A Lesson in Customer Service from Hampton Inn

Recently my family and I went on a trip to Seattle. We love to travel and by car as much as possible, because we love to experience the little things all across the U.S., not just the airports, which are mostly just all the same. During our travels, we often have 1-4 of the kids with us. On this recent Seattle trip, we only had the two oldest boys.

Because we’re usually traveling with the kids, we’re choosy about our hotels, not so much for price and convenience, but for certain specific amenities like breakfast and a pool. Our go-to joint was most often the Residence Inn, but recently we’ve been hitting up the Hampton Inns. Hampton has gone through a major remodel of both the business and the physical properties that works very well for us. The rooms are nice and clean, the staff are (usually) really nice, and the breakfast is pretty awesome, since they almost always have hot food like bacon and eggs and not just waffles and fruit. Even better, Hampton Inns are now offering a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Not only that, but many of our recent stays included unforeseen perks.

In Atlanta we were invited to a free BBQ dinner in the lobby.

In Seattle we were given goody bags with candy and snacks inside.

In Greensboro NC we were given free bottled waters.

Then there was Tacoma WA.

Despite a pretty awesome string of enjoyable stays in Hampton Inns, we eventually found a bad apple. I don’t even think it was the hotel so much as it was the employee on duty at the time. Unfortunately, customer service at the corporate level turned sour when I mentioned our issue.

Here’s the story.

Like many of you, I book 99.9% of my hotel stays online. As I’m a proud Hilton Honors member, I usually just book through that website instead of the plethora of other sites out there. I usually just go straight in and search for a Hampton Inn near where I’m staying.

We had just driven out of Mt. Rainier National Park and were looking for a place to stay in Tacoma WA. We found a string of hotels near the mall, some of which were even considerably cheaper than the Hampton Inn. I booked a room online, we found the hotel, and…then the trouble started.

When we walked in to get the keys to the room that I paid for through the Hilton website the receptionist said, “No, you can’t have that room” and proceeded to book us in a room with one bed instead of two at a higher rate. Two kids, remember? I’m way past the days I’m willing to share a bed with my two monsters. That’s a guaranteed sleepless night.

“What happened to our booking?”

“I don’t know, but you’re lucky to get the room I’m giving you.”

All this is said to us as we’re standing there staring at the 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed sign and wondering who peed in her Cheerios. We went ahead and took the booking and made beds for the kids on the floor. It was a clean hotel, so this wasn’t too bad. I figured I’d contact Hilton Honors later and see what was up.

There were several basic issues here…

• The hotel refused to honor my online reservation.
• The receptionist had a crappy attitude.
• The hotel upsold me to a lesser room.

But let me go on record right now and tell you how customer service works. There are several things the receptionist could have done that would have fixed everything…

• Show a better attitude.
• Offer a small perk, like the goody bags full of snacks and candy that were sitting right there on the counter.
• Apologize for the online screw-up and give me the new room at the rate I paid instead of the upsell.
• But most of all, I reiterate the first idea…be nice.

I contacted Hilton to express my concerns and let them know what could’ve made things rights. I also expressed my concerns that it felt like I couldn’t trust the online booking. Despite repeated requests to get to a customer service supervisor, all I ever got was the bottom of the ladder person managing the e-mails and tweets that day.

In addition to the Twitter messages, there was also a chain of e-mails regarding the issue. After reading them, you tell me if you can feel the love or if the whole things just seems like a “send the typical corporate response and get rid of this guy” kind of thing.

This is the first response following my e-mail asking for information on what happened with the online booking…

It is my understanding that the Tacoma-Mall, WA has been in contact with you and has adjusted your rate from $129.00 to $119.00 and e-mailed and updated folio.

Should you require further assistance please let us know. 

Hilton Worldwide Guest Assistance Specialist 

And another one…

Dear Dr. David W. Powers,

Thank you for your reply. My name is Mary.  It will be my pleasure to assist with the Hampton Inn & Suites Tacoma-Mall, WA. I would like to express my sincere apologies. Yes, you can trust all your reservations booked on our websites. The Hotel should have honored  the rate you had confirmed on your reservation. It is our goal, to provide only the highest level of customer service, for all of our guests, who choose to stay at one of our Hilton Worldwide hotels, and based on the details you provided in your message, we deeply regret that we have fallen short of that goal. Please be assured that we will be sharing your feedback with management to avoid recurrence.

After reviewing you file, I see 100% satisfaction Guarantee was offered in a form of a ” Be My Guest” for one night complimentary stay in a standard room at any Hampton Inn & Suites hotel of your choice and will be valid for “1” year from the date of issue. Please allow 5-7 business days for the certificate to be processed and mailed. 

Once again, we are terribly sorry for the challenges that you experienced at the hotel during your stay.

Should you have any additional questions relative to this matter, please reply to this email or call our office at 1-888-240-6152.

Best Regards,

Mary H., Specialist, Hilton Guest Assistance

And from me…

Would it be at all possible to get forwarded to a customer service supervisor? I’m not sure who I’ve been speaking to on the Hampton Inn Twitter account, but I’m getting a runaround and lots of typical scripted verbiage, and I would like to actually dialogue with someone higher.

Uh oh, Mary again…

Dear Dr. David W. Powers,

Thank you for contacting Hilton Guest Assistance. My name is Mary. It will be my pleasure to assist regarding the Hampton Inn & Suites Tacoma-Mall, WA.

After reviewing the file, I see you had been contacted by social media supervisor and were offered a “Be my guest” certificate to make amends for your experience.

We want you as our guest and are hopeful that you will afford us the opportunity to provide lodging services in the future.

Should you have any additional questions relative to this matter, please reply to this email or call our office at 1-888-240-6152.

Best Regards,

Mary H., Specialist, Hilton Guest Assistance

The end result is a bad stay, a receptionist ill equipped for the job, a policy of just tossing out free hotel stays for dissatisfaction, customer service reps who only want to cross off complaints instead of actually fixing them, and a serious problem that Hilton needs to get hold of. Otherwise, families like us may end up making our way to similar hotels like Residence Inn and the Holiday Inn Express.

Hilton, if you’re listening, I’ll repeat what would have made everything perfect for me…

• An apology from the receptionist that night
• An offer from the receptionist to bring in a roll up bed for my boys
• A goody bag for each of the kids and a bottle of water for me and my wife
• The rate I paid for if the room truly wasn’t available
• Make me happy onsite and two things happen. I don’t complain and you don’t have to give me a free night.

And boom! Done!

This message was written by a team of geeks, nerds, gamers, and Dr. David Powers. You can always find us at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

Roaming Again in Connecticut

I was invited back again to the Connecticut EMS Expo at the Mohegan Sun resort. I presented lectures ranging from Zombies and Infection Control all the way over to A Futurist Look at EMS. I had a great time at the expo and casino. I had the opportunity to see a few old friends again and also make some new ones, including the Nightwatch crew below. It’s nice seeing a beard and some tattoos on an EMS crew, especially Holly, who’s pretty cool (Even though you missed my zombie class Holly!).

Here’s our view of the Thames River from the hotel room. You can’t beat waking up to this every morning.

 Once again we ate way too much. It seems like every eatery in the resort serves double portions. I tried my best to keep up.

Fresh off the airplane we drove over to the Old State House in downtown Hartford CT to see the Joseph Steward Museum of Curiosities. It’s small but well worth the price of admission and time involved. Be sure to ask for your AAA discount. There was actually a lot more at the State House than I expected and we ended up spending several hours there.

Possibly our new favorite place in CT is the Gillette Castle State Park. This was the home of William Gillette, the actor who defined the modern portrayal of Sherlock Holmes with his cap, pipe, violin, and hypodermic needle. It was a pretty awesome place and, to me, a must stop spot in CT.

The riverside photo below is the remains of Gillette’s old houseboat that burned. It’s easy to find. You can park at the ferry below the castle or even walk a trail from the castle down to the river.

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A place I would highly recommend you avoid in CT is the city of Bridgeport. Everything about Bridgeport is pretty sketchy, and most of the downtown resembles a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The Barnum Museum is located there, but is closed most of the time and not worth the trip.

We climbed Mt. Tom to see the tower at the summit. You can ascend right up onto the top deck of the tower.

Then we visited Sleeping Giant State Park and the small castle at the summit of Mt. Carmel.

There are way more photographs and reviews of places I visited than I could put in the blog. Be sure to check out my Facebook page for the pics. If we’re not FB friends yet, why not?

I’m also doing more work for Trip Advisor, so you can see my reviews of places visited, including hotels and eateries on there. You can find my TA account HERE.

I also do coffee shop crawls anytime I travel for another business venture of mine The Coffee Scholar. Check out the CT Coffee Crawl on that site.

This message was written by a team of geeks, nerds, gamers, and Dr. David Powers. You can always find us at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

Our 1st Annual PFFT! (Powers Family Fun Triathlon)

I’ve always wanted to complete a triathlon, but just never worked up the nerve or made the logistics pan out to do it. So, I got to thinking, “Why not just host one?” I spoke to my wife (as all smart men do), and we decided to go for it. For years we’ve done a first of the year family and friends event that’s geared to prove to us and others that, as a family, that we’re willing to push ourselves and challenge others at the same time. Our event for almost a decade has been a January polar bear plunge, so a triathlon was a welcome change for us.

Yesterday, we inaugurated the 1st Annual PFFT!, or Powers Family Fun Triathlon. It felt like a very Bob Goff like event. If you don’t know about some of Bob’s wild and wacky events, just check out one of his books. As a matter of fact, he was kind of the inspiration for going all out with this. I hope it gets bigger and even more fun. Maybe we’ll even see you next year. It’s an invitation only event, so let me know if you want to be considered for 2016.

To keep the first one manageable, we only invited around 40 people. Amazingly, from the moment the first invite went out, the excuses started rolling in. They ranged the gamut from injuries, tired, spouse won’t let me, and you’re crazy all the way to a semi-pro runner who’s body is apparently finely tuned that he’s too fragile for a triathlon. You know who you are! I’m calling you out!

Out of 40 invites, we had 6 total contenders, and half of them were kids 12 and under. I’m so darn proud of those kids! One of our adults even borrowed a bike, which was also an excuse we got from another non-competitor. I love destroying excuses people give.

We decided to go with a Super Sprint distance triathlon, which is manageable for any adult or kid if they simply push themselves. That’s a 1.5 mile run, a 6.2 mile bike, and a 1/4 mile swim. We also eliminated the transition time stress by adding 1 minute per transition instead of keeping them on the clock. There was no official race ending time either, although we were all done within a 2 hour time. I wanted to entire thing to be super simple and low stress, if for nothing else, but to destroy the myth that triathlons are impossible if you’re not in impeccable shape.

Be sure to check out my Facebook page for a lot more photos.

I also owe a special thanks to our volunteers and helpers- my mom for watching my 2 youngest feral kids, my dad for keeping the times and watching the bikes, and Sara Wise for loaning Katie a sweet Diamondback bike named Beatrice. I also want to thank Todd and Vickie at Pirateland Campground for allowing us to use their facilities for all this craziness.

And with no further waiting, here are our results…

All participants with no age indicated are adults. Times are in MIN:SEC.

Overall

1. David Powers 60:35
2. Katie Corley 68.80
3. Benaiah Powers (7yo) 82:79
4. Korrene Powers 87:35
5. Abishai Powers (10yo) 98:34
6. Ethan Van Buren (12yo) 102:45

Run- 1.5 mile

1. Benaiah Powers 16:55
2. Katie Corley 16:57
3. David Powers 17:00
4. Korrene Powers 26:10
5. Ethan Van Buren 27:29
6. Abishai Powers 27:29

Bike- 6.2 miles

1. David Powers 29:10
2. Katie Corley 36:10
3. Benaiah Powers 42:24
4. Korrene Powers 42:25
5. Abishai Powers 46:05
6. Ethan Van Buren 51.77

Swim- .25 mile

1. David Powers 12:25
2. Katie Corley 14:13
3. Korrene Powers 17:12
4. Benaiah Powers 22:32
5. Ethan Van Buren 23:39
6. Abishai Powers 23:45

Once again, I was so proud of the kids who participated. I simply could not catch up to my 7yo on the run. Every time I got close he took off faster. Ethan, another one of the kids, kept going on and on despite severe mechanical problems with his bike.

Now to keep training for next year’s event!

As a special treat to you, here’s a couple of things I recommend for training…

My entire training philosophy comes from the book Extreme Alpinism.

The book Shape Up with the Slow Fat Triathlete is a great book for a beginner tri participant.

And my recommendations for nutrition HERE.

This message was written by a team of geeks, nerds, gamers, and Dr. David Powers. You can always find us at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

I Hate Chris Guillebeau and His Wandering Ways

Not really. I am so excited that I’ve had the opportunity to read after Chris Guillebeau, to meet him, and to become an alumnus of the first two World Domination Summits. I often wonder how people got to know Chris. I met him through a blog post by Tim Ferriss, followed by a post about him by my friend Dan Miller, followed by sending him an e-mail and buying his first book The Art of Nonconformity.

I can tell you that he’s an awesome guy. If you meet him, he may seem kind of quiet and laid back, but there is so much going on with him that you just need to sit back and wait for the awesome to come out.

That’s why I hate him (sort of). He keeps challenging me. I just finished reading an advance copy of his new book The Happiness of Pursuit that came out today. It’s all about quests and the purposeful journeys we take in life. Chris’ last two books and manifesto were great, but, more than ever, this book is a call to action.

One chapter in, I felt sad that I had no quest. Two chapters in, I decided that me and my boys would become ninjas. Three chapters in, I called a family meeting, and we all sat down and planned a round trip across North America. The rest of the book served as motivation and affirmation not only that I needed a quest, but that my choices were right.

Before I tell you about my quests, let me say that if you feel lost, aimless, or distracted in life, you need this book. Read it as therapy and be open to change.

My quest to become a ninja…

All of my adult life I’ve been involved in various martial arts beginning with hand-to-hand combat in the Marines all the way to my black belt in Oppido Dolens. But ever since I was a little kid watching all the uber-awesome ninja movies of the 1980’s, I’ve wanted to be a ninja. One of the questers in Chris’ book mentioned this same goal, and that’s what galvanized it for me.

I’m now studying ninjutsu under a 10th Dan practitioner of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and starting at the bottom as a 9th Kyu. My boys are also doing this with me. My goal for this quest is to test for my ninjutsu black belt within 3 years. I know it may seem fast, but my previous martial arts experience makes the experience a little easier. My boys’ goals are to achieve their ninjutsu black belts at the age of 18.

My quest to travel North America (again)…

I went on a three month journey across North America in 1999 before I got married and it was an experience I will never forget. I want my wife and kids to have the same experience. Our family quest is for me, my wife, and our 4 kids to travel across North America up to Alaska and back across.

So far, we’ve planned a rough route and a few of our stops, but we don’t have a formal date or budget for this one yet. Consider this one still in the planning stages. I even have it planned to stop in Portland to see Chris.

So, with all that said, what’s your quest? Not sure, go buy the book, and it’ll drive you in the right direction.

PS…what’s your favorite ninja movie of all time?

This message was written by Dr. David Powers. You can always find me at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

 

CT Trip Report

My wife and I just returned from an awesome trip up to the frozen north. I was up there speaking at the CT EMS Expo as faculty with three lectures. They treated us wonderfully and held the conference at the Mohegan Sun resort. I usually stay in cheaper hotels, and this was the nicest place I’ve ever stayed. We even gambled a little. I came back with double what I put in and my wife quadrupled her money.

Here’s a rundown of the trip…

States visited- CT, MA, and RI with mileage of around 400 miles on the rental car. I was amazed that you can drive all the way across CT in under 2 hours.

Summits and trails-

• Round Mountain in MA twice
• Mt. Frissell summit in MA twice and the highpoint of CT on the SW slope. We made it up and down the Frissell approach trail in 2 hours and 45 minutes. I’d rate the trail at strenuous with some very fun near vertical rock scrambling.
• Jerimoth Hill, the highpoint of RI

Event stops-

• Great Barrington MA
• Mystic CT
• Mark Twain house and museum in Hartford CT
• And lots and lots of traipsing around CT with stops at neat little shops, cafes, and churches along the way

In addition to the hiking and walking, we really lucked out and found some decent hotels with nice pools. I swam almost every nice, averaging over 500 yards each time. DON’T forget to workout when you travel!

I was really impressed with how clean and green CT was. After visiting the area, I have to sadly admit that my own home state of SC is really trashy. People up there just seemed to care a lot more about making their living place beautiful. This was my first visit anywhere in New England, and I’m looking forward to getting back up there with my kids.

Be sure to check out my Facebook page or Twitter for way more trip photos.

This message was written by Dr. David Powers. You can always find me at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

Top Seven Things Wrong with the Airport

I’m on a trip right now way up in New England from my home in South Carolina. There’ll be a trip report later, but for now you are more than welcome to my musings about the airport section of the journey. Here we go…

1. There’s a stupid goofy US Airways guy at the airport in Myrtle Beach SC that thinks he’s really funny but isn’t. I heard him one time telling some young women that their bags weighed too much and then proceed to sing “Money, Money, Money” while they stuffed things into their carry on.
2. Yoga pants are apparently the unofficial uniform or air travel for women (and some men). I’m convinced most women should not wear them. At all. Period. Yoga pants are the dingy grey sweats of this decade.
3. I staked out a spot at the top of the stairs and watched people. While I was there 85% of the people took the escalators, 10% took the elevator, and 5% came up the stairs. Thankfully, all of the people in the elevator were infirm, with strollers, or caregivers for either. Most of the people who used the escalator were healthy enough for the stairs or needed the stairs to be a little healthier.
4. Hudson stores at the airport charge prices that feel like legalized rape because they have no competition and also…because they can.
5. We need to go back to having pretty flight attendants. Old men do not make good attendants.
6. You already know this, but the airlines will charge you for everything. Next on their price list is to charge you in the bathroom. Simply slide your credit card in slot after you make your deposit. #1 will be charged per fluid ounce and #2 charged per gram of fecal material.
7. With those Youtube videos Southwest has set the bar really high for all the other airlines…and, so far, none are trying to hit the bar.

What crazy things have you noticed in the airports lately?

This message was written by Dr. David Powers. You can always find me at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

 

Attention to Orders…General James B. Vaught is Leaving for a New Duty Station

You know the old saying, “Old soldiers never die. They just fade away.” It’s true. Unless a soldier dies in combat, they tend to just come home, return to normal life, and slowly fade away. Some take longer than others though. Some keep finding causes and missions to fight for and continue a different kind of war. General James B. Vaught was one of those. I knew him, not well enough to call a friend, but well enough that he’d ask me about my family or kids whenever we ran into each other. It feels good when a 3-star General does that.

Here’s a pic I took with him a few years back. I told him he looked like a grizzled Ernest Hemmingway.

General Vaught left us the other day for a new duty station. Here’s the article from the paper…

Retired army general with strong Horry County roots dies in apparent drowning

CONWAY — Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James B. Vaught, one of Horry County’s most decorated U.S. Army veterans and a direct descendant of Francis Marion, died Friday after being found in a pond near Old Reaves Ferry Road.

The 86-year-old Conway man was remembered this weekend for his amazing service to his country, his educated opinion and his lack of fear to be an outspoken citizen of Horry County.

Horry County Coroner Robert Edge said Vaught was found in a pond near Old Reaves Ferry Road at about 5:30 p.m. Friday after his family notified authorities that he had not come home. Edge said a land and water search ensued and Vaught was eventually found.

“We’re not sure how he got there, but he was found near a pontoon boat,” Edge said.

He said Saturday’s autopsy showed Vaught died of asphyxia due to drowning, but there were also signs of cardiac disease.

Vaught’s family has deep roots in Horry County. The first two of his line to settle here came from Germany and put down roots in 1683. He and his wife, Florence, were very active with the Horry County Museum.

Vaught was born in Conway and attended the Citadel in Charleston in the early 1940s. He was drafted in 1945 and received his commission as a second lieutenant in February 1946. His civil and military education spanned more than 23 years, and has more than 38 years of service. His last assignment was commanding general, combined field Army, Republic of Korea/United States, assigned to defend the DMZ from Camp Red Cloud Korea. He served with the 82nd Airborne, the 1st Cavalry Air Assault and seven other divisions, the Army General Staff, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Office of the Secretary of Defense.

After pinning his first and second stars, Vaught was the Chief of Staff, 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, Assistant Division Commander 82nd Airborne, Chief of Staff, Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe, commanding General 24th Infantry Division, and was Director of Operations, Readiness and Mobilization Headquarters, for the Army during President Jimmy Carter’s term in office.

As director, Vaught stood with Carter and other top national security officials in the White House Situation Room to scrutinize classified plans to end the Iranian hostage crisis. The mission was to rescue 53 American hostages who had been held since the previous November.

Shortly after a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran that November, Vaught took a high-speed Concorde flight from Europe back to Washington. For months he led a group of elite soldiers from various branches of the military through training exercises to prepare for the rescue mission, which grew more urgent – and captured more of America’s attention – with each passing day. A series of misfires, including a helicopter crash that killed eight American soldiers, ensured the failure of what would come to be known as one of the biggest blunders of Carter’s presidency.

Since Vaught’s retirement in 1983, he served as a consultant and adviser to military and civilian agencies in the development and production of avionics, digital communications, night vision equipment and radar for military use, such as special operations. He was also a member of the special operations policy and advisory group for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

In 1985, Vaught chaired a study group sponsored by the American Security Council. The group produced and sent the “Peace through Strength” proposal to the White House. President Ronald Reagan adopted the idea and used it to neutralize and eliminate the Soviet Union without firing a shot.

Vaught was in Seoul, South Korea, when the North Koreans announced they had violated the 1994 “No Nuclear Weapons in Korea” agreement, which prompted him to write the “Six Nations” proposal. Vaught sent the proposal to all six capitals – the United States, China, Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea – and implored them to use diplomacy to stop North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

In March 2006, Vaught received the National Defense Industrial Association’s Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Lifetime Achievement Award for his more than 60 years of contributions to the U.S. Special Operations Community.

“What a great American,” said Horry County Chairman Mark Lazarus. “His service to the United States and what he’s done in his career is really profound. It’s just a sad day. It really is.”

Vaught often found himself in front of the County Council, providing white papers and doing his best to convince the council of his opinion. In fact, Lazarus remembers Vaught recently wagging his finger and telling Lazarus to start the paving work on International Drive and ended the conversation with “get it done!”

“It’ll give me more determination to get the paving done on International Drive,” Lazarus said. “He’ll be greatly missed.”

Liz Gilland, former chairwoman for County Council with nearly two decades of public service, said she worked with Vaught for years.

“He was a living legend to me,” she said. “He was extremely interested in getting involved. He kept his eye on us to make sure we did everything best for the county, or at least what he thought was best for the county. He was always preparing white papers for us to review when making decisions.”

Gilland said Vaught stood out from others who spoke to council through the years.

“He not only got up there and spoke his opinion, he got up there with a depth of knowledge and a huge portion of care for the county he was born in,” Gilland said. “I considered General Vaught a very good friend and true American hero.”

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James B. Vaught’s Awards and Decorations

• Distinguished Service Medal

• Silver Star

• The Legion of Merit

• Distinguished Flying Cross

• Soldier’s Medal

• Bronze Star

• Meritorious Service Medal

• Air Medal

• Joint Services Commendation Medal

• Army Commendation Medal

• Purple Heart

Badges include:

• Combat infantry

• Master parachutist

General Staff Identification

• Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification

• Office of Secretary of Defense Identification

• Glider

• Ranger Tab

Here’s the link to his Wikipedia page for even more information.

I really liked the old warrior. He was a good man and will be missed by the military and local communities. I’ve heard a lot of stories about him and from him over the years, but I think the best one is hearing that he was the only guy with big enough balls to chew out President Carter for killing a lot of soldiers in Operation Eagle Claw.

Rest In Peace General Vaught.

This message was written by Dr. David Powers. You can always find me at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

Stop Protecting Us from Stupid People

Three people slid off the backside of Stone Mountain in GA last week. For those of you that are familiar with the mountain, it’s a slick granite monolith that rises 825 feet from the surrounding terrain. In the deep south it’s the closest thing we have to Half Dome at Yosemite. It’s an easy walk to the top up the pedestrian area, but on the backside in the restricted areas, it gets pretty slick and steep. Apparently, the people walked into the restricted area past the posted signs warning them about the danger.

This leaves me wondering what the powers-that-be at Stone Mountain will do next. Will they install fences or more signs? Will they end walking up the mountain or force people to rope in and stay hooked to a cable? I’m hoping they don’t do anything. After all, signs are already clearly posted.

This kind of event happens at outdoor areas all over the world. I was at Grandfather Mountain in NC a few years ago when a woman stood up, lost her footing, and fell off the mountain to her death. Grandfather Mountain didn’t make any changes to the area. It was already as safe as could be and still be the uncaged outdoors. She wasn’t stupid either. She didn’t go past the warning signs or play on the cliffside. She was in an area I was standing in a few minutes previously that was considered pretty safe.

I think about Stone Mountain though and stupid people, and I hope the staff there doesn’t take precautions that change the experience. I sincerely hope they don’t try to protect us from the stupid people. I think about the great number of visitors versus the number of fatalities or injuries and the ratio is infinitessimally small. We shouldn’t change everything for the responsible folks because of the minority of idiots in the world. They’ll weed themselves out eventually.

This message was written by Dr. David Powers. You can always find me at www.drdavidpowers.com. Thanks for reading!

Called Again to the Appalachian Trail

Some of you will understand what I mean about being ‘called’ to the Appalachian Trail. Some of you won’t, but I hope you’ll sit with me for just a minute and let me explain.

June 1st was National Trails Day. It’s a holiday and a bit of an excuse to go hit the trails and encourage others to do the same. If you’re trail-addicted like me, you don’t need much of an excuse. It never hurts to have a good reason, though, when you’re inviting other people. For me, the draw is usually the AT. I don’t see her much, as I live too far away for frequent visits. I’ve never hiked her beautiful length the entire way. We’ve only spent time together here and there. But still I’m drawn back to her again and again.

One of my plans is to section hike the entire trail with my kids before they graduate high school. We homeschool, so that makes it a little bit easier, but it’s still a huge task. We started that task this past weekend by visiting Springer Mountain GA, the southern terminus of the trail. I thought it would be very symbolic to start the boys off at the beginning and also give them a small taste of what’s to come. The approach trail to Springer is also fairly short and not too strenuous. In fact, my 2yo Eleazar hiked the entire way.

They all loved it and we’ll certainly be back again for the next section as the trail calls us back.

Another reason I thought fondly about the AT this time of year is because my friend Jennifer Pharr Davis’ latest book will hit the shelves in a couple of weeks. You may remember her from earlier articles or blogs and her first book Becoming Odyssa. Jennifer rates very high on my list of Top Ten Most Awesome People in the World. Her inaugural book was about her first thru hike of the AT. This next book Called Again chronicles her successful venture to break both the men’s and women’s speed record for an AT completion.

You might think a book of that nature is all about the speed or the hiking. It’s not. Both the speed and the hiking are secondary to the relationships. That’s what comes through for me in Jennifer’s writings. It’s her relationship with nature, with other hikers, and with her family and friends. I’ve only met her in person for a short time when I attended the Appalachian Trail Institute hosted by Dr. Warren Doyle. From that first glimpse of her, to her lecture, and then never seeing her again as she left early the next morning to put in a long section hike before heading home made such a distinct impression on me that I count myself tremendously lucky to have met her.

I wouldn’t say that her first thru hike pushed relationships to the brink, although it did pose unique challenges to people who didn’t understand the trail. Called Again is a little different because the purpose and nature of this thru hike are vastly different. All the relationships involved including the one with her internal self are pushed to the breaking point. Because of this book I have a new appreciation for her, her husband Brew, and what it takes to break a record of this magnitude. I also met a side of Jennifer through this book that I didn’t know before. She can be pretty scary when she’s hyper-focused. I look on in awe but only from a safe distance while I read.

If you’re at all interested in the Appalachian Trail, outdoor journeys, or stories of perseverence, go straight to Amazon and order her book. It doesn’t come out for a little bit, so I have a plan for you. Go ahead and order her first book Becoming Odyssa and read it first. You’ll have it finished before Called Again hits your mailbox. You’ll gain a ton of insight into Jennifer’s motivations and calling by reading both.

And to answer the question of what you should do to celebrate reaching the summit of Springer Mountain…you should grab a seat and read Jennifer’s book.

My Wild West Trip Report

I’ve been talking a lot about my recent trip out west, but most of that conversation centered on the comics I purchased. I thought I’d do a quick rundown on the trip itself in the hopes of encouraging you to take your own cross-country jaunt.

Day 1- We flew out of our home port in Myrtle Beach. US Airways managed to screw up a prepaid flight and we ended up missing the first leg of the trip. I’m working patiently with them to rectify the whole thing but their customer service is very typical of a large corporation and isn’t really much help at all. If they don’t help me soon, you can count on an entire post about it. Instead of having all day in Nevada, we had time to get there, get a car, and start driving. Air mileage- 3225 miles. Driving mileage- 120.

Day 2- Spent the whole day with family in St. George UT in the Powers mansion. Lincoln and Tiffany Powers were awesome hosts and treated us super awesome. After picking up the moving truck, we spent half the day loading comics and resting. Driving mileage- 15.

Day 3- Lincoln and Tiffany drove us up to Zion National Park UT, which is only about an hour from their house. Zion is one of my favorite parks. I can’t wait to get back with my boys and hike the Narrows Trail. Driving mileage- 90.

Day 4- We set out from St. George and drove across Utah. We visited Moab UT for supper and checked out Arches National Park UT. We stopped for the night in Grand Junction CO. At just about every little town or city on the trip, we found plenty of neat new coffeeshops. Driving mileage- 279.

Day 5- We’d spent most of our time on the Interstate, but departed today to cross the Rockies near Breckinridge CO at Hoosier Pass Summit at 11,556′ elevation. The truck almost didn’t make it over, dropping to 10mph, and heating up pretty good. We stopped for lunch at the Cowboy Pizza Station in Frisco, which I would definitely recommend. We stopped for the night in Woodland Park CO. Driving mileage- 285.

Day 6- We started out the morning at the Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park. I love dinosaur-centric event stops! We also stopped in at the Cliff Dweller Museum in Manitou Springs CO. This place was pretty cool. We stopped for the night in Burlington CO so we could start fresh looking for the Kansas highpoint. Driving mileage- 181.

Day 7- First thing we headed across 60 miles of dirt roads in the cornfields looking for Mt. Sunflower, the highpoint of Kansas. Later on we stopped in Oakley KS at the Buffalo Bill Monument. We stopped for the night in Oak Grove MO. Driving mileage- 550.

Day 8- Our big event stop and my favorite of the whole trip was in Metropolis IL where we got pics at the Superman statue and toured the Superman museum. We stopped in Murfreesboro TN for the night. Driving mileage- 576.

Day 9- Murfreesboro TN was close enough to home that we decided to make the final push on our longest travel day and make it all the way home. Driving mileage- 587.

We arrived home about 2100 hours.

Recap-

• Highest Gas- $3.99 in CO
• Lowest Gas- $3.48 in GA
• Air Mileage- 3225 miles
• Driving Mileage- 2458 miles
• States Visited (some twice)- South Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina
• Hotel- never paid over $65 a night
• Fuel Cost- $928.76