Cubs Tickiiiiits!

Funky butluvin'!

Nathan, Grayson, and myself are taking a little trip up to Chicago from July 31 to August 2. We're going to see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field. So, Here's the specs.



Here you can see a map of Wrigley Field, the red section is where our seats are.



And here is the approximate view from our seats. Courtesy of Google Earth.

(It's not that I have too much time, it's that I'm avoiding writing my presentations for the China internship)

Where to go.

As you can see form my very first post, I will have one week at the end of the trip for a "pleasure trip" It's my understanding that I will get to go anywhere in China I want to go. I don't know if anyone will be going with me but I'm willing to bet I'll be on my own.

Either way, I've pretty much decided on Beijing. Mainly because ever since I was a little kid I have made it a life goal of mine to walk a mile along the Great Wall. But also because I'm not sure of any otehr interesting places to go in China.

So I've been looking at places to stay. I browsed through the TripUp website and came across a positive review for the Leo Hostel near Tienemen Square in Beijing. I figure I wont have very much money and I wont know anyone so this would probably be the best bet, I'll get to meet other travelers, stay for cheap, and they have bike rentals and guided tours available. Sounds like a winner 'cause it only costs $8 a night.

anywaay, click on the picture below for the Hostel's website to learn more.

How I'm getting there

I took the time to go through Google Earth and map out my flight plan for gettong TO Hong Kong. You have to understand the concept of Great Circles to get the line here.

A great circle is what you get if you take a line representing the shortest distance between two points A and B and then continue that line all the way around the earth until it crosses over itself again. Google Earth Operates this way when creating paths.

So while I doubt I'll actually be flying through the arctic circle (possible as it may be), if I were to walk from here to Incheon, that would be the shortest route. In the meantime, the line here is for display purposes only.

So here it goes



Here I am leaving Atlanta in the lower right hand corner. I fly clear across the country and you lose sight of me somewhere near Alaska as the Earth curves around.



Picking the old path up again and following it all the way down to Incheon, Korea (South Korea that is) in the lower left hand corner. This is my connection, yes my first flight goes all the way from Atlanta to Korea. I didn't know it could be done but hey, who doesn't want to spend 18 hours on a plane?



Zooming in here on Southeast Asia, you see that Korea is near Northern China so I'll be flying clear across China to get to Hong Kong. It's when I look at it like this that I realize I'm actually going to the other side of the world.

Anyway, have a great day and maybe I'll post the return flight soon.

Exciting New Developments...

So finals have pretty much dominated me lately. Needless to sya I haven't gotten much done the last week or so regarding the trip. However, I have set up a profile on www.tripup.com It's a networking site for travelers. You can set up a profile, tell it where you're going to be, and search for people who are going to be there the same time and need a trevel buddy. A godsend for those of us who know nobody where we are going. The only downside is that there aren't a lot of people on yet. So sign up! It's free and totally useful.

A stolen Idea

Saint Augustine once said, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." Which is something I thought was pretty thoughtful.

So I named my blog after it. Now, before you all go praising me for being so cultured as to know things that Saint Augustine said, I should tell you that I stole that quote from my sister's Facebook. Not to say I'm less cultured than my sister, just that she got lucky on this one.

Anyway, I'm going to china in... 19 days!! and holy crap that sounds close. This blog was set up to keep all my loyal fans updated on my progress and such up to the trip and hopefully during the trip as long as I can find an internet connection. I'm pretty sure I'll find one.

Meanwhile, on with the update! I recieved my visa in the mail the other day. This was pretty much the last major hang up in my progress so things are looking pretty chisled in stone now. Below is the most recent e-mail I have recieved from the Company I will be interning with.

"Dear Grady,
Received both forms and questionnaire from you.
Please apply a multiple China tourist visa on your side at your earlier
convenience.  If you need any supporting documents, please feel free to let
us know by return.

As per your last emails, basically you can stay with us from 16 May to 20
Jul 07.  You will work in our factory for 8 weeks and 1 week for a pleasure
trip in China.

Please feel free to call me if you have further questions.

Edna"

Anyway, as you can see, I'll be working in a factory for 8 weeks and then at the end of that, i will be given a ticket to fly anywhere in China I waant to go. Right now I'm a littel partial to the great wall but if anyone has any better ideas, please let me know.


above is a picture of my visa. Cheesy I know but hey, I'm excited

Thanks for reading, I'll try to update often, and God Bless