Urban Exploration

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I went up to Centralia for a little bit of urban exploration. It was very cathartic to see the inside of gutted-out buildings and realizing that somebody once lived there. However, I knew that this would not be the end of my journeys exploring gutted-out buildings. I eventually met somebody while working at a grocery store who was very interested in urban exploring and doing things in "The Great Outdoors" as well, and before I knew it, we became friends.

For the sake of the story, we will call him Chris. I was talking to a gentleman about my travels, mentioning Centralia, and then Chris was behind him and overheard this part of the conversation. So, we exchanged contact information after he showed me some pictures that he took of abandoned buildings. Two weekends later, we were out exploring these abandoned buildings. We stopped by an old Penn Mar waste building, only to find that the inside was inaccessible. We also visited the old Sawmill on Kings Mill Road and the York County Prison, but both were sealed up tight.

However, when we got to Manna Pro, and old Grain and Feed Factory in the heart of York City, we discovered that there was a door that could be cracked in two. We gave it a good Spartan Kick and climbed inside to explore. Chris had been here a few times before to take photos with up and coming models who wanted a first unique shoot. So, already being familiar with the layout of the building, he took me on a little tour.

There is something quite intriguing about exploring the inside of an abandoned building. It is a weird and eerie feeling to know that you are the only human beings to view the inside of the building in a very long time, especially since the triple reinforced (but open) door was discovered by us. Of course, it's also meant that the building was starting to deteriorate, as nobody had set foot inside the building since 2002. The air was very musky, but through the low light of our flashlights, it was incredible to see the grain hoppers that still had grain in them, the catwalk between the buildings, the vandalized office spaces, and the remains of offices. There were also at least $4,000 worth of industrial grade batteries inside the building that still worked, which surprisingly enough, we're left untouched.

The only scary part of the experience was fallingthrough a floorboard. I was able to catch myself before falling down to the floor below and breaking my legs at least, but it was still a heart-stopping experience. This won't stop me for going and exploring more buildings though. Exploring this old grain factory was only the beginning.

The bucket list you didn't know you had

Have you ever been doing something and then said to yourself, I can cross that off my bucket list, but you don't recall ever having a bucket list? This phenomenon occurs to me more often than I would like. One instance of this would be going to Indiana and getting handed free food by a random person at a bar. another thing would be rich running on a cliff for the first time, or getting out of a speeding ticket, or Felix nordling and seeing used underwear and a stingray. I could go on and on and make the story about myself, but really, this is about you. This is your story. So let's turn it over to you my friend.

And Indiana wasn't so bad!

When you were young and your friends encouraged you to make a bucket list because you would one day grow old and die without doing enough things, did you take their advice seriously? And if something unexpected occurs, do you include it? For me personally, I never wrote that bucket list, but rather have a list of ideas and concepts that would be cool to achieve, and that are otherwise unrelated to one another.

So, dreamers, keep building that bucket list. Stop at nothing. And after checking out the rest of my posts, check that off of your bucket list, too.

My Visit to Knoebels

At age 22, I'd only been to a handful of amusement parks. I am an adrenaline junkie, and I love the feeling of falling out of the sky, but I just haven't had the money or time to take extended trips to go see amusement parks. At this point in time though, at the age of 22, I had already been to Knoebels, and it was time for me to go again. But this time, I would be going with my then girlfriend, who became a "BACA Child", or a kid who receives the services of Bikers Against Child Abuse. As such, I'll be sharing a bit about Knoebels and Baca both.

BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse) began in 1995 when John Paul Lilly, known as the chief, noticed that a lot of his pediatric abuse patients still felt insecure in their neighborhoods and especially around their perpetrators. He noticed that whenever he rode his motorcycle with his friends, children felt safer and protected when he was around them. And so, he took one of his most favorite patients and invited some 40 bikers to the child house one day. The mother later reported that the child started riding his bicycle around the neighborhood again for the first time in months. The organization grew in popularity when a sexually abused child had to sit in court and testify against her father, who was also her abuser. BACA was there to stand behind her and support her every step of the way, and she became one of the most noteworthy BACA children.

Fast forward to 2016, where my girlfriend's PTSD regarding her father and his abuse has become so severe that it keeps her awake at night. She enlists to become a BACA child, quickly becoming part of the family, and before I know it, there are some 20 bikers or so at my house with her when I get off of work one day. I'm introduced to all of them, whom retain Anonymous identities for the sake of Health privacy, and do the same, giving me a nickname later that day. I became 'FIT', as I wanted to fit in and be physically fit. A month later, they have their annual picnic an amusement park they at Knoebels. I loved Knoebels the last time I went when I was 17, so I couldn't resist going.

Owned and operated by the Knoebels family since 1926, located in Elysburg Pennsylvania is Knoebels Amusement Park, the largest free admission amusement park in America. Although they have seen Leaps and Bounds over their career, they have long-standing Ben a family fun place for everybody, including roller coasters, a large water park, kids rides, haunted house attractions, and live entertainment. Going with BACA, my girlfriend and I got several bags full of Free Ride tickets, as well as free food. As such, the only thing I had to pay for the entire day was cotton candy. Needless to say, it was an awesome concept that I wasn't going to complain about.

Their oldest wooden roller coasters where the Phoenix and the tornado, and both will send you for a loop. No pun intended. There are two log flume rides are also and there are plenty of. Parking is also expansive, and even better yet, it is free. You can literally just walk around the park for the entire day and not get on any rides and not spend a dime. Or you can get a wristband for a day and spend $28, much better than any other amusement park I can think of. Whatever you decide, you will have a blast.

When the day is done, they have cheap catering services around every corner, and a family picnic & Campground. Staying the night there is also rather cost-efficient, as they have some of the cheapest camping fares Pennsylvania. It is family friendly, fun, and full of fantasy... And absolutely worth a visit if you can make it up there.

Green Acres... sorta?

After a short-lived Excursion to New York, I visited my friend who lives in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. It is a small town with not much more than a Walmart, is single run down movie theater, a local Burger Shop, a Main Street, a project Zone, and a few local gift shops. I was visiting my friend Hayden from college, as I promised him that I would make a visit to see him. 

There wasn't a whole lot to offer in this little town, but it was still incredibly enjoyable. It is situated about 20 minutes from Quakerville with the big Amish markets, Landisdowne, which is another small family-oriented town, Montgomery Mall in Montgomery County, and Dorney Park. Over the next few days, when not sitting at home watching movies with my friend, I would be exploring all of these areas with him. Although a small town with little activity is occurring, it was a delightful visit, and somewhere I might likely stop by again one day on my way up North.

Such a beautiful little shop!

Although there isn't much to discuss regarding the town, it was still a nice getaway for a couple of days. Anything outside the normal sights of York Pennsylvania was good enough for me at this point in time. This small But Mighty Town also has probably the single biggest Walmart I've ever stumbled upon in my entire life, for whatever interesting reason. This is one of many small towns that can be found in Montgomery County Pennsylvania, and it's definitely worth a visit for anybody who likes the feel of the small town.

How to Travel on a Budget

The older I've gotten, the more my Wanderlust has grown. And as such, I've taken more and more trips, both domestic and abroad. Respectively, people have asked me how I go about doing it, knowing that I never necessarily worked in a high-paying job during and after my undergraduate years of college. Once you learn the secrets to budgeting, it isn't all that difficult. And today, I'm here to show you some tips and tricks on how to do it.

1) Make a list of places that you would like to go.

This part of the process is fairly intuitive. Before you step outside your front door, it's important to know where you think you'd like to go. Start by compiling a list of places that you would like to visit, and fines out what some of there average prices are for items. Websites like blank will help you determine the average cost of items as it Stacks up to your hometown so you can prepare accordingly.

2) Establish connections online and some of these locations.

If you are like me when I was younger, then you likely have played a lot of online video games. Guess what? This is one of the best ways to meet new people from different places. Every time you add somebody on Xbox, put them on your friends list after a friendly conversation on RuneScape, or play successful game of OverWatch, you will make a new connection in another part of the world. Sometimes, that is all it takes as well. If you go to school, you can meet potential travel destinations by getting involved with school clubs, especially ones that involve multiculturalism and students of different ethnic or faith backgrounds. From there, you can ask to be introduced to their friends, send them an email correspondence, and get the ball rolling wherever they live as well. And if this isn't enough for you to meet people, there are hundreds of websites online the people used to meet people, especially penpals. Through one penpal website, I met a girl from Russia, a guy from Denmark, a girl from Morocco, and two girls from China.

3) Travel around the deals.

Now that you have a reason to go and potentially a person to visit, it's time to book your flight. Or, to hop in your car. Either way around, there are lots of travel web sites out there that offer deals on a frequent basis. If you follow other travel agents and travel bloggers, they will likely link you to website or two that they use that has good deals as well. Going somewhere you slightly want to go to that is on sale vs going somewhere you really want to go that isn't quite in the off-season can be the difference of hundreds of dollars.

4) Find cheap lodging, which can lead to other Connections in other places.

Although several travel websites and flight pages will offer you combined housing/car rental/flight packages, it is often more efficient to do the app for mentioned your own way. Regardless, you will be paying for luggage separate most of the time, and you will be paying an insurance deposit for your rental car regardless. Hotels can also quickly rack up the bill. Globalfreeloaders.com and couchsurfing.com are two websites in which you list your couch or spare room to host guests and visitors, and in return, they extend the favor to you. Hostelworld.com is a comprehensive list of 35,000 hostels around the globe, and also provides information on what their bloggers have found around the world. Airbnb are two of my personal favorites, as they let you rent out a private room in somebody's home. There is also the option of staying at a farm (typically running price is between $80-$100/night) or at a monastery (you can find alot of places for $40 a night or so).

5) engage in work travel jobs.

I have met up with a couple of people that have traveled the world's, done really cool things, and developed amazing friendships, all due to traveler jobs. There are several web sites out there that I used to subscribe to in regards to this. Workaway is the website where you are able to trade services with somebody in exchange for room and board, and some places will give you a stipend as well. Some allow you to be a nanny or an Au Pair in exchange for room and board. Going through TEFL, you to become certified to teach English as a foreign language, what you can become a lifelong career for some people. Certain companies well also provide you with these opportunities. For instance, I interviewed with English first and Ameson Year in China, and both companies would have paid for a flight to China, got me certified to teach, and also give you half a year worth of rudimentary Mandarin Chinese, as well as a stipend for travel alongside your salary.

6)Undershoot on what you need to buy to survive.

If you're traveling on a budget, you likely are okay nixing some of home's comforts. That being said, a fast food sandwich and store brand apple juice will do just as fine as a fancy lunch that doesn't fill you up near as much. Try to bring as many things as you possibly can from him outside of perishable and not exportable items, such as food and certain liquids and medicines, and only by what you absolutely need. The exception to this rule is if you are planning on doing a food tour of some sort, or going on at or where food is included. There are plenty of web sites out there that advertise discounted travel fair and tour guides. That being said, if you know that you can survive on a very minimalist diet while you are traveling, it will serve you well in the long run financially.

7) Always - and I mean ALWAYS - Take advantage of free and discounted items.

Using coupon books bought at airports as well as Groupon has saved me a plethora of precious cash, as I found coupons for lodging, food, parking, entertainment at night, taxis, and pretty much anything else you can think of. There are several other websites like Groupon that you can subscribe to that all have discounted where's and fares. Also take full advantage of the hospitality of others. When I was in Cleveland, I got free breakfast because I meditated with the Harris. And Iceland, I talked to the owner of the restaurant I went to, and because he likes my interested in his business and personality, I got two free beers at his second restaurant out of the deal. Never turn down free for anything, and also remember the one you least expect it, the free things will come to you.

7)As Shia LaBeouf once said, quite literally, "Just Do It. Don't let your dreams be dreams."

I know several individuals who are traveling the world full time, and they aren't rich. They're finding websites like this one or this one for temporary work, offering their skills, and just going out and doing it.

Here's a case study for you: If I chose to drive up to Poughkeepsie New York instead of fly up, the flight would have been $200 more expensive then the tank and a half of gas that it cost me to get there and around. I met a connection at College, who happens to be my girlfriend at the time, and they put me up for a few nights for free. In exchange for a couple hours of music, I got two nights worth of dinner and some wine. I utilized their knowledge of New York and New York City to navigate for all of the deals, which included a beautiful lunch at a Foods truck stop for cheap one morning. Breakfast every morning was cheap, as I went out and bought a small container of granola, as well as having some eggs that they had at the house for me. We utilized the dads Commerce miles on the subway to get a cheap parking pass at the cheapest subway station by her house, and bought a one-way pass into New York City at student rate. In New York City, we went to as many free exhibits and stores that we could to see things and Window Shop. We returned home with another one way ticket, since this option was more cost-efficient than buying an all day pass.

End result - keep in mind some of these tips and tricks, and you will succeed at planning your adventures. I'm going to reflect upon one of my trips, specifically when I took my first solo trip up to New York.

Forest Therapy

For my graduate field of studies, I jumped into the world of Occupational Therapy. I chose this because I deeply respected alternative and holistic medicine, and wanted to treat my patients without needing to jam needles into them. What I discovered one day in my private studies changed my life.

I was reading a book in a airport called Forest therapy. It was written in Japan, a country that is not only one of the most densely populated per square kilometer in the entire world, but also the country that is the most densely populated by forests and bodies of water in the entire world. it is no wonder that their folklore religions of Shinto and Zen Buddhism both have a huge focus on spirituality as it encompasses nature and all living things. Jainism shares a very similar belief process to this, and that everything has Life Energy and fragments of the Divine inside of it.

You don't have to be Japanese, pray tell, or even completely culturally competent to know about the benefits of horse therapy. Trees give us oxygen as we give them carbon dioxide. We are in a constant symbiotic relationship with them at all. When we are surrounded by them, looking up at the outdoor sights in reverie, we are really connected with the sky above as well. Even a half hour walk per day through a wooded area or by spending time by plants and trees has been shown to drastically increase mood, clear the mind, rid the body of toxins, and promote a sense of inner peace and well-being.

Quite frankly, I was a believer of this before I even discovered the book. But, I am now even more of a believer. It makes sense, as the great outdoors was all our ancestors knew, and the majesty of the outdoors is something that's not be replaced by computer screens or artificial intelligence. They give us the spice life. There's something so radiant and translucent about the color green that can make somebody want to stay in it forever.

Shinrin yoku, or forest bathing, has a body of research behind it now, which all can conclude that it is important for individuals to spend more time outside then they already do. Forest bathing teaches people to look outside themselves to become one with nature and one with something bigger. the research, which can be found online, definitely helps to support the claims that we need to spend more time outside and around nature.

Unfortunately, this might be very difficult for some individuals. Some individuals live very far from any natural area, or some trees in general. For these individuals, it will be important to have plants growing indoors or they have a garden near their house where applicable. A bonsai tree, small cactus, where small flower plant maybe a quick solution to this problem. Of course, these individuals should still definitely seek out retreats in nature as soon as they are able to do so.

Credits go to Morton Arboretum.

So what are you waiting for? Go and enjoy some nature. The payoff will be worth it.

Creekin'

When I was getting ready to go to grad school, I hung out with my cousin and went to his house by a large Creek in lower Pennsylvania. Little did I know, I would be embarking for the adventure of a lifetime. I would be finding some old inner tubes in his backyard, patching them up with duct tape, and floating them down a river.

Now, up to this point in time I have been kayaking and canoeing and Rowing, as well as white water rafting, but I was never in a muddy creek in somebody's backyard. I was either on a lake or a river, and established and public body of water. This was the first time I would be on public property and palisading in a tube in murky and quick Waters. It had just rained and flooded everything except the creek, so the water is definitely moving.

For those of you that have never considered doing anything quite as Redneck as this, you definitely need to. Honestly, those 40 minutes I spent floating down the river or the most translucent and Beautiful Moments of that summer.

Now, it's not to say that this adventure does not come without its perlilous plate of danger. In fact, it was actually somewhat terrifying a parts, as the strong current of the undertow would be dragging me straight into the river bed or into a fallen tree. Being way to tripped out on caffeine also did not help the situation whatsoever. However, it was easily the most fun I ever had in water, despted it being frigid cold. What's my body temperature adjusted though, it was all fine.

And so, I emplore all of you to jump into a creek and float down it sometime soon. It might just be the best hour spent in your entire life.

Big Schloss

Spring breaks are normally used for drinking and partying. Instead, I used mine to go hiking. Big Schloss means big castle in German, and with a summit of 2164 feet, it definitely lives up to its expectation. The hike itself isn't all that challenging, with most of the switchbacks being incredibly minor and early on in and the adventure. Around every single turn, however, lies a beautiful photo opportunity of the Appalachian Mountain Valley and the Shenandoah River Valley. Since the mountain itself lies in the greater Appalachian Mountain section and borders the Shenandoah, there are lots of Scenic views to be shared between Virginia and West Virginia throughout the entire hike.

Here is one of many beautiful panoramas of the area.

For a total difficulty of this like, I would put it at about a 3 out of 10. There was a hefty section in the beginning the required some walking straight uphill, but once you got to the switchbacks, they were actually very mild compared to other trails and both the Appalachian and Shenandoah ranges. There are no rock scrambles, and most of the hike is over flat ground that does not flood very easily. There is some optional rock climbing, which gets you a couple of cool pictures, but nothing too severe or major.

You'll start your day near a small town in West Virginia, supplying up on trail mix, energy bars, and whatever lunch or dinner you intend to eat on the trail. The sun will be directly overhead for most of the hike, but there is just enough tree coverage to prevent you from overheating. Pack your containers full of water and your typical hiking supplies though, and all will be okay. It is very hard to overexert yourself on this mountain, as it is meant to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace.

During my hike, I encountered no wildlife besides a couple of birds chirping in the trees. I did, however, enjoy crossing a footbridge to the summit and enjoying the silent beautiful realm of nature. Being one of the tallest mountains in West Virginia, with its Summit itself being in Virginia, it was quite an incredible Adventure to see the mountainside in all of his glory. My shadow was cast over the entire valley because of the way the sun hit the cliff face.

And I felt magnificent.

Once you're done hiking, Harpers Ferry is about 20 minutes away for another fun and fancy stop on your travels. There are also another couple of towns nearby that I'll provide their own cute little charm. The biggest reason I would say to hike this mountain is because it is a fun and enjoyable hike for anybody in the family. So if you need a weekend activity, this is how to do it.