DeafNation Road Trip Crew

Starting from left: Anthony Mowl, Jed Barish and Branic Keltz

August 2, 2004 – The Mary Augusta has finally left the shop and is resting peacefully after one week of repairs. It’s no surprise that the vessel that took us to 41 states in a little over twice the number of days would eventually need a break. Jed is now home in Frederick, Maryland wrapping up our tour and planning yet another road trip to the next DeafNation Expo in Seattle. Branic has been getting himself settled in his new apartment with his girlfriend in Washington, DC while I am resting comfortably at home in Indianapolis with my family.

Sleeping in my own bed and swimming in my own pool has been the best medicine and I have finally been able to unwind after some of the most hectic months of my entire life. My summer was about as uneventful as Baghdad has been the last year, so there has been plenty for me to write about for you to read inside this website when it comes to everything we’ve done this summer. More than 64 articles and over 60,000 words worth to be precise. Below are some of the things we have done and seen this summer, and what you will find on this website.

We’ve gone to two DeafNation expos in Indianapolis and Hartford as well as the NAD convention in Kansas City. The three of us have crossed 43 different borders, including our neighbors to the north and south, Canada and Mexico. The Mary Augusta has been put in the shop for different repairs and oil changes five times during the course of more than 20,000 miles with gas as high as $2.59. We saw the world’s largest laser show at Stone Mountain, Georgia, played paintball with former Deaf pro player Mike Sutherland, and even jumped out of a plane at 13,500 feet. We gave a presentation in front of 800 Deaf but mostly senior citizens at Campvention in Iowa, as well as 60 teenage campers at Youth Leadership Camp in Florida. We went to six different Deaf clubs and 11 schools for the Deaf across the nation and countless other community gatherings and picnics. From the grand opening of Jack Barr’s TTY Museum in Madison to Joe Dannis’ DawnSign Press in San Diego, we have seen no shortage of Deaf owned businesses either.

The information contained in this website isn’t just about our road trip, but essentially about Deaf America. If you take the time to read every single article and watch every video, you will have a better understanding of what fibers make up the fabric of our society. You will see our biggest problems and our greatest accomplishments; our best and brightest, as well as our lowest. Above all, you will learn that the Deaf are in no way a small, fragile community. You will know for a fact that we are a strong, proud, successful people.

And here to stay