I went to the Abyss, some call it Iowa.

Day 7-17: Chicago, Camp Albrecht Acres (Dubuque, IA) and a moment in Kansas.

So it’s been a busy week in Iowa, but here the update:

Chicago:

I will never reside on the south side of Chicago. Our stay was at IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology – not to be confused with the commercial school ITT tech). The campus was okay and conveniently our dorm was right next to the IIT Pi Kapp chapter and we were given free food and tours of the house.

What pulled away from my experience in Chicago was the endless work and no down time. Our team was exhausted from camp cheerful in Cleveland and we were still learning how to pace our selves, then we get this gazebo project for our Saturday. This project was the remains of last year’s BAM team trying to build a gazebo for Chicago’s CARC (Chicago’s Association of Retarded Citizens) in behind their facilities in a park that they built for their employee’s. Everything had been completed except for the roof. There were just eight 4”x4” posts sticking up in the air and nothing to block the Chicago wind. We began work at 8am and needless to say, with the help of one of the most down putting down carpenter’s I’ve ever met, we were done at 6:30pm. However, we did finish and completed a ton of landscaping at their small park and built a 20ft long picnic table that a crane my have difficulty relocating.

Camp Albrecht Acres – Dubuque, IA:

I didn’t really know what to expect on the trip down to Iowa, but it was a beautiful drive. It reminded me of driving to school in the spring time because of all the damn cornfields and nothingness down here. The camp is much nicer looking than our last stop in Cleveland. Everything is cleaner and well maintained, not to mention air conditioned. They have this pathway near the entrance to the camp which is lined with flags from all the nations which there counselors are from (they are a member of the Camp America program which connects international students with positions at non-profit camps). The only string is that we are not sleeping at the camp but at a church which is a mile down the road (which is on the other side of the town in Sherrill; the “suburb” of small Dubuque).

Our project at this camp consists of building a 30’x80’ steel shed with two large bay doors, a window and a man door. The slab and anchors are already cured and ready to be built on; the rest is for us to build. The campers seem much easier to connect to because they are more able then the campers at Camp Cheerful.

Rest of the week in Iowa:

The impossible happened, we actually finished the building during our stay at the camp (4 days is probably some kind of record). Also, the guys at the Push America office confirmed that our project at camp Albrecht Acres is not only the largest and most expensive undertaking Build America has ever done, but is the largest and most $$ of any Push mission period. With that said, we of course signed our names on all the truss inside so our team can be remembered for the life of that shed (which could be a week in the tornado ally of Iowa – which by the way, hearing a live tornado alarm is probably the quickest way to relieve constipation of any west coast resident).

I really enjoyed Albrecht Acres and our lead carpenter, Brian Hefel from Brian Hefel Enterprises. The camp was great and Bryan gave us all one of his company hats and those of us of age went the one and only local bar in Sherrill, Iowa, the “Barn” and bought us all a round. It was a great time.

Kansas and Kansas City, MO: probably one of the most confusing locations to tell anyone where you’re at.

Our weekend stop is in Kansas City - Missouri, however we are sleeping at the Kansas City school for the Deaf which is in Kansas; understand? We are moving some furniture for the school at one of their facilities and if we’re done by lunch actually have some time off. I would love to go to one of those Bass Pro shops which appear to be a bible belt Mecca for rednecks. I’m so excited.

Murphy's Law: What can go wrong, will go wrong.

Day 5-6: Camp Cheerful @ Strongsville, OH

Our first full day at camp was great. I'm still getting used to the early mornings but I think most my teammates are in the same boat. It started by sending small groups of the boys to the different projects around the camp. My buddy Schenck and I did the take-off of one of the other shades that we're supposed to replicate (which gave me horrible memories of my estimating class). Then we went to the high ropes and started busting ground with a mattux however the dirt didn't agree with us; we were in solid clay. In the five hours that I and the seven guys were out at the course, we may have had only 20ft of 4ft wide path dug out (sadly it was only 3inches deep into the ground). This was depressing because of the remain 2-300ft of path we still needed dug around the structure. Thus, we had the camp rent a skid loader to ease the pain. We sent our boy Dave from Iowa to run it while Bryan and I went to work on different projects. Now Push America provides the team with four radios and and hour or too into it I hear that Dave had managed to put the bobcat into the ditch. The is actually a more amazing feat than it sounds b/c of how hard the ground is around the high ropes course and the creek is right next to it. So hard in fact that when Dave had earlier ran the tractor forward with the bucket tilted that it not only didn't pull up any ground - the grass didn't even rip up. But all Dave was doing was turning around on the part of the future gravel pathway that runs near the ditch/creek and part of the side of it collapsed. A truck pulled it out quickly though.

That evening we got to do a dance with the campers and I think they really enjoyed. Andy and I grabbed these two old ladies in wheel chairs and pushed them around in circles. I got my partner carolyn to yell and she was just having a ball. The damned of it is now shes doing it at lunch, at dinner, well anytime random really. Too bad for the counselors.

At night couple guys and I ordered some pizza that night to tie us over from the rice'n'chicken the camp provided (the good food anywhere rule doesn't apply since we left the south).

The next day a group of a guys and myself began the horse shade structure which was built like a bomb shelter for a couple Clydesdale beasts. Basically it consists of seven 6x6 posts that make a three sided box with a slant roof (and it's small: only 11ft by 12ft). Bryan and I had given our take-off to the maintenance guy Nick and all the lumber was there in the morning. We also rented an auger to dig the holes. I took a small group of guys out to the pasture where the future shade was going to be erected and we staked out the post holes; easy enough. Then we began to dig; easy enough - no. It was only Andy and I on the two man machine, but the labels on the side don't say anything about being large enough to operate it (at least in this ohio concrete they call ground). At lunch we got a couple of large midwestern boys to man the digger and we started with some success; until we found what was under the ground. Like christmas we found all sorts of goodies under only little bit of covering: utility lines, concrete, rocks, pvc pipe, steel pipe and horse stirrups just under our feet. We tried to get a couple more holes going but we had the same discovery. This is where we moved our plot and asked the stables manager. It would have been nice of her to inform anyone that there used to be a barn and a road where there is now a horse pasture which we were cutting up.

To our fortune, it could have been much worse. Those could have been live utility lines like gas or power and we would have turned into camper at camp cheerful pretty quick (if we where lucky). We were told that nothing in the pasture is live anywhere but next time we'll make sure that the camps we attend get all the lines marked by the city if we are doing any serious digging.

We had to work past dinner tonight b/c we had to get the post set in concrete so they would cure overnight. At nine we were done; thank god. A longggg shower was definitely in order; I have to wait on the beer and deep dish pizza until we get into Chicago this weekend.

Camp Cheerful

Day 1-4: Cleveland & Strongsville, OH

Team orientation in Cleveland went on without a hitch. Thursday was boring policy and procedure which was topped with a very interesting alcohol and safety training; I'm still trying to burn those brain cells.

Friday was a different tone. Jim Karliveck, owner of Karliveck construction company (he's original) is a alumnus of my fraternity from Bohler Green University and was the first project manager for the Journey of Hope ride back in the late 70's. He the boss around Cleveland and is heading up the planning and establishment of the Build America team orientation. He got our dorms donated from Case Western University, food from Trader Joe's and various restaurants and also tickets for the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Most importantly, he planned a tool workshop for our teammates at one of his subcontractor's places. He and a handful of his employees taught an interactive workshop about power tools and etc. (for all the lad's who choose to miss out on wood shop in high school and pursue science in college). This worked out great not only for developing some of our learning members but for me finding where we might have some safety issues (which apparently I'm responsible for now: i.e. safety program). Everything went great and at the least I got to get some of my new shinny tools a little scuffed up.

Despite entering the parking garage and finding a crack in the rear left tail light and scuff on our vans bumper, oh! and also that on of the automatic side doors won't open, even manually, it was still a great day (see yeah security deposit). Saturday the 27th has been my favorite day of the trip thus far (we'll see how long it lasts).We took a trip the the Cleveland Special Needs Clinic for children and got to kick it with a few tots. First we were given a tour of the facility and then introduced to some of the kids. My favorite was this five year old boy named Elisiah. He has no use of his legs and a spinal development condition - he also loves racing. The nurses decorated his wheelchair as a race car and got him a hate that has the pit crew head set stuff on it. He was absolutely adorable. All he wanted to do was race up and down the little concrete paths outside the clinic so several guys and I grabbed what we could find and put together a course for him. He's was pretty quick and still holds an undisputed 25-0 record. I also met a little two year old guy named JR who had Epilepsy; I still need to find a photo of him and I.

Later in the day we traveled to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland. It was gorgeous outside and strolling around town was nice. The museum was really well done but it's too bad that no one got my memo that I don't care anything about rock and roll history. I apologize to anyone who would have enjoyed it.

That evening after we settled down at the dorms a few of took the train to Jacobs Field in Cleveland and watched the Indians take on Tampa Bay. Home team won but it was mostly just nice to get a couple beers and kick it with my new friends.

Sunday morning came sooner than expected and we were on the road to Stongsville, OH to our first camp: Camp Cheerful. The place seems like nice facility but they are a little unprepared for our services. Their maintenance shop is sub par but I think we can get everything they requested done. Our primary projects consist of demolition of a small dock, grading a new gravel pathway around their high ropes course and relocating there low ropes course near the high one; all which look pretty fun. I'll have more updates on those projects tomorrow.

We also got to meet some of the campers that are here for the forth of July week. This is supposed to be a big week for them because most establishments don't take their people to see fireworks shows on the fourth as where Camp Cheerful does. This is also an (well mainly) adults with special needs only week. At dinner my friend Andy from Virginia Tech and I sat next to this old guy named Bob who had a hard time eating his pizza but managed to slam down seven glasses of fruit punch; pretty hilarious.

I need to get more sleep this week. All work and play make me a tired pi kapp.

Ohio... still hot.

I thought by escaping north from what I considered the "south" I might dodge some of the ridiculous heat and humidity have been sweating down in Charlotte: psych. I was a great drive and we even made a detour to Virgina Tech which is a stop I'd never thought I would see.

I VT graduate on our BAM crew lead us around the campus stopping at the temporary memorial and viewing the dorm where the incident occurred as well as their Pi Kapp Chapter house (which is actually owned by their campus and like ours, is adjacent to the Kappa Delta Sorority House). The VT campus is gorgeous. Everything is very academic looking and clean cut, much more than I what I think Harvard or WSU look like. Too bad it's wicked humid like the rest.

Once we arrived in Ohio, we check in at Case Western Reserve University in downtown Cleveland; a school I've never heard of but is about 75% the size of a Division two school and actually pretty nice.

Tomorrow we pickup our team members from the airport and begin their orientation until July 1st. Regardless of being able to build, Day 1 starts when they get off the plane.

Crew Orientation

The last few days have been so busy. Crew meetings, briefings, getting the vans, packing the vans, cpr and first aid training...more meetings, but it's been great. I miss home and all the friends, family and girlfriend but I'm starting to enjoy myself as a lost seattlite in the south.

Our 515 mile drive to Cleveland Ohio begins tomorrow at 9:15am where we'll meet the rest of our team members and put on their orientation. Thus far, everyone on BAM seems to be the real deal of a quality college kid; just like every meal I've had in the south is amazing (there's no way I'm losing weight this trip and I'm moving here just to eat). Wish us luck, our real Day #1 is right around the corner and a 9 hr drive north.

Southern Comfort

I suppose today doesn't really count as my first day of Build America officially, but it was quite a trip. First off, I survived my red-eye flight from Seattle with the only problem being the aircrafts climate control was set to a sweaty 80*F; which I think was a ploy to get me ready for north carolina's ridiculous heat and humidity. I arrived in Charlotte at 6:30am est with the same zombie gaze I developed in Vegas for my 21st birthday. My pick up, old bud Charlie Maier who's interning at the Push Headquarter office, came with a smile to the airport glad that he had to pick me up after a healthy night of drinking he had yesterday. We both decided breakfast was in order so chuck took us to "Bojangle's Chicken House" which is like a glorified KFC and my first bite of southern exposure.

Most of my crew members were still making there way to Charlotte and I didn't have anywhere to go until 4pm. Charlie gave me a quick tour of his summer apartment which was surprisingly plush for what I thought an intern would typically get; lazyboy chair in the bedroom, huge leather ottoman, full kitchen and a "flat" screen tv. We were pretty bored and so we trekked over to the cinema for flick then got lunch at yet another chicken restaurant (they're like starbucks in seattle).

At four charlie dropped me off at my hotel where I met my team's project manager Brian Schenck from Georgia Tech - great guy. Later I met two more of my crew guys: J.T. from UAB and Andy from Virgina Tech. As soon as they were situated we traveled to South Carolina to meet Mike from Georgia Tech for dinner. His parents were sponsoring our first meal and he lives an southern neighborhood with astounding brick homes. I suppose anything down in the Carolina's for me is ultra southern, but this was a kick in the pants - very old school. For the first time I had Sweet Tea with my lasagna dinner and after three glasses I was almost in need of an insulin shot; great stuff though.

After dinner we ventured back to our hotel in Charlotte so we can crash at the suites and start tomorrow at 8:45am....better get used to it I guess; it's only 5:45am pacific time.

Procurement

My departure to the east coast is closing fast and it's bringing all the nervousness and excitement that I should have expected. My bags are far from packed, I probably have only 70% of what I need for the trip, and still attempting to tie up all my projects before I venture to Charlotte. It'll all get done though...or add to the experience.