Who Are These Crazy Guys?

	Ben Gartner		Robert Jung		Kyle Walker		Carl Holley

After leaving Austin for dustier climes, Ben has lived in Lubbock for a few years now, likes grilled cheese sandwiches, and markets custom titanium bicycles. Ben was most interested in learning to play the conch. With luck he'll find a bass conch player soon, and the Conch Cowboy Superstars will go on to fame and fortune.

AKA "Bird", Robert continues to hail from Austin, though the pull of the pretty Lubbock girls is strong. He knows about the Inter-web. Bird wanted to buy a hammock and catch a 20 pound bass. He caught a 10 lb bass, but forgot to buy a hammock. And that's not too bad.

The mad genius of the trip, Kyle is a Lubbock attorney and slum lord. Most interested in Belize and opening a business, his hopes were dashed by the outrageous taxation and expensive beer prices. He renewed his vow to become a bigger slum lord, and then retire to a ranch in Honduras.

Wait, there's one more!

Carl Holley (that's Capt. Carl to you) won't be with us for this journey, though he will be in our hearts and minds. But lest you think Carl has hung up his adventuring shoes, we're glad to tell you he's just traded them for flip-flops.

Carl now lives in St. Croix, USVI, and is the Captain of the Mocko Jumbi, his 36' Hatteras. If you're planning to be in the area and need a St. Croix fishing charter then you're in luck - this wild Texan will show you where the fish are.

Other Wild Trips

Over the years, many trips have been taken by the various members of the group. Some of them include:

Yucatan Peninsula, Summer 2000

The trip that started the revolution, Carl, Kyle and Ben drove 57 straight hours to the national biosphere reserve near Tulum. Their sandals got stolen. A week and a half later, they drove 57 straight hours back to Port Mansfield, Texas, had dinner, and went fishing.

Lessons: Pack light, forget cooking, restaurants are cheap.

Florida Keys, Summer 2001

Ben, Bird, and Carl drove 26 straight hours — directly after taking final exams at University of Texas — to Key Largo, Florida. They met Kyle, who'd driven down the week before.

The guys stayed at Pennakamp State Park in Key Largo for most of the time (great) then headed to Key West (overrated), and stayed a few days on Geiger Key (awesome).

A feast of a dozen spiny lobster was cooked. Many grouper were waylayed by the spearguns. Then the group went to Panama City Beach to join Ben's family reunion, and cooked enough grouper to feed an army.

Lessons: Taking your own boat rules.

Solo Mexico, Summer 2002

Kyle got itchy feet during law school, and decided to take a trip to Mexico solo-style. He jumped on a bus and made his way around the country. Unfortunately, he drank the water, and came down with typhoid, Montezuma's Revenge, or something equally terrible. A kind Mexican family took him in after he wound up on their lawn, got him to a hospital, and he recovered quickly.

Lessons: Don't drink the water. That counts for in the shower, too.

Texas to Panama , Fall 2005-6

AKA "The Big One", this three month trip was the motivation for this site.

Lessons: You'll get a lot of gear stolen out of the bed of a pickup.

Getting an RV, Summer 2006

Kyle and Robert drove from Texas to Arizona to pick up an RV Kyle bought off ebay. It was long and hot (110 F+).

Lessons: People in rural NM and AZ are a little "off". I think it's the heat.

Solo Guatemala, Fall 2006

Robert flew down (sacrilege!) to meet Jon in Panajachel and spend a couple of weeks. Also bussed up to San Christobal, Mexico (Chiapas) for a few days.

Lessons: Travel more. I'd already forgot how much I missed Guatemala.

New Ideas

Robert's decided to put up a new site called Road Neighbors.