So, I know you all have been staying up at night wondering why I
decided to quit my corporate gig to run adventure trips. Why I threw all
those degrees and experience out the window.
It was not a dream of getting rich, or running my own company, it was
a result of an experience I had in a raft in WV.
I wanted to live and experience things outside of the comfort of my
cubicle. All that being said, I now spend more more time than ever in
front of the computer. I will come up with an excuse for that next
month.
Below is my description of the trip that kicked it all off.
All the best
_________________________
A Dream, a Banjo, and a Pig.
It was a Friday in the month of April. I had convinced all my buddies
to go rafting in West Virginia as opposed to the typical weekend in NY
or Chicago that we were used to.
Everybody checked into the Charleston hotel. We began sharing the
same stories from college that we share every time we see each other,
which never get old. Boarding the shuttle for the restaurant, we were
greeted with a private room and a top-shelf meal. Cleaning the
restaurant out of all their clean shot glasses, we reboarded the shuttle
for a swanky little martini lounge downtown.
Around 11pm we hit the dance club. JR got his chance to do his best
Riverdance impression on the main stage, a talent he kept secret for all
4 years of college (That is him on left talking to random girl)
Morning broke, and surprisingly, everyone made it down to the lobby
with enough time for breakfast before climbing into the shuttle...except
me.
I woke up to everyone in my room, including shuttle driver, wondering
why I was not downstairs. This was quite comical as I had beat into
everyone the night before how if they were not in the lobby by 8am, we
would leave without them.
Eventually we were off and our river guide, Ted, filled us in on all
the things to watch out for: slow kids playing banjos, men beckoning you
into the woods with shotguns…you know, the usual.
We all realized this was no Huck Finn float down the river
experience. I manned the front of the boat and realized we were in for
trouble when our guide was showing us how to carve our paddles through
the waves; only problem was that he was making these motions about 2
feet over his head.
We got into the rapids, and the best way to describe it is just a
mass of bodies falling all over each other in a blind frenzy. The guide
is yelling at us to paddle, but that was the last thing on my mind as I
tried to just keep from getting tossed into the river.
After an incredible day of rafting, we ended up back at base camp
where we watched the video of the trip, commenting on how every picture
of me showed me paddling feverishly, unfortunately my paddle never
touched the water.
We moved over to the picnic area to warm up around the bonfire all
just staring at the roasting pig like a bunch of savages on a deserted
island.
Once we gorged on some BBQ pork, we headed to the house in
Fayetteville we had rented for the evening. We broke out the poker set
at the house and engaged into a 2 hour Texas Hold ‘Em Death Match.
At 10am we struggled out of the house and into the shuttle. Our guide
gave us the scenic route back to Charleston, and without sounding too
feminine, it is actually beautiful country, especially for those of us
that think beautiful countryside is the potted plant at the end of our
cubicle farm. We got to the airport, and everyone said their goodbyes.
The company was born.
Darren Hitz
Hitz Adventures
p:248.910.8152
f :480.393.4077
darren@hitzadventures.com
www.hitzadventures.com
WHAT'S NEW TV
Interview
My Adventure Bachelor Party company hit the TV
circuit.
Above is a link to an interview I did last week(The camera adds 70
lbs).
It was pretty funny as they called me out of the blue and said I had
1 hour to meet them at a Chinese restaurant for filming (don't ask).
I had to run home and grab some DVD footage and burn them copies,
while searching for the location on Google Maps...all while driving.
Complete chaos...felt like I was on location prepping for on of my
trips!
I made it in time to have some spring rolls before filming. The
interview was filmed in the restaurant booth...very strange
Nearly 20 years ago, a gangling, footloose
American gets boozed with a bunch of Borneo river-dwellers, and
finds himself bound in a gentle obsession. Soon after, he takes off
across the island of Borneo on foot armed with a quick schooling in
tribal bartering systems and not much else. He has no visa, no valid
passport, an unreliable map, and a few sentences of Bahasa
Indonesian. He can survive in the rainforest only as long as he
maintains the trust of the people he meets, as guides, tutors,
friends. He does far more than survive, and it is clear from the
modesty, resilience and humor that comes through in his writing,
that he was made for just this journey.
Read More
MOVIE OF THE MONTH
Lawrence of Arabia
It is unsurprising to me that some people find
Lawrence of Arabia boring. If you have the attention span of a
hummingbird, this is not a film you will enjoy. It has no car
chases, no bikini-clad supermodels, and nary a kung-fu move to be
seen. Instead, all it offers is tortured respect for everything it
touches. Lawrence of Arabia is a film that elevated the art of
cinematic storytelling to new heights, and it shows. It is the
journey, not the destination, that the viewer should focus on. In
order to enjoy this film, you must make a commitment to watch it.
Get comfortable, have something to drink on hand (you'll know why
about halfway through), turn off the phone, and put the remote under
a pillow.
Read More
SITE OF THE MONTH More Outdoor Web Cams
A couple months ago, I sent a link to the
cameras in the Smithsonian animal exhibits.
This month I send web cam links to famous outdoor attractions
across the US.
I know you are sitting at your desk just killing time, so check
them out and by the end you will be 10 minutes closer to leaving
