What do you think?

I’ll see you out there…!

Sitting in an auto dealers waiting room isn’t really good for anything except wasting time. But on Saturday, through serendipity I heard on the television that the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile was going to be in Orlando. Now, with 3,000 more miles to go before I needed to sit in that dreaded, shredded, paddingless chair, I charted a course to one of America’s most beloved icons.

Where is the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile?

That’s the question I’ve asked myself many times. Along with the hamburger, I’d say the Oscar Mayer hot dog is America’s culinary gift to the world. Since 1936 this 65mph hot dog has traveled America’s highways and byways. If you’re lucky, perhaps you’ll pass it driving along the road.

This summer the Wienermobile (actually 6 of the Wienermobiles), are traveling the country.You can find out where they are on their map. I stumbled across it in the parking lot of Walgreens in Winter Park, FL.

Most folks had their photo taken outside the vehicle, but I wanted to check out the inside! I asked the lady at the Wienermobile if she could open the side door. She agreed and voila, I was standing in the cab of America’s most beloved icon. In less than 10 minutes I was on my way back home.

Mission Accomplished.

Today’s Lesson: Do something spontaneous. It doesn’t have to be long and take up the whole day. In fact, quick, spontaneous adventures are often the best because you have the rest of the day to do what needs to get done, and, more importantly, they put a smile on your face! What’s the best spontaneous adventure you’ve had? Share by commenting.

Check out the rest of my photos with the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Facebook. And for more fun you can check out the official blog of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

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Today’s post is a quickie. It went live while we were still flying to Thailand via New York. Our thought was to write something everyday to keep our site fresh.

I’ll see you out there…!

Your regularly scheduled programming will continue next week. Stay up-to-date here.

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Yep, we are still flying. Despite all the advances in technology it still takes forever to travel around the Earth. You never realize how large our planet is until you have to fly to another continent. Yet despite the long haul, there is something magical about entering a plane in one country and arriving in another. From the passenger perspective, your environment stays the same: you can’t see the changes that are happening around you until you make your first step into your new world.

We’ve brought lots to occupy our time: Magazines, playing cards, iPods, movies on our computer and yes those sleeping pills to help us cope with 18 degrees of pitch on our seats, though it feels like no change at all. Thanks to seatguru.com we’re sitting in some of the better seats that economy offers – but make no mistake it’s still grueling. Check them out each time you fly to ensure your seats are the best available.

Arrival time in BKK is 23:15 just in time for bed… er lunch… er bed. Ah, the joys of traveling.

Thanks for reading. Remember to vote and…

We’re closer to seeing you out there!

In an effort to reach out to new voters and new ways of promotion, I partnered with my friend Kyle Berner, CEO of Feelgoodz Flip Flops. His sells flip flops made in Thailand. We bought some, packed them in our suitcase and brought them with us. We promoted him, he promoted us. I don’t know how many voters or press that got us, but his flops are really comfortable. You should definitely check them out!

If you liked today’s post, there’s lots more on Facebook. Become a fan of adventureswithben.com here.

I’ll see you out there!

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Hey Explorers,

With just a few days before our Sunday departure we’re starting our pre-flight checks. One of them includes packing our bags. There are a few things that we always bring with us whenever we travel overseas. Check out our newest video to find out what they are…

That was our short list. Ben likes to bring some of his favorite snacks from America like Oreo’s and Cheez-Its. Brian ensures that they have entertainment by bringing movies to enjoy on their computer on the flight. The backpacks they bring have traveled to Europe and Africa and are excited to add the continent of Asia. We’re also bringing and empty suitcase to load up with gifts. There are a few other random things we have packed that you might enjoy. We’ll show you those later.

Our newest inclusion to our travels are Feelgoodz flip flops. They have a great story to them. They have an even greater back story! Almost 10 years ago Ben met the CEO of Feelgoodz during a summer job. He wasn’t a CEO yet, just an ice cream scooper and Ben was a restaurant attendant. The two of them become good friends. Over the years, as their paths parted and each pursued other interests they remained in touch. Ben found a career in Florida and Kyle wound up teaching English in Thailand. His passion for the country resulted in a marvelous idea – flip flops.

Flash forward to today, Kyle manages a growing retail business selling flip flops made in Thailand and Ben won a trip to the country. What better way to celebrate than to support his friend by buying his flops? If you want to learn more about Ben’s friend Kyle and his flip flops visit Feelgoodz.com. Oh and a correction from the video, Feelgoodz is working with TransFair USA for certification. It hasn’t happened yet, but check out the website for the other great initiatives this socially responsible company has.

Anyway, we’d like to know, what are your packing essentials? Leave a comment below.

If you’re a new reader, you may want to visit some of our recent posts for some fun stories. You should also vote for Pattaya. After a simple registration, you can vote every 24 hours. Click on the “Vote For Them” link at the top of the page.

AND…If you haven’t asked us a question about Thailand there’s still time. Watch the details in this video from an earlier post.

We’ll see you out there!

Talk to anyone who travels frequently and chances are, they’ll be able to weave a good story or two; myself included. Such was the case last week when I arrived into Providence Airport on Southwest Airlines. It was around 11:15 P.M. and I knew my parents were looking forward to seeing me. So I thought I’d have a bit of fun with them. While I was making the 30-minute drive from the airport to their house I gave them a phone call…

11:19 A Rough Landing – Phone Call #1

“Dad, I want to let you know I’m alright. When the plane landed there was a problem with the nose gear, it collapsed. So now the plane is stuck at the end of the runway and can’t taxi to the terminal. Southwest is trying to figure out what to do.”

11:28 The Fire Department Gets Involved – Phone Call #2

“It looks like the Fire Department is going to evacuate us. I see Southwest Airlines Representatives on the ground talking to someone who appears to be a Fire Chief. There are a bunch of trucks next to the plane.”

11:32 Is it Legal for the Fire Department to Evacuate Passengers? – Phone Call #3

“The Fire Department is going back-and-forth with the airport personnel. Apparently there’s some union regulations or federal laws or something that have to be figured out before anyone can evacuate us. Wait, I’ll call you back the pilot is making an announcement.”

[I abruptly end the phone call so that I may listen to the announcement.]

11:37 Call the Catering Truck – Phone Call #4

“Well, they worked out the legal stuff, but we can’t exit off of the fire trucks after all. It appears as though there are some elderly people on the plane who can’t go down the ladder. They need to use a process that works for everyone. So we’re just waiting on news for the next action plan.

Wait, I think I see catering trucks coming this way. Maybe they’ll give us free drinks or something…Nope, we are going to be exiting off the catering trucks! Can you believe it?

The flight attendants are telling us that they aren’t built to accommodate people, only drink carts so they can only take 2 people at a time with their carry-on luggage. I’m in the back of the plane so it will be awhile. I’ll call you when I get more details, my battery is running low.”

Would You Like Some Wine? – Text Message #1

I sent mom and dad a text message asking them if they’d like any peanuts, pretzels or little bottles of wine [presumably from inside the catering truck]. They replied with a yes to all.

On My Way Home – Text Message #2

I sent them a final text message letting them know my brother picked me up and I’m on my way home.

Welcome Home – Warm Embrace #1

The car is parked into the driveway and I’m met with a smile, quizzical look, hugs and a wag of the finger for tricking them into thinking I actually had to disembark off an airplane in a catering truck.

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it? Whaddya think? Would you have been fooled?

I’ll see you out there…! With my pockets full of invisible bags of peanuts, pretzels and little bottles of wine.

There’s visible things to see on Facebook. Join here.

Thanks mom and dad for having some fun. Love you!

After much deliberation we had finally solidified our itinerary. It was jam-packed. It also changed multiple times once we arrived in Thailand and even on the fly to accommodate new additions and meetings. Knowing where you could go is exciting. Doing it is even better.

Coming soon…where we actually went.

Did you know I also have a Facebook Fan Page? You can find it here.

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Have you seen our itinerary yet? You can, click here.

What do you think? We had no idea Pattaya had so much! We’ve been asked quite a bit why we chose Pattaya. And up until now point, we don’t think we’ve shared that with you.

Each year we try to travel to a new, international destination. We’ve made it to Europe and Africa and needed to add Asia to that roster soon. With Bangkok being one of the most well-known cities in Thailand, we figured our travels would someday take us here. Perhaps Phuket too. We had never heard of Pattaya until we saw it on the Ultimate Thailand Explorers website. Seriously. It was an unknown city for us.

We saw this competition as an opportunity to explore a place we probably would never have considered traveling to on our own. Even more important than that, this was a chance to learn and share with all of you an important lesson – to get out and explore the world we share; the cities we know, and the cities we don’t. Our focus has always been and will continue from now until January 8th, to encourage you to visit Pattaya. To include it on your list of must-see destinations.

When we received our itinerary last week we were blown away! Our first reaction – how are we going to do all of that in the 6-days we have? Over the course of the week Brian’s been doing a lot of the itinerary research while Ben’s been working the social media tasks. With only 2 days left before we leave, we’re still sorting through the logistics, but it will all come together soon, we hope!

If you live in Pattaya, or have been to the city before we’d love to hear your thoughts about where we’re going. Do you have a travel tip to share? Is there something we shouldn’t miss at the attractions we’re visiting? Comment below or send us a tweet @benandbrianthai

Be sure to vote for us too.

We’ll see you out there!