Exploring The World With BB8

I'm on a mission to visit every US National Park in the USA and bring my lego bb8 with me.

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

Mom brought the car key to work so I followed her into the city to fetch it.

An Unexpected Commute

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

I went on an adventure to see bull riding in North Carolina with my good friend Ethan!

8 Seconds

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

After planning this trip for months, Philip and I ventured off to Canada to go bungee jumping. It was awesome!

Five! Four! Three! Two! Ooooone!

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

Through The Gateway

Through The Gateway

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

I've never done a cruise before without family and this time I was joined by my good friend Ethan! We were going to the Bahamas. Woooo!

Margaritas On The Beach

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

Green Chili Cheeseburger

I really wanted a green chili cheeseburger for my birthday this year. So why not do that with a bunch of my friends and family around?

Green Chili Cheeseburger

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

Christopher Mouse 2024

I refer to ‘Christmas’ as “Christopher Mouse” more often than not. Arrival Day – 12/23 Today I woke up at 6:30am after a rough night of sleep and we were out the door by 7:45 on our way to the train. This year we were going to New York City for Christmas! It was easier for Mom and I to get to NYC vs having Philip come home.  It only took about 20 minutes for the Uber driver to get us to South…

Christopher Mouse 2024

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

NYC Trip #6 - Gateway NRA

This past weekend I went to the Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey. I had a great time and loved seeing all the fortifications.

I’ve been thinking about doing this trip for a really long time now and finally this past weekend I decided to just do it. Gateway National Recreation Area is a huge area and has multiple visitors centers. Two just south of Brooklyn, NY. One on the north tip of Staten Island, and the third at Sandy Hook, NJ. It was tough to get the timing right because of traffic and the fact that all the…

NYC Trip #6 - Gateway NRA

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

Battleship NJ Dry Dock Tour 2024

This is the epic trip I took to New Jersey and the Philadelphia Naval Yard to see the mighty Battleship New Jersey in dry dock!

There I was minding my own business watching another Battleship New Jersey video on YouTube and this time it was announced that they would be going into dry dock for the first time in 30 years for maintenance. When they mentioned that you could go on a dry dock tour I knew I just had to go and see. So off I went! Day 1 I got up at around 1:50am and was in the car driving away at 2:15am. By…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

From The Vault #11: NYC Birthdays

This is a trip I did in September. Mom and I went to NYC to see my brother to have a joint birthday celebration. It was epic!

Hello and welcome to the newest edition of From The Vault! The series where I go back and dredge up old, lost, or unwritten stories of my travels. This story is from September when I went to NYC to do a joint birthday celebration with my Mom and brother Philip (plus his girlfriend Liz was there too). I wrote most of it as it happened, but I decided to not write anything on the train home and…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

NYC Trip #5 - Long Island

I went to eastern Long Island, New York this past weekend and saw a bunch of cool things!

I’ve been wanting to do this trip for ages and this past weekend felt like the perfect time to go so I went.  I realize it’s technically not New York City…BUT Fire Island National Seashore counts as a NYC public park so therefore I can still call this NYC Trip #5. Day 1 Today I left the house at about 4:15am. The plan was to drive to the Montauk Point Lighthouse first without using the ferry.…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

From The Vault #10: Philmont to Home 2022

This was the epic final drive back from Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico to my home near Boston, MA. I drove 2,726 miles solo over 6 days.

Welcome to the 10th edition of From The Vault! I’m happy to announce that this is the final edition of old trips (for now). Every time I’m at Philmont I usually have a car, which means that I need to drive it 2200 miles home to the East Coast. I had already done it a few times before and dreaded driving through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania one after the other so I thought of a new…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

Mount Washington ALS Hike 2023

Mount Washington ALS Hike 2023 - In 2017 my Dad hiked Mt. Washington while battling the vicious ALS disease. We went back and did it again to honor his hiking legacy. This is the story of how it went.

Intro In 2017 my Dad was suffering from ALS and he did a fundraising hike that included Mount Washington, NH with a lot of good friends. By this point Dad couldn’t speak, had a neck brace to lift his head, and a leg brace for support. I was away at Philmont so I didn’t have the opportunity to join this legendary hike. This past weekend my friends and family recreated that same hike in Dad’s…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

From The Vault #9: The West West Coast

This is the long awaited sequel to my East East Coast blog! I went to Washington State to visit one of my penpals, see the Hanford Nuclear Reactor, and have lots of fun along the way.

Welcome to the 9th edition of From The Vault! For this edition I’ll walk you through the long awaited follow up to my East East Coast blog. The most western point in the lower 48 states (not including Hawaii / Alaska) is in Washington State. I had been thinking this trip over for ages and suddenly a great opportunity to go arose. I got to meet one of my penpals in person for the first time ever…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

From The Vault #8: Balloons In The Morning

Hello and welcome to the newest edition of From The Vault! The series where I go back and dredge up old, lost, or unwritten stories of my travels. This has been something I’ve been debating how to write for ages since I only have a few pictures and trip knowledge to work with. There was never an Official Plan, itinerary, or google maps timeline so that has made it really tough to come up with a…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

From The Vault #7: The Panhandle

There are many "panhandles" in the USA, but what I'm specifically talking about here is the Texas Panhandle. It's most well known for having nothing! I still felt like I needed to go and see for myself and BB8 joined me.

Hello and welcome to the newest edition of From The Vault! The series where I go back and dredge up old, lost, or unwritten stories of my travels. I thought I’d have to start over from scratch with this one, but then I found a completed unpublished copy on my laptop! What a stroke of luck. This was an epic adventure and I hope you enjoy! There are many “panhandles” in the USA, but what I’m…

View On WordPress

[exploringtheworldwithbb8]

From The Vault #6: Home to Philmont 2018

This was the legendary first ever drive out to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico from home.

Hello and welcome to the newest edition of From The Vault! The series where I go back and dredge up old, lost, or unwritten stories of my travels. This was a multi-day trip I did in 2018 that was one of the first ever true road trips. In early April my Dad passed away from the vicious disease known as ALS and I only had a few weeks to process this before heading off to Philmont for the summer.…

View On WordPress