BootsnAll Travel Network



The Truth Revealed, Responding to your Comments, & Prep for my Next Trip

It sure is nice to be back home in America. Hot running water, sidewalks, Sweet Tomatoes, Oregon rain, drinkable tap water, $3.19 gallon for gas, the Portland JailBlazers back in the news, and a home cooked meal. Man oh man, despite our domestic problems and a huge to-do list of what needs to be fixed, I love our country (cue Patriotic Music and waving flag in the background as fireworks erupt to light up the sky).

Now that I’m oficially back, it’s time to get down to business: I’ve been without the Internet for the last 10 days, so I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

 

 

– THE TRUTH REVEALED –

1. True: I did contemplate the volunteer opportunity at Finca Tatin. The opportunity was real, the place rocked, the food was fantastic and the jungle setting incredible–it would just require one month and getting used to mosquitoes sucking my blood every day. I passed.

2. True: while I was hanging out in Antigua, I did receive a job offer from Paxton to work in his little coffee garden shop. He laid it on thick and heavy and it was hard to say no, especially from a personality such as his. It was a cute little place and had I not other plans I already committed to in the US, I would have gladly taken the job.

3. True: I did visit the Church of Scientology, as my pictures proved, and even took them up on their offer of a free lunch (you know I can’t pass up free food!–in this case, BBQ burgers, hot dogs, potatoe salad, chips, melon, soda pop….)

4. Not True: I never once considered joining the organization to train in their program and recruit others in Central America. But you all figured that out, didn’t ya??? Where did I go wrong? The pictures didn’t work. My defense of the Church also fell on deaf ears. How about my friend Mike’s assessment and his jog down memory lane when I returned back from Morocco years ago with my discovery of the Muslim traditions?

 5.  True:  I have been gone for the last 10 days on a family trip.  Call it a vacation away from my extended vacation.  So I am now only getting to your emails and comments.  Here’s the quick run down….

 

After Finca Tatin, I did travel with Niklas and Aliscia to Antigua, I did hike up Volcan Pacaya, and I did hang out for a few days before catching a plane back to the US.  But I didn’t return home to Portland right away.  Nope.  Instead, I eased back into US culture in San Francisco with my friends from AmeriCorps.  Unfortunately, I was still suffering from my bouts of food poisoning, and got to know Dan and Ezra’s bathroom quite well.  It would actually take me 4 days of recovery in San Francisco to get me back to 80% health.  But during that time, I enjoyed watching cheesy movies; hanging out at UC Berekley; eating Italian, Mexican and Chinese food; relishing a burger, fries and shake at a Piedmont burger joint; stuffing myself silly at a Sizzler buffet after a few hours of trying to play basketball (and my body felt the aches and pains for 3 full days afterwards); and clogging up my arteries with our traditional breakfast spot, Ole’s, the famous grease spoon in Alameda.  In addition to all of that, we also found time to visit the San Francisco Church of Scientology, where I got my cool pictures and my free lunch. 

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The Church!  Not located on the lake in San Pedro in Guatemala, but rather, in San Francisco right off Columbia.

 

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Ezra and Dan finish off their food with some soda while a friendly Scientologist encourages them to come to her 7pm seminar on financial success.  Unfortunately, we were not able to make it.

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Still sick, in recovery at Dan’s.  Left over pizza from the night before doesn’t sit so well in me. 

 

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Decisions, decisions.  Should we go with the special edition “Cheaper by the Dozen” flick with Steve Martin or the romantic comedy “My Best Friend’s Wedding” with Julia Roberts?  How about NONE OF THE ABOVE.  We settle on a 1990 indie filmed RIGHT HERE IN ALAMEDA starring David Cassidy with appearances by Tommy Chong, Joyce Brothers and other BIG name stars! 

 

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Immediately following our viewing of “X-Men:  The Last Stand,” we find this statue of the superhero “Many Hands Manny.”  Question:  If you had sucky superpowers such as the ability to eat 40 hot dogs in 5 minutes, wouldn’t you take the syrum to change you back into a normal human being?   These are very profound questions that I’m sure the Church of Scientology would not be able to answer.  

 

So there you have it.  While I was trying to plant the seeds of joining the Church, I was actually in San Francisco loading up on carbs and weight, and then quickly losing those pounds as I sat on the toilet every hour getting readjusted to a new American food strain.  All in all though, I think I gained back 5 pounds of what I lost in Guatemala with all the food I ate in SF. 

 

– A FAMILY VACATION –

 

I flew home from San Francisco for just a few days to hang low in Portland, hence my made-up story about going off to join the program in Guatemala.  I needed some time alone to unpack, SLEEP, eat, catch up on emails and bills, and then 4 days later I was off on a little vacation with my family down to Sunriver and to Reno for some gaming action.

 

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View from Lava Butte, just south of Bend, OR. 

  

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Hiking in the Lava Tube Cave.  Dad, Mom, my brother and his girlfriend, Hong.

 

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Benham Falls with my mom.

 

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Dad casts his line into Paulina Lake for an afternoon of none-biting trout…..

 

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…while I take my mom on a hike up to the crater.  But we are forced to turn back when the ice and snow is just a little too much to traverse.

 

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Rafting on the Deschuttes River.

 

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Taking a break and watching the Native American Dance performance at Mills Park in Carson City, NV for their Carson City Rendevouz Days. 

 

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Checking out the ol’ western town of Virginia City.

 

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My bro and I ham it up for the camera.

 

We stayed 5 days in Sunriver, 4 in Reno, and 1 long day driving back.  Don’t even ask how I fared with gambling, let’s just say that I’ll definitely need to find a job sooner than later (if I only had 25 cents more I KNOW I would have hit that 10 million dollar Wheel of Fortune jackpot…well, maybe).  But Reno isn’t about gambling and lady luck now, is it?  No, not at all.  Reno is about the BUFFETS!  Gourmet galore!  Combined with the food from San Francisco, my few days back in Portland, and my family trip, and I have gained back a total of 11 pounds!  So only 7 more to go before I reach my pre-Guatemala weight of 5 months ago.

 

– PREP FOR MY NEXT TRIP –

I’m back home for 5 days to prep my bike for my next trip, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to see many friends or hang out to discuss the role of Scientology in our US political system.  This Saturday and Sunday I’ll be attending a 2-day wedding event for my good friend Amy and her awesome fiance Reto–what is so cool is that they orginally met in Antigua, Guatemala while learning Spanish.  So I got them a little something from Guatemala so that they don’t forget where they met!  Then, next Monday I’ll be hitching a ride up to BC, Canada to start the next leg of my year off.  Check back on Friday for details on this trip, and then every Friday thereafter for my updates on the road.  One thing I have learned is that when I was in Central America, Internet cafes were pretty prevalent and cheap.  Trying to find internet on my trip to Sunriver and Reno was like pulling teeth from a bear–impossible.  And when I did find it, like at the hotel, they were charging $12-$25 per hour!  I suppose I know what business to get into when I get back.  At any rate, I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to find some access when I’m on the road, and hence my Friday weekly updates from here on out.  That’s it for today, hopefully I’ll be able to see some of you this week before I take off, but if I don’t, I should be back in mid-August with 10 more pounds lost, darker skin, and longer hair and my full grown beard and mustache (yeah yeah, laugh it up). 



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One response to “The Truth Revealed, Responding to your Comments, & Prep for my Next Trip”

  1. Dang, your brother Mutumbo looks like he’s been on the Barry Bonds supplement plan..

    Friggen scarry………..

    Welcome home thats awsome!! Hey, Im doing STP.. Let me know if you are gunna be around still or if Version 3.5 of your trip is taking place during that time.

    After all the weight and muscle mass ya lost on your trip, ask your bro if you can have some of his “vitamins” …….

    Jesus.. Not sure whats more impressive.. Your incredible trip, or what modern science has done to your brother’s body.

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