Disclaimer: I didn't come up with this or even find it. One of my friends sent it to me.
IS SANTA REAL? An engineering perspective on the well-known legend
1) No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop our of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh an move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purpose of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75« million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding, etc.
This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 time the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, the conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting the "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload -not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
5) 353,000 tons travelling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force. In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.
So I would suggest maybe giving a little more thought to what's really the meaning of Christmas, since it seems Santa is out of the question.
Merry Christmas!
Poor reindeer!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Arguing~~ a controversial subject
I have been noticing over the last few years (15 to be exact) that there is more then one form of arguing. Assuming we are talking about peer to peer and there is no authority involved I have come up with three styles. I will use two fictional characters (Bill and Fred) to demonstrate all three.
1. The DV style (Devil's version)
This style is very common, basically this is intentionally twisting the meaning of other's words. Also used is the years ago trick. People change, especially in their childhood. When you are three and say something, you don't expect to have to stand by it ten years later. For example:
Bill: Hey there Fred
Fred: 'sup?
Bill: I met a caveman the other day, he was weird...
Fred: are you implying that all cavemen are weird?
Bill: um... no.
Fred: yes, you are! You may not have said it but it's clearly what you meant!
Bill: no its not!
Fred: yes it is! My grandfather is a caveman, you just called him weird!
Bill: No I didn't!
Fred: yes you did, you just said that. And beside 6 years ago you said the same thing and you said "I think your grandpa is weird cuz he is a caveman"
Bill: I did not!
Clearly Bill didn't mean to insult Fred's grandfather, he was just stating a fact.
2. The HV style (the honest version)
This is how people should really argue. It involves listening to what the other person had to say and trying to figure out the true meaning. If the person is younger then don't quote him from years ago. Really only a few months should be between when he says something and you quote it back to him. Especially if it's something trivial. For example four years ago I did not like basketball at all. Now I love it. Here is the example of the HV argument.
Bill: hey ya Fred!
Fred: 'sup Bill?
Bill: I was just wondering who you think is going to win the Super Bowl ?
Fred: well the steelers defense is pretty good, but I just don't think they have the offensive power to beat the packers.
Bill: What, seriously? The steelers have the hottest offense in the league!
Fred: No, look (whips out an iPhone) the game happened yesterday, and the steelers only had 35 total yards!
Bill: who'd of known!
3. Third and finally we have the IV style. This stands for Idiots Version. Now keep in mind, you don't have to be and idiot to use this, I just named it that for reference. This is when you believe you are right yet use faulty reasoning and untrue statements that you think are true. This is the style that most often uses references from years ago that no one really remembers right anymore, and maybe isn't true anyway. Twisted meaning is common too, just accidentally you truly believe that they said something else then they actually were trying to say. Example:
Bill: Hey fred!
Fred: 'sup bill?
Bill: Do you use the longest road in the catan version cities and knights?
Fred: no, of course not!
Bill: I think you do!
Fred: no, remember last time when we played we didn't use it!
Bill: dude that was like six years ago! You can't remember that!
Fred: oh yes I can! And anyway it says so in the rules.
Bill: why don't you go check then?
Fred: no reason to... I have the rules memorized.
Bill: ok, I'll go check then... ... See here! It says you do use it!
Fred: that rule book must be wrong!
Bill: I'm leaving, good bye Fred!
Fred: good riddance. :)
All the examples in this post are factitious. Any reference to any person living or dead is purely consequential.
Comment on any errors that you find.
Signing out,
Ryan Lokkesmoe
P.S. the packers will win the super bowl
1. The DV style (Devil's version)
This style is very common, basically this is intentionally twisting the meaning of other's words. Also used is the years ago trick. People change, especially in their childhood. When you are three and say something, you don't expect to have to stand by it ten years later. For example:
Bill: Hey there Fred
Fred: 'sup?
Bill: I met a caveman the other day, he was weird...
Fred: are you implying that all cavemen are weird?
Bill: um... no.
Fred: yes, you are! You may not have said it but it's clearly what you meant!
Bill: no its not!
Fred: yes it is! My grandfather is a caveman, you just called him weird!
Bill: No I didn't!
Fred: yes you did, you just said that. And beside 6 years ago you said the same thing and you said "I think your grandpa is weird cuz he is a caveman"
Bill: I did not!
Clearly Bill didn't mean to insult Fred's grandfather, he was just stating a fact.
2. The HV style (the honest version)
This is how people should really argue. It involves listening to what the other person had to say and trying to figure out the true meaning. If the person is younger then don't quote him from years ago. Really only a few months should be between when he says something and you quote it back to him. Especially if it's something trivial. For example four years ago I did not like basketball at all. Now I love it. Here is the example of the HV argument.
Bill: hey ya Fred!
Fred: 'sup Bill?
Bill: I was just wondering who you think is going to win the Super Bowl ?
Fred: well the steelers defense is pretty good, but I just don't think they have the offensive power to beat the packers.
Bill: What, seriously? The steelers have the hottest offense in the league!
Fred: No, look (whips out an iPhone) the game happened yesterday, and the steelers only had 35 total yards!
Bill: who'd of known!
3. Third and finally we have the IV style. This stands for Idiots Version. Now keep in mind, you don't have to be and idiot to use this, I just named it that for reference. This is when you believe you are right yet use faulty reasoning and untrue statements that you think are true. This is the style that most often uses references from years ago that no one really remembers right anymore, and maybe isn't true anyway. Twisted meaning is common too, just accidentally you truly believe that they said something else then they actually were trying to say. Example:
Bill: Hey fred!
Fred: 'sup bill?
Bill: Do you use the longest road in the catan version cities and knights?
Fred: no, of course not!
Bill: I think you do!
Fred: no, remember last time when we played we didn't use it!
Bill: dude that was like six years ago! You can't remember that!
Fred: oh yes I can! And anyway it says so in the rules.
Bill: why don't you go check then?
Fred: no reason to... I have the rules memorized.
Bill: ok, I'll go check then... ... See here! It says you do use it!
Fred: that rule book must be wrong!
Bill: I'm leaving, good bye Fred!
Fred: good riddance. :)
All the examples in this post are factitious. Any reference to any person living or dead is purely consequential.
Comment on any errors that you find.
Signing out,
Ryan Lokkesmoe
P.S. the packers will win the super bowl
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving
Today is thanksgiving, as some of you know, and I decided to post a small list of the things I am thankful for... (not really in order) btw, I am really tired so this might come out a little weird...
God
Jesus's sacrifice for us
God's acceptance of that sacrifice (often taken for granted)
Family
Friends
Steve Jobs
Sports
Food
Mac and Cheese
More Mac and Cheese
A bed to sleep in
A house to stay inside on cold days
The Packers
My other friends
Laughter
Sleep (and lots of it)
My church family
Singing (you never thought I would say that mom)
Amazing things
Other amazing things
Food
Wifi
Football
The incredibly luxurious lifestyle almost every American lives (even the prisoners)
Dad's job
Homeschooling
Getting an A sometimes
Weight lifting
Food
Basketball
Snow
Cold temperatures
Hot chocolate
Many other things that are evading my conscious mind right now...
Well, thanks for reading. What are you thankful for?
God
Jesus's sacrifice for us
God's acceptance of that sacrifice (often taken for granted)
Family
Friends
Steve Jobs
Sports
Food
Mac and Cheese
More Mac and Cheese
A bed to sleep in
A house to stay inside on cold days
The Packers
My other friends
Laughter
Sleep (and lots of it)
My church family
Singing (you never thought I would say that mom)
Amazing things
Other amazing things
Food
Wifi
Football
The incredibly luxurious lifestyle almost every American lives (even the prisoners)
Dad's job
Homeschooling
Getting an A sometimes
Weight lifting
Food
Basketball
Snow
Cold temperatures
Hot chocolate
Many other things that are evading my conscious mind right now...
Well, thanks for reading. What are you thankful for?
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Funnyness is back
I haven't put any jokes on for a while so here it goes :)
Funny Puns:
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger, then it hit me.
I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it.
I did a theatrical performance on puns, really it was just a play on words.
He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how a Mercedes bends.
Lightning sometimes shocks people because it doesn't know how to conduct its self.
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is a period, it marks the end of his sentence.
When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
Sleep comes so naturally to me, I can do it with my eyes closed.
The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
What is the difference between a poorly dressed man on a bike and a nicely dressed man on a trike? A tire.
If you step in a plane and see a friend of yours named jack, don't yell Hi Jack!
The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
No matter how much you push the envelope it will still be stationary.
A grenade thrown in a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart
Did you hear about the fire at the circus? The heat was in tents!
Funny Puns:
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger, then it hit me.
I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it.
I did a theatrical performance on puns, really it was just a play on words.
He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how a Mercedes bends.
Lightning sometimes shocks people because it doesn't know how to conduct its self.
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is a period, it marks the end of his sentence.
When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
Sleep comes so naturally to me, I can do it with my eyes closed.
The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
What is the difference between a poorly dressed man on a bike and a nicely dressed man on a trike? A tire.
If you step in a plane and see a friend of yours named jack, don't yell Hi Jack!
The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
No matter how much you push the envelope it will still be stationary.
A grenade thrown in a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart
Did you hear about the fire at the circus? The heat was in tents!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sufferings and natural disasters
Tonight at Power Tower, Pastor S talked about natural disasters and earthly sufferings. Especially relating to the point: "is God in control and ordaining it to happen?" We read a passage from Luke:
13:1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
In this section some Jews come to Jesus and tell Him about a disaster that had happened, that people offering sacrifices were ruthlessly murdered by pilate. They assume that they must have committed some sin and appear to be coming to Jesus to confirm this. They were probably shocked to find that instead of agreeing with them Jesus shows them their own pride and tells them twice what they didn't want to hear. They are proud that they hadn't sinned as badly as those that died. Clearly Jesus says that this is not the case, instead he points out that they will to die in the same manner if they do not repent. This isn't saying that if you are saved life will be easy and carefree. Then he goes and says it all again! Clearly the point of natural disasters are to point out, to people, how close they are to eternity and to make them start to think. Millions of people have died as a result of seemingly purposeless storms, earthquakes, and floods but I believe that millions have been saved forever as a result of these same disasters. "For God works all things together for good for those how love Him and are called according to His purpose" this might not mean that it will be for our good on earth but for the eternal good of others. Basically its a divine wake-up call.
13:1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
In this section some Jews come to Jesus and tell Him about a disaster that had happened, that people offering sacrifices were ruthlessly murdered by pilate. They assume that they must have committed some sin and appear to be coming to Jesus to confirm this. They were probably shocked to find that instead of agreeing with them Jesus shows them their own pride and tells them twice what they didn't want to hear. They are proud that they hadn't sinned as badly as those that died. Clearly Jesus says that this is not the case, instead he points out that they will to die in the same manner if they do not repent. This isn't saying that if you are saved life will be easy and carefree. Then he goes and says it all again! Clearly the point of natural disasters are to point out, to people, how close they are to eternity and to make them start to think. Millions of people have died as a result of seemingly purposeless storms, earthquakes, and floods but I believe that millions have been saved forever as a result of these same disasters. "For God works all things together for good for those how love Him and are called according to His purpose" this might not mean that it will be for our good on earth but for the eternal good of others. Basically its a divine wake-up call.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
New Testament
I just finished the entire new testament for the first time! I started it this summer. Now I am going to start the old testament and see how long that takes :D
Friday, November 4, 2011
Secret Church
Tonight I attended a special thing called (you guessed it) Secret Church. It is basically a elongated, super speedy service similar to those Christians would have in a country where it was illegal to meet. Over 50,000 people across the globe were watching and listening as David Platt burned through five hours of study in an intense simulcast that lasted from 6 to 12 at night. It easily could have taken 18 hours if he had dwelt on the topics more, but this way we were each sent home with a 150 page book that we filled in during the course of the night. This provides hours of study afterward. Last time we studied: Crucifixion, Salvation, and the Glory of God. This time the topic was: Marriage, Family, Sex, and the Gospel... Let's just say there were a few awkward moments :D I could type for hours about both topics but instead I suggest that you sign up for the next simulcast on Good Friday. It is amazing that in this world where everyone has such a short attention span 50,000 people all watched and listened and took notes for six hours, especially when it is late at night. This time when he would get to a good point I would circle it or star it, but soon I realized that every point would be starred so I gave up... Here is the basic out line that he covered this time:
• Gospel Foundations
The Character of God
The sinfulness of man
The sufficiency of Christ
The necessity of faith
The Urgency of Eternity
• God's Design
The Gospel and sexuality
The Gospel and marriage
The Gospel and parenting
The Gospel and the orphan
The Gospel and singleness
The Gospel and the widow
• Man's Distortion
The Gospel and Divorce
The Gospel and homosexuality
The Gospel and abortion
The Gospel and polygamy
The Gospel and pornography
• Special issue
Satisfaction in marriage
Its a lot to cover but he did a great job. I hope you check out more about Secret Church!
• Gospel Foundations
The Character of God
The sinfulness of man
The sufficiency of Christ
The necessity of faith
The Urgency of Eternity
• God's Design
The Gospel and sexuality
The Gospel and marriage
The Gospel and parenting
The Gospel and the orphan
The Gospel and singleness
The Gospel and the widow
• Man's Distortion
The Gospel and Divorce
The Gospel and homosexuality
The Gospel and abortion
The Gospel and polygamy
The Gospel and pornography
• Special issue
Satisfaction in marriage
Its a lot to cover but he did a great job. I hope you check out more about Secret Church!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Trip
I wrote a letter out about our trip and thought maybe someone would like to read it. It is very long and goes into a lot of detail, but enjoy :D
October 20 2011
Dear Friends,
Hello! How have you been? I decided to write a letter about the trip I went on recently, out to New York. There was five main sections: Transit in, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and transit out. I will devote an entire paragraph to each. We visited each in that order, though there was some excitement in the middle, but you will have to wait to find out what happened!
The whole trip started at home when we picked up a 32 foot pull behind camper. It was really awesome inside and we couldn't wait to get going. That night, though we hadn't left yet, we slept in the camper, just to try it out. My bed was about two feet wide and it was a good thing I am not real big. The next morning we left bright and kinda early we got on the high way, we did not know how many hours we would be on the high way in the next few weeks. We drove all day an stopped for dinner in Chicago with Uncle Eric and Aunt Sue. To cut down on the amount of driving the next day we drove a few more hours that night and stayed at a KOA campground. The next day was a killer because we had to drive for about 10 hours. Turns out, when we stopped for lunch we lost the key to to the camper, and the doors were locked. Not really a good situation, but it could have been worse (like if we lost the car keys). Anyway, we found a lock smith and though he didn't have the blanks for a two sided key he was able to make a key for the luggage compartments, and I cloned in through a window that was unlocked. We stayed the night at a campground that we had reserved sites for months ago, so we were on schedule. When the sun again rose we went to the Gettysburg battle site and saw the field and a fancy painting. It was really cool to drive around on a place that we had been learning about for ever! We had Mac and Cheese for lunch and ate at KFC for dinner. We drove to the next campground that night and after arriving set up camp and went to bed.
Today we went to Philadelphia! We drove half and hour to the train station and rode into the city. I hate public transportation!!! I really do. The fella who ran the train was like some foreign dude who probably didn't know English and that's why dad had such a hard time taking to him. He ended up charging us 60 bucks for a round trip that normally cost 28 dollars. The conductor pointed that out and refunded us the money. We had a fairly good day in Philadelphia and saw many cool historic sites including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. When we were in Independence Hall we suddenly were taken out side and told to stay away from buildings. Standing out side among hundreds of people, we wondered what was going on. After a couple minutes we were told it was safe to go back in the building and we finished out tour. I over heard a guard telling some one that it was an earth quake, just so small it was difficult to feel. I was ready to leave by now and we took the train back to our car. It was a good thing the train was still running, all the subways were shut down and we would have had no way back. I was not looking forward to another day in Philadelphia tomorrow. The second day was much less exciting, although it was interesting in a very similar way. When about to take a tour of the place where the first switch of presidents took place I again heard some guards talking, this time about a hurricane. I asked them about it ad they said a category III hurricane was coming to town soon. Oh boy, that sounded fun! Mom and Dad, of course, figured it was just a little storm and took no notice. Its a good thing they thought to pack me! The portable pessimist! It wasn't until they started to evacuate the city of new York that they started to take notice, but I will tell about that in the next paragraph.
On our way to New York City we toured Valley Forge. Ir was pretty cool, despite the rain. I like the country! When we just about reached the camp site that we would stay in while touring New York we received a call from the people who ran it wondering if we were still coming! They said everyone else had canceled their reservations and left early. Dad said that we were coming and they were awful surprised. They had free WiFi and we utilized it well, tracking Hurricane Irene with our iPods and iPhones. I convinced the parental units to leave earlier then we had originally planned but we still got to tour New York one day. Did I mention that I hate public transportation? Well I do... We saw the Statute of Liberty and the Island of Tears (Ellis Island). That is what it was called by the immigrants, but it wasn't that bad. Only about 2 percent of the immigrants were turned back. We ten went to Wall street and Times Square. That was really quite a site. The whole street was a giant TV! Dad purchased a apple iPad from the apple store in New York. It was so crowded in there you could hardly move! Rachel got something from the American Girl store. We went back to our campsite and got ready for evacuation. The hurricane was supposed to hit at 1-2 in the morning on Sunday. Tomorrow is Saturday so we planned to leave in the morning. It took until 10:30 for us to get going and we didn't travel very fast but we made it to a KOA in buffalo before the storm hit. It looked like a really nice site with an indoor pool and work out room, but we found out that they discriminated against kids and wouldn't let kids under 16 years old in the pool with out an adult. I did not swim. The next day we watched movies and relaxed while the wind whistled out side. It was only about 30 mph winds so nothing really happened. Then we went to Boston!
On the way to Boston we stopped at a place with thousands of water falls. Actually there were 11. We hiked a trail and saw most of them and boy was it good not to be around millions of people! After we finished there we drove to our campsite that we would be staying in while in Boston. The recent hurricane had flooded a bunch of roads and caused major traffic so on a trip that should have only taken 5 hours we drove for 12. We had a nearly fatal accident while setting up the camper: it was on a slight hill but we had chucked the wrong sides of the wheels, and while we were putting down the jacks it rolled off the supports and fell onto the jacks. If we hadn't put rocks on our side of the wheels it surly would have destroyed the hitch and probably more. In the morning we went into Boston and it really was much better then any other city. The buildings were much lower and farther apart and there was a park right by where we got off the subway. Did I mention that I don't like public transportation? We walked the liberty trail, a red line on the side walk that takes you all around Boston. It was a lot of walking but for the most part it was pretty cool. We saw a lot of historical sites in Boston like the house of Paul Revere and the battle site of bunker hill. We also went aboard the Constitution, one of the first ships in the US navy and one renowned for its battle record. It fought in 32 engagements and won every time. It is the oldest still active navel vessel in the world! The following day we saw Lexington and Concord and it was so nice to be in the country! Then we drove to see a replica Mayflower and toured a settlement that is like the one that the pilgrims founded. It was really neat because the reinactors there were highly trained to stay in character even with the most difficult tourists.
Finally we are on our way back home! We drove near Niagara falls and camped the night. The next morning we went to the falls and saw some amazing views. We enter Canada and saw the falls from the Canadian side. It was really hot that day and the mist from the falls felt nice. When we were finished with the falls we piled into the car and drove to Detroit. It was so hot that day we were worried the car would over heat. The following day we ate at a restaurant that Dad and Mom ate at a lot while in residency. We saw our old house, before Abby or I came around and much before Rachel. We were going to go to the Michigan opener but decided that it was too expensive and would skip it. We then drive our last stretch, home! When we got there we were all glad to be back, it was quite an adventure!
So to wrap up, we were gone for 15 days and in that time drove 3989 miles in 96 hours and 45 minutes! If you don't think that's a lot yet consider this not including the time when we were asleep we had about 180 hours of time. Over HALF of that was spent in the car! That's amazing! We started off with a full tank of gas ha to get many more tanks before it was through. The trip out was supposed to be about a third of our car time and ended up as maybe an seventh. New York City and Philadelphia were very big cities and I would not want to live in them. Comparatively Boston was pretty small and a nice ending to our trip. The road home was basically free of obstacles, but that can't be sati about the other parts. That was one of the longest trips I have ever taken and probably the most eventful but it was really fun and a great way to end the summer. . .
Sincerely yours,
Ryan Lokkesmoe
•2 Timothy 2:22•
October 20 2011
Dear Friends,
Hello! How have you been? I decided to write a letter about the trip I went on recently, out to New York. There was five main sections: Transit in, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and transit out. I will devote an entire paragraph to each. We visited each in that order, though there was some excitement in the middle, but you will have to wait to find out what happened!
The whole trip started at home when we picked up a 32 foot pull behind camper. It was really awesome inside and we couldn't wait to get going. That night, though we hadn't left yet, we slept in the camper, just to try it out. My bed was about two feet wide and it was a good thing I am not real big. The next morning we left bright and kinda early we got on the high way, we did not know how many hours we would be on the high way in the next few weeks. We drove all day an stopped for dinner in Chicago with Uncle Eric and Aunt Sue. To cut down on the amount of driving the next day we drove a few more hours that night and stayed at a KOA campground. The next day was a killer because we had to drive for about 10 hours. Turns out, when we stopped for lunch we lost the key to to the camper, and the doors were locked. Not really a good situation, but it could have been worse (like if we lost the car keys). Anyway, we found a lock smith and though he didn't have the blanks for a two sided key he was able to make a key for the luggage compartments, and I cloned in through a window that was unlocked. We stayed the night at a campground that we had reserved sites for months ago, so we were on schedule. When the sun again rose we went to the Gettysburg battle site and saw the field and a fancy painting. It was really cool to drive around on a place that we had been learning about for ever! We had Mac and Cheese for lunch and ate at KFC for dinner. We drove to the next campground that night and after arriving set up camp and went to bed.
Today we went to Philadelphia! We drove half and hour to the train station and rode into the city. I hate public transportation!!! I really do. The fella who ran the train was like some foreign dude who probably didn't know English and that's why dad had such a hard time taking to him. He ended up charging us 60 bucks for a round trip that normally cost 28 dollars. The conductor pointed that out and refunded us the money. We had a fairly good day in Philadelphia and saw many cool historic sites including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. When we were in Independence Hall we suddenly were taken out side and told to stay away from buildings. Standing out side among hundreds of people, we wondered what was going on. After a couple minutes we were told it was safe to go back in the building and we finished out tour. I over heard a guard telling some one that it was an earth quake, just so small it was difficult to feel. I was ready to leave by now and we took the train back to our car. It was a good thing the train was still running, all the subways were shut down and we would have had no way back. I was not looking forward to another day in Philadelphia tomorrow. The second day was much less exciting, although it was interesting in a very similar way. When about to take a tour of the place where the first switch of presidents took place I again heard some guards talking, this time about a hurricane. I asked them about it ad they said a category III hurricane was coming to town soon. Oh boy, that sounded fun! Mom and Dad, of course, figured it was just a little storm and took no notice. Its a good thing they thought to pack me! The portable pessimist! It wasn't until they started to evacuate the city of new York that they started to take notice, but I will tell about that in the next paragraph.
On our way to New York City we toured Valley Forge. Ir was pretty cool, despite the rain. I like the country! When we just about reached the camp site that we would stay in while touring New York we received a call from the people who ran it wondering if we were still coming! They said everyone else had canceled their reservations and left early. Dad said that we were coming and they were awful surprised. They had free WiFi and we utilized it well, tracking Hurricane Irene with our iPods and iPhones. I convinced the parental units to leave earlier then we had originally planned but we still got to tour New York one day. Did I mention that I hate public transportation? Well I do... We saw the Statute of Liberty and the Island of Tears (Ellis Island). That is what it was called by the immigrants, but it wasn't that bad. Only about 2 percent of the immigrants were turned back. We ten went to Wall street and Times Square. That was really quite a site. The whole street was a giant TV! Dad purchased a apple iPad from the apple store in New York. It was so crowded in there you could hardly move! Rachel got something from the American Girl store. We went back to our campsite and got ready for evacuation. The hurricane was supposed to hit at 1-2 in the morning on Sunday. Tomorrow is Saturday so we planned to leave in the morning. It took until 10:30 for us to get going and we didn't travel very fast but we made it to a KOA in buffalo before the storm hit. It looked like a really nice site with an indoor pool and work out room, but we found out that they discriminated against kids and wouldn't let kids under 16 years old in the pool with out an adult. I did not swim. The next day we watched movies and relaxed while the wind whistled out side. It was only about 30 mph winds so nothing really happened. Then we went to Boston!
On the way to Boston we stopped at a place with thousands of water falls. Actually there were 11. We hiked a trail and saw most of them and boy was it good not to be around millions of people! After we finished there we drove to our campsite that we would be staying in while in Boston. The recent hurricane had flooded a bunch of roads and caused major traffic so on a trip that should have only taken 5 hours we drove for 12. We had a nearly fatal accident while setting up the camper: it was on a slight hill but we had chucked the wrong sides of the wheels, and while we were putting down the jacks it rolled off the supports and fell onto the jacks. If we hadn't put rocks on our side of the wheels it surly would have destroyed the hitch and probably more. In the morning we went into Boston and it really was much better then any other city. The buildings were much lower and farther apart and there was a park right by where we got off the subway. Did I mention that I don't like public transportation? We walked the liberty trail, a red line on the side walk that takes you all around Boston. It was a lot of walking but for the most part it was pretty cool. We saw a lot of historical sites in Boston like the house of Paul Revere and the battle site of bunker hill. We also went aboard the Constitution, one of the first ships in the US navy and one renowned for its battle record. It fought in 32 engagements and won every time. It is the oldest still active navel vessel in the world! The following day we saw Lexington and Concord and it was so nice to be in the country! Then we drove to see a replica Mayflower and toured a settlement that is like the one that the pilgrims founded. It was really neat because the reinactors there were highly trained to stay in character even with the most difficult tourists.
Finally we are on our way back home! We drove near Niagara falls and camped the night. The next morning we went to the falls and saw some amazing views. We enter Canada and saw the falls from the Canadian side. It was really hot that day and the mist from the falls felt nice. When we were finished with the falls we piled into the car and drove to Detroit. It was so hot that day we were worried the car would over heat. The following day we ate at a restaurant that Dad and Mom ate at a lot while in residency. We saw our old house, before Abby or I came around and much before Rachel. We were going to go to the Michigan opener but decided that it was too expensive and would skip it. We then drive our last stretch, home! When we got there we were all glad to be back, it was quite an adventure!
So to wrap up, we were gone for 15 days and in that time drove 3989 miles in 96 hours and 45 minutes! If you don't think that's a lot yet consider this not including the time when we were asleep we had about 180 hours of time. Over HALF of that was spent in the car! That's amazing! We started off with a full tank of gas ha to get many more tanks before it was through. The trip out was supposed to be about a third of our car time and ended up as maybe an seventh. New York City and Philadelphia were very big cities and I would not want to live in them. Comparatively Boston was pretty small and a nice ending to our trip. The road home was basically free of obstacles, but that can't be sati about the other parts. That was one of the longest trips I have ever taken and probably the most eventful but it was really fun and a great way to end the summer. . .
Sincerely yours,
Ryan Lokkesmoe
•2 Timothy 2:22•
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Trip post #1
Today we leave. My device doesn't blog, even if I had wifi, so don't expect posts until we get back. :D I slept in the camper with Dad, Mom, and Rachel. Rachel got the bottom bunk which is three times the size of the top bunk. I have no idea how that worked out. Its going to be a great trip! Over and Out...
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