Hi Friends,
Just a brief update; its late and while a few weeks ago, my late night stamina was that of a college student... Now, I can barely stay awake past eleven after a day of skating.
Some stories to come tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here are some interesting stats to date regarding our efforts.
240- The number of miles skated.
80 - The weight of the pitbull in pounds that chased us for nearly 500 yards.
34- Emails to RollingForAutism today. Things are heating up.
27- The number of media appearances we've had a mere one week into our trip.
This means two things; first, our media team is doing a great job.
Second, and more importantly, we are succeeding in acheiving our
goal of working towards promoting autism awareness.
16- The number of strokes Orto took playing two holes on the golf course today.
A par three, followed by a par four.
8-We saw eight aligators during our South Carolina golf cart gator hunt this
evening. Details to follow.
4- The number of blisters on Orto's right foot.
2- We've eaten two home cooked meals since we've left. Thank you Diana and
Jennifer.
1- Minutes before I fall asleep.
Check in tomorrow.
Bests,
Dan T.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Happy 4th
I want to take the opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy Independence Day. We appreciate all of the emails, postings, and well wishes. Its great to hear from everyone.
Keep the donations coming...we've been able to see some great programs that are really providing some special services to individuals impacted by autism. I cannot wait to support these great programs and the people they help.
Again, Happy Fourth!
-Dan T.
Keep the donations coming...we've been able to see some great programs that are really providing some special services to individuals impacted by autism. I cannot wait to support these great programs and the people they help.
Again, Happy Fourth!
-Dan T.
Day 2 in Savannah
Yesterday in Savannah involved meeting with children at the Matthew Reardon Center courtesy of Hellen. Seeing the joy that was brought to the faces of these children by our appearance and news about our project was unbelievable; it really confirms every reason for this journey. While at the Matthew Reardon Center, also, Sean and I spoke with a WTOC news anchor about our project and our future endeavors. After that we returned to the hotel for a quick nap before hitting the pavement for another 40 mile day. It was a rather uneventful skate, only coming across two dogs that even made haphazard attempts to chase us. We were prepared this time, however, with some weapons of our own if the dogs did chase us down this day. The roads that we skated on were nice and smooth with relatively little traffic. We skated past a beautiful country club and I wanted to hit the links quite badly. The most eventful occurrence during the day was when a local heaved a metal tire pressure gauge directly past my head and dorve off yelling. I was furious, but there was nothing I could do.
This morning was more of the same as yesterday, a rather uneventful 20 miles of skating. Today my knees hurt badly, but the guys were there for support and helped me along for the entire trip today. We saw another beautiful golf course on our way today and I wondered to myself where the courses like these are near my house. The crew wrapped up 20 miles, and at a feverish pace (20+ miles in 90 minutes). I don't know how much longer I can keep up paces like that, but I will certainly try and see how things go.
Jason O.
This morning was more of the same as yesterday, a rather uneventful 20 miles of skating. Today my knees hurt badly, but the guys were there for support and helped me along for the entire trip today. We saw another beautiful golf course on our way today and I wondered to myself where the courses like these are near my house. The crew wrapped up 20 miles, and at a feverish pace (20+ miles in 90 minutes). I don't know how much longer I can keep up paces like that, but I will certainly try and see how things go.
Jason O.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Savannah Day One
Hi Friends,
Before reading this blog, please read yesterday's posting by Sean....
Yesterday's dog races were certainly eventful. I am the first to confess that I am the slowest skater among the four, and therefore, probably the easiest feast for a hungry pit bull. However, Sean noted that by the end of the day, it seemed interesting to him that the other boys were all sprinting frantically and I seemed to remain cool while being chased by the dogs. Well, to clear things up, unlike the other four skaters, I am not scared of miniature poodles. While the first dog certainly was viscous and probably hungry for "rollerblader," the miniature poodle that chased us across the finish line was friendly, playful, and cuddly. I was behind everyone not because I am a slow skater, but because I stayed behind to pet the nice puppy.
We arrived at Savannah early this morning to appear on Fox's morning show, "am Awake." Carson and I sat in the living room looking set fielding questions from the morning show anchor, Trish with Sean and Orto watching from the station's waiting room.
We next headed to Savannah's Jewish Center to play floor hockey with a group of campers. Orto and I captained the "Sharks" along with six teammates, and Sean and Carson played for the "Cougars." After a hard played game, the sharks prevailed by a goal. A great time was had by all.
Our last stop of the day was at Smooth Smoothie Shop in downtown Savannah. Lynne Javetz organized the event, and it gave us the opportunity to meet several local families impacted by autism. These events are always special, as it gives us the chance to speak with the kids, parents, and siblings of individuals from each area impacted by Autism. A big thank you to Susan from Smooth for putting on the event. If you're from the Savannah area, make sure to check out her place on Wright Square.
Heading out for a bit...
Bests,
Dan T.
Before reading this blog, please read yesterday's posting by Sean....
Yesterday's dog races were certainly eventful. I am the first to confess that I am the slowest skater among the four, and therefore, probably the easiest feast for a hungry pit bull. However, Sean noted that by the end of the day, it seemed interesting to him that the other boys were all sprinting frantically and I seemed to remain cool while being chased by the dogs. Well, to clear things up, unlike the other four skaters, I am not scared of miniature poodles. While the first dog certainly was viscous and probably hungry for "rollerblader," the miniature poodle that chased us across the finish line was friendly, playful, and cuddly. I was behind everyone not because I am a slow skater, but because I stayed behind to pet the nice puppy.
We arrived at Savannah early this morning to appear on Fox's morning show, "am Awake." Carson and I sat in the living room looking set fielding questions from the morning show anchor, Trish with Sean and Orto watching from the station's waiting room.
We next headed to Savannah's Jewish Center to play floor hockey with a group of campers. Orto and I captained the "Sharks" along with six teammates, and Sean and Carson played for the "Cougars." After a hard played game, the sharks prevailed by a goal. A great time was had by all.
Our last stop of the day was at Smooth Smoothie Shop in downtown Savannah. Lynne Javetz organized the event, and it gave us the opportunity to meet several local families impacted by autism. These events are always special, as it gives us the chance to speak with the kids, parents, and siblings of individuals from each area impacted by Autism. A big thank you to Susan from Smooth for putting on the event. If you're from the Savannah area, make sure to check out her place on Wright Square.
Heading out for a bit...
Bests,
Dan T.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Man's Best Friend....Not Today
“You don’t have to outrun the bear, you only have to outrun your friend”
The fourth day of skating began on a hot Georgia morning. While Dan, Carson and I strapped on our skates to start the journey, Jason held down driving responsibilities. It was shaping up to be a good day and for the first mile of our skate, everything was fantastic... then it happened. As we approached the first driveway of the day, we heard something moving in the bushes. As I looked to my left, I saw something sprinting at me...and the chase was on.
I cannot recall the type of dog that emerged from the bushes; lets just say it was big and headed straight for us. We took off in a frantic sprint. I must take a moment and be thankful for the 20 some odd years I have played hockey, as my ability to skate lightening fast helped me in this dilemma.
I almost forgot, when I say we took off in a mad sprint... well two of us did. Unfortunately, being the fastest skater on the team is not a prerequisite to play goaltender in ice hockey. Everyone knows Dan was a goalie in college, and therefore, not exactly the fastest skater on the ice. As Carson and I escaped, the dog bit at Dan's ankles for about fifty long yards. Fortunatly for Dan, he escaped with both of his feet still attached.
The remainder of my skate turned out to be fairly eventful. I had the last driving shift of the day, and therefore, was delegated the responsibilty of filming the boys as they crossed the finish line for the day. I sped ahead in the red rocket (our van) so that I could film the boys coming at me as they finished the last mile. I parked the van, picked up the camera, and looked through the lens. It appeared as if the boys were in an all out sprint. My initial reaction was that the camera was set on fast forward...it wasnt.
I thought to myself that their blistering pace was a little fast for the last mile of a 30 mile skate. I looked again, and sure enough it was another dog chase. As expected, Carson led the pack with a brisk pace, followed by Jason who was screaming like a little girl, and poor goaltender Dan bringing up the rear.
In all fairness to Dan, he didn’t seem to be skating that hard. Quite possibly he was fed up with dogs, it was the 5th chase of the day (4 dogs, 1 coyote). Maybe he was thinking of turning around to challenge the dog, but I doubt it. Only Dan could tell you what happened. Email him (dan@rollingforautism.com), he won't say anything to the three of us...
It was an interesting day and tomorrow is sure to bring more excitement. Make sure to read the blog tomorrow, as we have an interesting day planned in Savannah, Georgia.
Thanks and hope all is well
Sean S.
PS.
Does anyone know why dogs are not chained or fenced in Georgia? Please post a response to our blog if you have any ideas!!!!
The fourth day of skating began on a hot Georgia morning. While Dan, Carson and I strapped on our skates to start the journey, Jason held down driving responsibilities. It was shaping up to be a good day and for the first mile of our skate, everything was fantastic... then it happened. As we approached the first driveway of the day, we heard something moving in the bushes. As I looked to my left, I saw something sprinting at me...and the chase was on.
I cannot recall the type of dog that emerged from the bushes; lets just say it was big and headed straight for us. We took off in a frantic sprint. I must take a moment and be thankful for the 20 some odd years I have played hockey, as my ability to skate lightening fast helped me in this dilemma.
I almost forgot, when I say we took off in a mad sprint... well two of us did. Unfortunately, being the fastest skater on the team is not a prerequisite to play goaltender in ice hockey. Everyone knows Dan was a goalie in college, and therefore, not exactly the fastest skater on the ice. As Carson and I escaped, the dog bit at Dan's ankles for about fifty long yards. Fortunatly for Dan, he escaped with both of his feet still attached.
The remainder of my skate turned out to be fairly eventful. I had the last driving shift of the day, and therefore, was delegated the responsibilty of filming the boys as they crossed the finish line for the day. I sped ahead in the red rocket (our van) so that I could film the boys coming at me as they finished the last mile. I parked the van, picked up the camera, and looked through the lens. It appeared as if the boys were in an all out sprint. My initial reaction was that the camera was set on fast forward...it wasnt.
I thought to myself that their blistering pace was a little fast for the last mile of a 30 mile skate. I looked again, and sure enough it was another dog chase. As expected, Carson led the pack with a brisk pace, followed by Jason who was screaming like a little girl, and poor goaltender Dan bringing up the rear.
In all fairness to Dan, he didn’t seem to be skating that hard. Quite possibly he was fed up with dogs, it was the 5th chase of the day (4 dogs, 1 coyote). Maybe he was thinking of turning around to challenge the dog, but I doubt it. Only Dan could tell you what happened. Email him (dan@rollingforautism.com), he won't say anything to the three of us...
It was an interesting day and tomorrow is sure to bring more excitement. Make sure to read the blog tomorrow, as we have an interesting day planned in Savannah, Georgia.
Thanks and hope all is well
Sean S.
PS.
Does anyone know why dogs are not chained or fenced in Georgia? Please post a response to our blog if you have any ideas!!!!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Day 3 on the Road . . .
Yesterday we got off to a late start, since we were at the HEAL gala at TPC Sawgrass until late. It started off great, with the exception of my wheels breaking down far faster than they should. We were rolling along on Route 17 for a while, until we got near 95 and then the traffic got so bad we had to pull of the road for a bit. After that, we found Jekyll Island and skated the remainder of the 40 miles for yesterday. We learned our lesson; don't skate during rush hour in the afternoon. The view was great along the ocean while we were skating on Jekyll Island, but we were extremely tired from the first day that it took us a lot longer than anticipated, about an extra half hour of skating. We finally finished skating yesterday at about 8 o'clock and then drove to Brunswick, GA for the evening. We felt worn down and decided to get some pasta dinners (I had a shrimp salad) at Applebees in Brunswick before hitting the pillow to prepare for the next day at about 10.
Today we hit the pavement for another challenging day of skating. We let ourselves sleep in just a little bit, opting to start skating between 10 and 10:30 rather than 6 in the morning. I think that it was a good choice to let our bodied recharge a bit after the difficult skate we had yesterday evening. We had to drive about 30 miles to catch up to the point where we were yesterday, which was right in the beginning part of Darien, Georgia. The day began with Tatar, Strang, and myself hitting the road and letting Streich relax for the first bit. We cruised out to a nice pace (which I regretted about 17 miles into the trip today) and hit nothing but nice weather the entire way and little traffic. The cars that we did see along the way were honking and cheering when they drove past. I couldn't tell if they were honking because they were mad at us for skating on the road or because they were supporting us. Once I hit around 17 miles into the trip today, my legs kind of gave out and I had no energy left to continue and simply drove ahead and filmed the guys as they crossed the finish line; the team skated 30 miles today. Afterwards, we backtracked to Darien, GA (we passed it while skating) to check into the hotel. We had about 15 minutes to spare, so we decided to go across the street and eat at Smokey Joe's Bar-B-Q Shack. Tatar and Streich headed to the beach for the afternoon to relax and get some work done there, but Strang and myself opted to stay around the hotel and get some stuff done. We'll be sure to check in after tomorrow's skate.
Still Rolling,
Jason O.
Today we hit the pavement for another challenging day of skating. We let ourselves sleep in just a little bit, opting to start skating between 10 and 10:30 rather than 6 in the morning. I think that it was a good choice to let our bodied recharge a bit after the difficult skate we had yesterday evening. We had to drive about 30 miles to catch up to the point where we were yesterday, which was right in the beginning part of Darien, Georgia. The day began with Tatar, Strang, and myself hitting the road and letting Streich relax for the first bit. We cruised out to a nice pace (which I regretted about 17 miles into the trip today) and hit nothing but nice weather the entire way and little traffic. The cars that we did see along the way were honking and cheering when they drove past. I couldn't tell if they were honking because they were mad at us for skating on the road or because they were supporting us. Once I hit around 17 miles into the trip today, my legs kind of gave out and I had no energy left to continue and simply drove ahead and filmed the guys as they crossed the finish line; the team skated 30 miles today. Afterwards, we backtracked to Darien, GA (we passed it while skating) to check into the hotel. We had about 15 minutes to spare, so we decided to go across the street and eat at Smokey Joe's Bar-B-Q Shack. Tatar and Streich headed to the beach for the afternoon to relax and get some work done there, but Strang and myself opted to stay around the hotel and get some stuff done. We'll be sure to check in after tomorrow's skate.
Still Rolling,
Jason O.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Reflecting on Jacksonville...
We slept in this morning for the first time since our trip started last Monday, and for good reason. Last night we attended the HEAL Foundation's Valley of Dreams Gala, and what an incredible evening it was for everyone in attendance. I'm uncertain of the total amount of money raised towards the organization's goal of ultimately preventing autism spectrum disorders, but as of the end of the night, roughly $350,000 was raised.
Highlights include an onstage introduction by the night's hostess, Patty Crosby to the over 500 people in attendance. The entire audience, as well as party planner Leslie Weed were overly welcoming to our group of skaters, and we could not be any more thankful and grateful for their warmth. As an organization, we look forward to working with Leslie and HEAL in the future.
Kyle Walsh of the Jacksonville area is an incredibly talented cartoonist. Kyle is also faced with some of the challenges presented by the autism spectrum. Through the auctioning of his art, Kyle raised over $6,000 for the HEAL Foundation last night. Luckily for us as recent college graduates, and unable to afford $6,000 for a piece of work, Kyle gave each of us a copy of a RollingForAutism cartoon he drew. I know that you will be reading this Kyle, so I want you to know that I will frame and hang the drawing in my new apartment in Boston when I move in this September, and I challenge you to create a few pieces we can auction off to use in our fundraising efforts.
Mention and credit also needs to go to CARD of Jacksonville and the Little Star Center. Both are great organizations run by some very committed and talented individuals in the Jacksonville area. We look forward to working with and developing relationships with both of these organizations in the future. We are in the process of creating an information page for the website for each of the organizations we are working with and supporting along our journey.
Finally, to everyone else we met last night, thanks for the great time. We met some awesome people last night, and we hope to hear from all of you and look forward to meeting several of you again on the road this summer. Thanks for the support.
To sum up our Jacksonville experience in one word..."incredible". There really is a strong commitment towards overcoming the obstacles presented by autism spectrum disorders in this community, and if this commitment was universal, I am convinced that these challenges would no longer exist.
Speaking of challenges, we skated 40 miles yesterday....and will be skating nearly 150 miles over the next three days in some pretty nasty southern heat. We'll keep posting.
Congratulations to our two newest advisory board members, Lori Lawrimore and Mararianna McIntyre.
Cheers,
Dan T.
Highlights include an onstage introduction by the night's hostess, Patty Crosby to the over 500 people in attendance. The entire audience, as well as party planner Leslie Weed were overly welcoming to our group of skaters, and we could not be any more thankful and grateful for their warmth. As an organization, we look forward to working with Leslie and HEAL in the future.
Kyle Walsh of the Jacksonville area is an incredibly talented cartoonist. Kyle is also faced with some of the challenges presented by the autism spectrum. Through the auctioning of his art, Kyle raised over $6,000 for the HEAL Foundation last night. Luckily for us as recent college graduates, and unable to afford $6,000 for a piece of work, Kyle gave each of us a copy of a RollingForAutism cartoon he drew. I know that you will be reading this Kyle, so I want you to know that I will frame and hang the drawing in my new apartment in Boston when I move in this September, and I challenge you to create a few pieces we can auction off to use in our fundraising efforts.
Mention and credit also needs to go to CARD of Jacksonville and the Little Star Center. Both are great organizations run by some very committed and talented individuals in the Jacksonville area. We look forward to working with and developing relationships with both of these organizations in the future. We are in the process of creating an information page for the website for each of the organizations we are working with and supporting along our journey.
Finally, to everyone else we met last night, thanks for the great time. We met some awesome people last night, and we hope to hear from all of you and look forward to meeting several of you again on the road this summer. Thanks for the support.
To sum up our Jacksonville experience in one word..."incredible". There really is a strong commitment towards overcoming the obstacles presented by autism spectrum disorders in this community, and if this commitment was universal, I am convinced that these challenges would no longer exist.
Speaking of challenges, we skated 40 miles yesterday....and will be skating nearly 150 miles over the next three days in some pretty nasty southern heat. We'll keep posting.
Congratulations to our two newest advisory board members, Lori Lawrimore and Mararianna McIntyre.
Cheers,
Dan T.
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