From PDX to JFK

Flight to Philly
We hopped onto a plane in PDX around 8:00 am on sunday.  We were accompanied by former Portland Mayor Tom Potter and Senator Jeff Merkeley.  They were both very nice to talk to and supportive of our adventures.  During the second half of our flight Sal Palantonio from ESPN was on the flight but I did not get a chance to speak with him.  However, while flying I learned of the existence of one "craft" brewery in Lusaka, Zambia and pints of beer cost between $1 and $2 USD.

Philly
While in Philly we were able to see the Liberty Bell and get a tour of Independence Hall.  The room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were created was awesome to see and made me feel very patriotic.  Of course we also had a genuine Philly cheese steak from the place recommended by the locals,  Jim's Steak House.  It was good but frankly I think Heiny makes better ones at his tailgater.

Staging
During staging we did several meet and greet activities with other 30 volunteers bound for Zambia.  This was broken up by bouts of eating and drinking.  We had some excellent pizza(yes pizza), awesome pasta and some of the best sushi I have ever had.  The beer however left much to be desired.  I had a Yard's IPA which could have been one of the worst IPAs I have ever had.

Anyway this will be the last post for a couple weeks.   Next time it will be from Zambia!!!