If yesterday is any indication of what the next 30 days hold in store for me, our team, and 29 Days Until 29, I can’t wait to get started! Yes, UVA won, yes, the team looked pretty good (all things considered), but more importantly, I was amazed at how well received 29 Days Until 29 was by all sorts of random people!
I wouldn’t have decided to do this if I didn’t think I would be able to get people to talk to me and to share their cancer connection with me, but I never imagined just how into it people would be!
I’ve got to start by giving some credit to my @abolishcancer shirt, as it was a clear conversation starter, and, of course, the amazing business cards helped, but what really wowed me was people’s willingness to share without my even having to ask. They’d ask what I was doing, I’d tell them, and they would just start sharing their cancer connection. I heard some great ones that I’ll be sharing over the coming days, but tonight I want to write about my itinerary.
Over the past week or 2 I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my schedule over the next month. How did I pick the cities that I’m going to? Why am I going where I’m going when I’m going? Why am I not going to a certain city? What am I going to do while in certain cities? All great questions, so here are the answers!
How did I pick the cities that I’m going to? JetBlue flies to over 60 different destinations, not only in the USA, but thru-out the Caribbean, Central, and South America. With the exception of San Juan (which is scheduled for the end of the trip), I’m staying in the USA. I did this because it’s going to be a lot easier to get back and forth, easier to find places to stay, not cost as much, and I won’t have to worry about language barriers, etc.
As far as why I’m going where I’m going when I’m going (say that 5 times fast…); that’s a little trickier. I find that it’s a lot easier to get people to talk to you’re at events where it’s typical to talk to strangers. That’s why I’ll be going to a lot of sporting events, musical events, and big public gatherings. I looked at the calendar, said I wanted to be in certain cities on certain days, and then booked around those dates. After that it was a matter of going places that I’ve never been. While I do know a few people in some of the cities I’m visiting, I didn’t want to only go places where I knew people. If I did that I’d be more likely to not get out and talk to as many people. I want to push and challenge myself on this trip, and by having to meet new people I’m ensuring that I will achieve that goal!
Why am I not going to certain cities? Because I couldn’t figure out how to fit them into the schedule. If you see a way for me to do so, or if I need to come to your city for a specific reason, PLEASE let me know! The beauty of the AYCJ pass is that I can rearrange things as needed. For example, tomorrow I’m going to be changing part of the trip so that I can get to Salt Lake city for an afternoon and go to lunch with some new friends that I’ve met on this journey (and I haven’t even left yet!).
And the last question: what am I going to do in the cities that I visit? The short answer is I don’t know! Some of the destinations already have set plans courtesy of friends, or because of the nature of the events, etc., others I have NO clue and NEED YOUR HELP! If you see a city that you’re familiar with please let me know where I should go, what I should do, where I can stay, etc…
OK, now on to today’s poll:
Loading ...Tomorrow’s post will feature the video that a lot of people have been asking for: what am I taking with me and how will I fit it all into 1 carry on?
In the meantime, enjoy a few of the picture from last night’s UVA game!
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