Amtrekker

Hey Team,

Lots of stuff going on. Plenty of adventures around the corner. A new literary agent. A book proposal to write. But MOST importantly…everyone’s favorite videos are BACK! Today it’s the horse through through the covered bridge, the video of the party will be out in a few days and then it will be back to the old Wednesday at 6pm Pacific schedule! Ah, the good old days.

There are literally a TON (okay, not literally…it’s all digital so it really doesn’t take up much space) of videos still to come! Things will take on a slightly different format now that I’m back but there are still a lot of “Tales From the Wayback Machine” I’ve yet to show you guys! I’m pretty excited to be able to sit somewhere for an extended period of time without being kicked out so I can ramp up the production quality as much as I can.

Okay, less talk more action. Here it is:

“Amtrekker travels to Atlanta, GA where with the help of Grayson from CNN’s News To Me team, Betty Ann, Ginger, Chase and a horse named Danket he finally gets to live out a cartoon!

Flaming pumpkins ensue.”

And here’s the YouTube link.

Thanks Team!

I’m done.

Brett.

Just for the record. Bookingbuddy really is a pretty rad website if you’re looking to plan a trip. It actually allows you to search most of the top website from one location. Pretty handy! But more importantly…our new affiliation with bookingbuddy.com means all you have to do to help out Amtrekker is click on one of their ads and sign up for an awesome newsletter filled with travel deals! Thanks everyone!

Thanks!

Hey Team,

Wow! It finally happened. For the last week and a half the awesome team over at CNN’s News To Me has been scrambling to try to put me, a horse and a covered bridge together at the same point in time and space. I can’t tell you how many calls I got from the Associate Producer, Grayson, that went something like this:

“Brett, that horse contact fell through but I think we might have another one…maybe.”

“Brett, there’s no way that bridge is going to work. It looks like we’re back to square one.”

“Brett, the other bridge I wanted to use is under construction right now…”

Meanwhile I was trying to get in touch with everyone I know in the Atlanta area in the hopes that someone could help out while watching the days on the calendar tick away. And yet, after almost a year and a half of similar situations working out time and again, even with the deadline of the Amtrekker party looming, I kind of felt like Geoffrey Rush’s character in Shakespeare in Love.

“Brett, I’m so sorry this isn’t working out. I feel terrible for getting you all the way out here and not being able to get you on a horse. How worried should I be? What happens if we can’t make this work?”

“Don’t worry about it, man. It will all work out. I trust you.”

How? I don’t know. It’s a mystery.

Final, yesterday, I found myself standing next to a creek down the road from a BEAUTIFUL covered bridge. It was only five minutes before Betty Ann was supposed to meet us with her horse and things were STILL up in the air. Would she be able to get the horse trailer to the location? Would the horse tolerate all the traffic? Would it walk through a covered bridge? (Something I never considered but have been told repeatedly in the last year is that horses strongly dislike walking through low covered spaces.)

Then Betty Ann showed up with her daughter, Ginger, and Ginger’s Appaloosa, Danket a.k.a. the sweetest horse ever (and possibly most disproportionate).

Grayson and Betty Ann blocked traffic on either side of the one lane bridge while I hopped up on Danket and Ginger helped lead him through the bridge while Chase (another member of Team Amtrekker that I met almost a year ago when I hitchhiked to his house) filmed the goings on.

I opted out of wearing the flaming pumpkin on my head and threatening passersby a la The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (the inspiration behind this item making the list in the first place) figuring the last thing I need to do at this point was complicate matters further and scare Danket.

Betty Ann, Ginger, Grayson and Chase were all awesome out there and I love seeing people come together to make something like this happen. Especially when it’s so clear that everyone is enjoying the adventure. It’s really the backbone of why this trip was possible (and I never really knew for sure that it was) but it’s an important lesson to learn and I’ll toss out a few theories after this adventure officially closes.

I’ve learned a LOT about people in the last 476 days and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.

Thanks SO MUCH everyone. See you Saturday!!!

I’m done.

Brett.

Just for the record. Bookingbuddy really is a pretty rad website if you’re looking to plan a trip. It actually allows you to search most of the top websites from one location. Pretty handy! But more importantly…our new affiliation with bookingbuddy.com means all you have to do to help out Amtrekker is click on one of their ads and sign up for an awesome newsletter filled with travel deals! Thanks everyone!

Thanks!

Hey Team,

The much delayed/ballyhooed podcast featuring your’s truly’s adventure in a lighthouse is here! Check it out.

“Amtrekker travels to Frankfort, MI to sleep in the 150 year old Point Betsie lighthouse (one of the most photographed lighthouses in America). Watch as he offers up a Cribs style tour of his overnight digs!

Hip-Hop ensues.”

And here’s the YouTube link.

I’m done.

Brett.

Annnddd…here are two great ways to help out Team Amtrekker! Our new affiliation with bookingbuddy.com means all you have to do to help out the site is click on one of their ads and sign up for an awesome newsletter filled with travel deals! Thanks everyone!

Thanks!

Hey Team,

Charley is having some charging issues this week and it’s making life very difficult when it comes to updating the site so I hope you guys don’t mind the delays in new content. (Because I freaking HATE it!) I’m taking him to the hospital (a.k.a. Apple Store) this afternoon but before I do that I wanted to get an exciting post up.

It seems one of the countries best kept secrets (right up until you read this) is North Western Michigan. I don’t know what the area is like during the wintertime and that always scares me (you all know #4 on the list of things I hate is “cold weather”) but while I was hanging around the Frankfort, Crystal Lake, Pt. Betsie area I was greeted by nothing short of an extra large helping of beautiful.

But to skip to the point (Get it? Oh man…that’s a good one…), my second night in the area brought me to the Point Betsie Lighthouse, where thanks to Jen and Amy, I was given the grand tour of this 150 year old piece of Michigan history (by Jay) before being left to my own devices.

My “devices” in this case seemed to consist mostly of my mobile phone as around 1am I found myself standing in the top of the lighthouse trying to get enough cell reception to conduct a phone interview (This link will only be up for a little bit. I’ll try to get it uploaded to Amtrekker permanently.) with a Canadian radio station.

Prior to that, Amber from Papano’s Pizza came by to drop off the world’s largest midnight snack and I gave her a quick tour around “my” lighthouse. Throwing off some fun facts I had learned from Jay and largely pretending I knew what I was talking about and that I had actually done some research. At one point we considered making GIANT shadow puppets but that didn’t seem to work out so well…

My favorite story surrounding Point Betsie (as told by Jay) involves the specs for construction as laid out by the US government circa 1858. Apparently it was mandated that “Milwaukee brick” be used for the construction of the outer walls of the main keep and that the roof be painted a slate grey. The funny thing about Milwaukee brick that is completely apparent at first glance is that it is made from pale yellow clay.

“What makes that so funny?”

Well, welcome back Mr. Disembodied Voice. I’ll tell you why that’s is funny.

Lighthouses are built for only one purpose: As an aid to navigation. The light shines all through the night at a specific rotational speed to alert passing ships of exactly where they are by providing an easily recognizable marker on land. Unfortunately, Point Betsie at its infancy still had twelve hours of daylight a day in which to HIDE from passing ships with its 18th century stealth technology…

It took years of the shipping industry petitioning the government to paint the lighthouse bright white with a bright red roof before they could actually consistently see the marker the government had built for them.

I love that story.

That evening, after the interview, I took one final lap around my bachelor pad, poked my head out the door when I thought I was going crazy to verify there was a party going on at the beach and then made my way up to the “Master Suite.” (Which consisted of an old twin bed with a foam mattress and a rug. In short, one of the coziest places I had slept in a week.)

The evening was absolutely perfect in its uneventfulness (which I officially declare a word now). The bed was more comfortable than you’d think. The sturdy construction of the lighthouse kept out noise from the wind and the party. The temperature stayed comfortable enough to sleep with nothing more than a sheet. And most importantly, I didn’t get raped by any ghosts.

And as great as it was to have another goal accomplished and crossed off the list the highlights of the week really came from the surrounding community. Bob and Ginny Istnick, Jen’s parents, were incredibly gracious hosts and very forgiving (in more ways than one). Andy, the owner of Papano’s Pizza, put me up for a night and was a great guy to have around (making just about every situation more entertaining). Although his 4 year old son did steal my dignity in a game of Wii baseball.

I literally didn’t meet a single person whose company I didn’t enjoy and if I left anyone out I’m sorry and feel free to leave a comment telling me what a thoughtless jerk I can be! It’ll be cathartic.

Okay, Charley has an appointment so I guess I’m done.

Brett.

If you like to follow the adventure and want to help with Charley’s “medical bills” then feel free to donate…

Don’t let me stop you.

Hey Team,

I made it to Frankfort, MI, no joke, named after a guy named Frank that used to own a Fort here on the bay. Apparently everyone used to say, “Hey let’s go meet at Frank’s Fort.” (I was assured I wasn’t being screwed with on this point.)

Regardless, I’ve made it to the next destination, I’ve seen the lighthouse I’m sleeping in tonight and I’ve already met some incredible people. It’s such a great cap to an otherwise crappy week. Right now I’m even less excited about the lighthouse than I am to continue to spend time around people that are eager to share their lives and their town with me.

This is an amazingly diverse town but not in the usual sense of the word. The area may even rival Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO for high levels of weird. Not that same kind of “quirky show and tourist trap” weird that they have in those towns but there does seem to be an awful lot of tourism here.

In this case I keep getting driven around the lake while Andy, the guy who was generous enough to pick me up at the bus station an hour from here and provide me with a much needed shower and bed last night, points to random homes and cottages and saying things like, “That’s where the guy that invented barcodes lives. The owners of Dow Chemical own this place. The inventor of the crazy straw lives in that compound. This sign that says ‘Hilton’ is actually the crazy Hilton’s Uncle…” and it just keeps going.

I can’t wait to explore the area a little more over the next day or two.

PLUS, tonight…I sleep in the Point Betsie Lighthouse! Ka-KOW!

I’m done.

Brett.

So, the lighthouse is set but that don’t mean I couldn’t use more help! Care to donate?

Don’t let me stop you.

Hey Team,

It’s HERE! Wait no longer!

Amtrekker travels to New York to see a live taping of The Colbert Report but his podcast is foiled when security takes away his video camera!

What are they hiding from America!

Canned laughter ensues.

Annnd, here’s the YouTube link!

Thanks!

I’m done.

Brett.

If you like the podcasts feel free to donate!

Don’t let me stop you.