into the Allegheny Mountains, seeking a cave which legend told held many treasures.  After a long trip, they arrived at their destination: Lost World Caverns.  The ancient, sprawling caverns contained a bevy of both stalagtites and stalagmites, the majesty of which was unmatched by anything young Jonathan had seen before.  The beauty of this places was immense but alas the beauty only made him think of his home, Wham.  He and his friends knew it was time to voyage home.  In the wee hours of March 16th, 2013, the companions embarked back from whence they came.  Satisfied with the effort to help those less fortunate than themselves, Jonathan and Evan returned at last to Wham.  Some say you can still hear the two's whispers within the corridors.

Of interesting note:  White Sulphur Springs is home to a massive resort called The Greenbrier.  The Greenbrier was opened in 1858 to cater to the wealthy of Virginia's lowlands.  The Greenbrier hosts a professional golf event known as the Greenbrier Classic which attracts some of the largest names in golf.  Also, underneath The Greenbrier lies a massive bunker, designated as the site that the president would have been sent in the event of a nuclear war (this was during the Cold War).  At some point, the secret location was leaked to the press, and tours of the bunker now serve as an activity to the resorts guests.  Although I have no picture of Jonathan with The Greenbrier, I'll include a few pictures.

Michael Neilsson and doggy, William Penn go to Houston

I went to Houston to visit my sister for a long weekend.  I took William along and showed him some of the flavor of "Big Texas."  While in Houston, we hung out with my sister and when it was time to go out, William stayed home.  During my trip, I was able to go to a Saint Arnold's brewery.  At the brewery, people bring food and games to play in a big convention type room.  I would recommend the brewery to any travelers visiting Houston.  We traveled 1800 miles by driving to and from St. Louis and then flying to and from St. Louis and Houston.  I was in Houston April 11- April 13.

Navy pier with William :-)

During the week of January 29,2013 William Penn traveled from 625 Wham drive Carbondale IL, to Bolingbrook IL.(329 Miles)

From Bolingbrook IL, William and i decided to go to Navy Pier in Chicago it.(600 East Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611 35.8 miles) For a total of 71.6 miles, there and back.

Finally it was time for William and I to head back to Carbondale IL. (329 miles)

For a total of 729.6 miles.

Jonathan's trip to the Hill of Walnuts

Name:  Tina Havrilka
Date:  April 11-16, 2013
Destination:  Walnut Hill, IL
Latitude: 38.4772 N
Longitude:  89.0433 W
Round Trip Miles: 159.6
Total Miles: 567

Tina and I attended science and math class before we left that Thursday evening.  I listened in and learned about algebraic equations and how to solve them.  It was dark when we finally left Wham, but I kept Tina safe!  When we got to the car I found out that we were going to a place called Walnut Hill.  Tina chose Walnut Hill because she wanted to take me to a town called Centralia.  This is a town in Illinois where a man that worked for one of the Presidents a long time ago was from.  This man was special because he helped save President Ronald Reagan's life.

It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Tina's house.  It was a long drive but I helped her watch for deer along the way.  When we got there it was very late so we went straight to bed because Tina and I had to wake up early in the morning to take the children to school.
Liz goes to a school in a town called Breese so she rides a bus from Sandoval.

Once Liz was dropped off Tina took me to Centralia to take her son Gabe to his school.  Gabe is funny.  He scratched me behind my ears and tried to sneak me out of the car to take to school for show and tell.
Our next adventure was on Sunday.  Tina, Gabe and I drove back to the Carbondale area to attend a special dinner with some of the other people that are going to be teachers.  I got to have my picture taken with a buffalo.  I was scared of it at first, but when it didn't move it wasn't so scary.

The dinner was delicious.  It was fried chicken.  Gabe was very well behaved that night and offered to share his cupcake with me but we thought it would be best if we didn't.
When the dinner was finished, we still had a long night ahead of us because we had to leave Giant City Lodge and head to Breese to pick up Liz before we could go back to their house.
The next time we left, it was so Tina could take the kids to school again.  She didn't have much time to play with me while I visited because when she wasn't driving, she was doing homework.  Finally on Tuesday morning, we headed back to Carbondale after dropping Liz off in Mt. Vernon to catch the bus to school.

St. Louis Color Run and Fitz's American Grill and Bottling Works

Name: Taylor & William (dog)

Miles: 224

Location: The Color Run- St. Lous (Poelker and Kauffman Park Area  The intersection of 14th Street and 13th Street and Chestnut Street Downtown St. Louis, MO and Fitz's American Grill &  Bottling Works, Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis, MO

Description:  William and I were excited to be spending the weekend in St. Louis. We left Southern Illinois late Friday night and drove up to  St. Louis. We had made arrangements to stay at a friends house near where my race would start. Knowing we had to get up early, we went to sleep right when we arrived in at our friends house. The next morning, we were up bright and early to get to my race. As soon as we arrive to Poelker and Kauffman Park Area, I left William in the car so he would not get all messy from the color run. It ended up being a very rainy day, so I was covered with different colors and it was a big mess. It was great to be apart of this color run because it fundraised money for research for Autism. After the race, William and I decided to get some lunch at Fitz's American Grill and Bottling Works. This restaurant was very interesting and had a lot of tasty selections. This restaurant is famous for their root beer float and root beer BBQ flavoring. William and I made sure to order different selections so we could try many dishes. After lunch, we started our trip back home with our bellies full.