Google Maps keeps making itself more and more useful. Next time you're bored on one of these summer nights, check out the satellite maps of your neighborhood in search of a backyard pool to crash. Some people are taking it to another level and actually creating events online to meet at a certain time and place. Sure am glad I don't have to peek over fences anymore...

Usually step out of the airport and hail a cab? Forget that and hop on a hotel shuttle for free! There are two basic kinds of shuttles you can catch. The first kind is run directily by a particular hotel or hotel brand. These take you to one certain hotel or a couple of the brands they have. These aren't ideal, but if you have to, find one near where you're going and hop on.

A shuttle company that delivers to multiple hotels through out town is perfect. Usually the drivers are young kids and don't really even care where you go or what you're doing and hold no real allegiance to any hotel. Feel free to feel them out and see what you can get away with. I've gotten them to drop me off right at my front door before, just make sure you throw them a tip.

The Oregon Vortex site describes the anomaly as "a spherical field of force, half above the ground and half below the ground." The truth is that it's mostly just a bunch of optical illusions. The area used to be an old gold mine and the main attraction, the gold assay office, slid from its foundation in 1890. Basically the building sits at an angle which makes everything inside seem out of perspective. There's also a place where people's heights appear to change. It sounds kind of cheesy, but still on my list. We've been talking about making it to the Oregon Vortex for close to 10 years, but still haven't been able to accomplish such a simple task.

Even though someone completed the 210 mile ride from Seattle to Portland on a unicycle and a couple of long board, it was still a pretty tough bike ride for us. We started early Saturday morning (Scott and 5:20 and me at 6:40) among the massive amount of bikers (near 9k people registered). It was leisurely riding around Lake Washington and down through Renton. The first stop at the Kent REI was so packed that I just swooped some supplies and kept on rolling.

After REI, at about mile 35, I was able to get in a good pace line keeping a pace of about 40kph. This turned disastrous after someone got a flat tire and brakes went down the line until people were skidding. I clipped the rider in front of me which caused my bike to slip out from under me. I was able to get up quick and surveyed my bike and found only a twisted handle bar. As I was back riding I realized that I'd bent my front wheel, twisted my knee, and twisted my ankle. Such is life and I kept pushing on.

I was able to catch up with Scott right after Puyallup just before the Big Hill. I've found out that I actually am really good at hill climbs and powered past a ton of riders. Shortly after I came up to a pretty bad car accident with fire engines and ambulances just on the scene. Glass was everywhere so the entire pack walked their bikes past the site. Apparently they eventually changed the route to detour around it. Finally hit the 50 mile stop and got my body and bike fixed up.

From there on out it was just good steady riding all the way to Centralia except 10 or so miles on a bike path that has lots of roots and people to get in your way but was rewarded with cookies and a Mountain Dew at the end. The common overnight stop and middle of the ride is Centralia College, but I was staying in Vader that night which I thought was 10 miles further. After hanging out on the campus with Scott I marched on. Apparently I was mistaken and found out that Vader was another 27 miles further. After 100 miles of riding that's not something you want to hear. I was able to get there though with the help of some lemonade, banana bread, and a taco truck.

I woke up on day 2 to a flat tire in the storage room of the Vader Lions Club where I stayed. I got that fixed up and hung around town waiting for Scott to catch up but got tired of waiting around and headed out. My knee was definitely worse the second day and the rolling hills all the way to Longview didn't help. Seemed to make pretty good time to the Longview Bridge though and received a police escort across. The heat really started to catch up with everyone from here on out and I made the grueling ride to St. Helens where I was anxiously awaiting a stop at the Burgerville there. I put down a ridiculous amount of food and found the nearest willow tree for a shaded nap.

I woke up wore out and hot, but had to make the last 30 miles to Portland so I just kept my feet moving. Luckily there was a definite downhill slope almost all the way into Portland and allowed me to keep about the same pace, despite being extremely wore out. I finally rolled into the finish line around 3pm wore out and looking for water.

Our first year was a success considering we both made it across the finish line. Next year we need to get a big crew together, possibly involving a tandem bike. I'm considering actually making it a one day trip if I can get my act together.

The English translation of Preikestolen is Pulpit Rock and that's a pretty apt name. It towers above Lysefjorden with a sharp drop of 600m on almost all sides. It's amazing to see a place like this so uncontrolled with no safety rope or boundaries, just a 25 x 25 meter ledge with amazing views of Forsand. There's no record of anyone accidentally falling off, just a few suicides and base jumpers.

You can't get all this without a short hike of 3.8k each way. That transfers into about an hour and a half from what I've read. Stay at the Preikestolhytta Youth Hostel near the beginning of the trail. Also check out the granite replica in Denmark's sister city Langeskov if you're there.

It seems that this same list of Worst Roads in the World gets past around from site to site and through email forwards, but that doesn't take away the fact that these roads truly are impressive! The La Paz road in Bolivia still blows my mind every time I see it. I remember the first time I saw anything about it on a History Channel hour long documentary which I wish I could find somewhere(anyone who knows anything about it should let me know). At that time they had planned a bypass highway, but it seems that it's suffered so many setbacks that there's no danger of loosing this road.

Even though it sounds crazy to most people, there it's just a part of life and a necessary evil while traveling that area. The road is always getting shut down by wrecks, back ups, and protests. There is apparently a company doing bike tours on the road which seems like it's only going to make things worse and ripe for potential disaster. I want to do it.

As far as real estate disasters, this has to be one of the biggest. The South China Mall in suburbs outside Dongguan is the largest Mall in the world with 6.5 million square feet, 1500 stores, and a water/amusement park. The problem with the whole concept is that less than one percent of the stores are actually rented out.

The astonishing thing is that it hasn't been deserted over time as the mall falls into disrepair, the stores just never came. The mall opened with great celebration in 2005 only to remain empty and has a planned closing date in 2008. The Mall itself is pretty awesome architecturally stealing styles from Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Venice, Egypt, the Caribbean, and California. The amusement park is still in operation and is staffed by people who try and make it through the day by napping or folding paper.

Seems like the problem lies in its location in the suburbs. Apparently people are reluctant to actually drive to shop. What's amazing to me is that they didn't have a large portion of these stores already pre-leased when they started construction on a project of this scale. Whether they'll find some alternative use for this space or it will become an empty cultural artifact sitting as a reminder to ruined dreams and optimism is yet to be told.

As a rail hub in Bolivia connecting La Paz, Calama, Potosí, and Villazón, Unyuni also houses an impressive graveyard where trains find their final resting place. The area was supposedly a planned hub station, but construction was abandoned in the late 1800's. Word is that they're mostly US and UK trains, all of them are extremely rusted as these magnificent salt flats are nearby (Some more great pictures in the blog). Check out the hilarious GW graffiti on the Flickr page!

Giant water fight across all of Thailand? Yes please! This happens every year in celebration of the New Year and during that time you can't walk the streets without getting drenched and then covered with chalk. People roam around with water guns, buckets, or just sit on the corner with a hose. Backs of trucks are loaded with ammunition as people unload out of the back. Seems like there isn't anyone safe as passing motorcycle riders are getting doused too. Can't think of a better way to celebrate in the hottest time of the here. Just throw in some fireworks and you might have the perfect holiday.

On an Island sitting in the middle of Lake Onega stands some of the most impressive wooden architecture I've ever seen. The 22-domed Transfiguration Church is the dominant structure on the island and has been standing since the 1700's. From a distance it looks like a lot of other Russian architecture, but that's because you can't tell it's built completely out of wood. It's currently going through a restoration process though that's supposed to last through 2014. The entire island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and houses a couple fisherman and museum workers. That means there's nowhere to stay on the island, so plan a day trip or a covert camping adventure.