The stallions were relieved, even ecstatic, to be leaving Florida. Before they could get out of the state, though, they purchased some local Florida oranges from Wayne in Fountain, FL (Fountains of Wayne, anyone?) and grabbed some grub on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee.
After much driving and a near bathroom disaster or two, the boys arrived at the house of Jimmy’s cousin in Alpharetta, GA around 10pm. Waiting for them was freshly-ordered pizza and breadsticks for which the stallions were very grateful. After briefly visiting with Jimmy’s cousin Zeena, it was off to the sack for an early night. Another long day of driving lay ahead.
The next morning the stallions woke up to the smells of freshly cooked pancakes and freshly-squeezed orange juice. Over breakfast, the boys talked sports with Aki, who works from home as a computer consultant. It was a brief yet memorable stay with this wonderful couple.
When the boys hit the road that morning, they realized they were destined for Ohio that evening. What a genius idea it would be, then, to call up the people they met in BB King’s Restaurant in Memphis who attend Miami University in Oxford, OH! One phone call later, the stallions had dinner and lodging lined up on their campus for what would be an improbable reunion.
The road to Ohio traveled through Tennessee and Kentucky, two great stops for the Campaign. The first was at the Golden Girls Restaurant in Clinton, TN. Pulling into the parking lot, the stallions had visions of big screen TVs inside, repeatedly playing episodes of the famed Golden Girls TV show. Instead, they learned the restaurant was no relation to the TV show. Still, the food was plentiful and cheap, the dessert was luscious, and the service staff was top notch.
Passing into Kentucky, the stallions had now galloped in 12 states. The highlight of their Kentucky experience was an exquisite rest stop in the town of Georgetown at which they made themselves comfortable.
After a brief pass through Cincinnati, the boys found themselves in Oxford, a town where the college students compose about 75% of the population. Their host was the gentlemanary Denny Roberts, director of the Scholar Leader program. Denny treated the boys to some exquisite cuisine and the local Kona Grill. The stallions were also graced by the presence of Meredith, a standout student leader. Not only was she president of the student organization ASAP, whose mission was to teach English to African villages, but she had created a class at Miami that teaches students how to teach English as a second language. And she was teaching the class! Denny, besides being the man at Miami, was writing a book on leadership which he hoped to publish soon.
Dinner this night, however, would have to be cut a bit short since it was the night of the National Championship for college football between Ohio St. and Florida, and the boys were now in Buckeye country. Luckily, Meredith knew all the hot spots to watch the game. The first half of the game was spend at her boyfriend’s apartment where they watched with some die-hard Buckeye fans. Then it was off to Elliot Hall, built in 1825 and the oldest residence hall west of the Alleghany Mountains, where they would spend the night. The stallions found themselves in the family room of this “dorm” watching the second half of the contest. Needless to say, there were some disgruntled fans as Ohio St. got their fannies handed to them by Florida.
That night, the stallions were split up- some got their own room and others stayed in the rooms of guys living in that dorm. The hospitality of Brendan and Dave opening up their rooms to the Campaign was much appreciated.
After an excellent college breakfast of cold pizza, the stallions reconvened with Denny, who introduced them to Nick Longo, director of the Wilks Leadership Institute at Miami. The stallions had the opportunity to tell the story of STLF, the student-led nonprofit they are all involved in.
Nick was one cool cat
Next up on the agenda was a personal tour of campus, given by the lovely Ashley. She took the stallions to all the ‘hot-spots’ on campus including the ice center, where loyal fans will camp out overnight to guarantee the highly sought-after hockey tickets. The boys learned that all sporting events at Miami are free to all students! In addition, over 3,000 people on campus participate in broomball in some way, shape, or form. Although Ashley claimed to be an amateur tour guide, the stallions could see that she was surely an employed professional.
The boys said their farewells to Miami and hit the dusty trail. The last leg of their journey was destined for Sauk City, WI (just outside of Madison) to spend time with family practitioner and good friend Dr. Tim Bartholow. The stallions were looking forward to what would be a capstone experience to their memorable journey.
The next state to take a bow on their journey was Indiana. Specifically, the community builders made a pit stop in West Lafayette on the campus of Purdue University at Ollie’s Frozen Custard. Jordan and Brittney were not only extremely nice, they made a mean chocolate and strawberry custard blast!
The next pause in the drive was Hobart at the Speedway, where the boys were amazed to find a cologne dispenser in the bathroom. At only 25 cents a squirt, the stallions made sure to not pass up this amazing deal.
After handling some surprisingly light Chicago traffic, the stallions made an appearance in Elgin to visit a large conglomeration of friends at Casey’s house. Amber, Casey, & Anna made some great homemade spaghetti as the boys shared stories of their journey so far. Their stay was brief, but energized the stallions for one more night of mayhem.
Laurel, Amber, Anna, Phil, Phong, Casey, Laura, & Abe were all there!
Arriving in Sauk City, the stallions knew they were in for a treat to be hosted by Dr. Bartholow, however they weren’t sure exactly what to expect. The first piece of their experience was a personal tour of Bartholow’s Praire Clinic. Tim like to ask big-picture questions, and he challenged the stallions to contemplate the future of health care in America and how that compared to other countries. He painted a picture of rising costs and sinking Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements from the government and how that puts pressure on his clinic’s relationships with commercial insurance providers. The stallions concurred that the health care problem in America was going to get much worse before getting better.
Apparently the stallion must have looked hungry during their tour, as Tim insisted on making a late night stop at the Kwik Trip to pick up the goods to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then it was to their homestead for the night, which to their surprise would be their very own lake cabin. The stallions realized at this point that the trip had come full circle- they had begun and finished the trip by having their own house for the night! After a few riveting games of ping pong, it was beddy bye time.
The stallions were blessed with one final beautiful morning and a great sunrise over the lake.
Tim came a knocking about 8:30 to make eggs and toast for the boys. While munching on their food they continued to think of ways to change the world.
Tim was not going to let the boys leave town with having experienced some of the Sauk City community for themselves. The met Mary Ann at the Sauk City Community Center and Pastor Larry, Lori, and Dennis an the newly founded River Hills Church. Ironically, Tim was their biggest supporter even though he had never attended a service there!
Their experience in Sauk City was not complete, however, without a visit to majestic Devil’s Lake State Park. They put their hiking boots on and experienced some of the most beautiful terrain they had seen on their journey. Their hour-long hike brought them up more that 1,000 feet as they overlooked Devil’s Lake and the surrounding valley.
Now, it was time for the stallions to say farewell to Tim and hit the road for Minneapolis. A yummy stop at the Little Village Café for some better-than-Chipotle burritos in Baraboo, WI was well-timed and prepared the stallions for the last leg of their journey.
The last few hours were spend reminiscing on their journey. The stallions truly had seen it all. It would be many days and weeks before their experiences would eventually sink in. One thing was sure though- 11 days, 15 states, and 4,000 miles after commencing their journey on New Year’s Eve, the stallions had partaken in the journey of a lifetime. The had acquired t-shirts, cotton, keys, rugs, and more, but more importantly they had stories and memories to keep with them the rest of their life. It was the people they met, not the places they traveled, that made the Campaign For Community a legendary journey. Looking back, the stallions are extremely grateful for the people they met and return with a new perspective on the world around us.
Thanks for reading,
Eric, Brian, Drew, & Jimmy
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