This is all very handy stuff! Thanks a lot. We have looked into all the “catches” when hiring vehicles. We are all under 25 so need a lot of extra $$$ to be able to hire a decent vehicle with “low” one way drop off fees.
We are definitely looking at getting a GPS for the Journey. I do not want to be following a map when you have no idea where you are all though we will have a back up map just in case.
I do like this!
We have to visit Innovation First again for the two Juniors in the team. One of which has not flown outside of NZ before!
We are always willing to help teams out. We will have a look in to this and get back to you.
Hey there! Our team, Team 542 WHS Robotics is in LA and we’d love to show you guys around when you get here. A couple of places you might want to look into in LA:
however the rides are much more intense…)That’s all I can think of off the top of my head… haha needless to say, you shouldn’t be bored 
Hope that helps,
Sofia
Team 542 Whitney High School Robotics
Your trip sounds awesome! My team (542) and I are in LA, and there’s a bunch of stuff to do here; here are a couple of places you might want to look into:
Places to Eat
Ok well that’s all I can think of off of the top of my head, let me know if you guys need anymore help, ideas, or advice. Good luck and have fun!
I have friends who showed me six flags it looks really good.
We stayed in LA for a few days the last time we were there and did a lot of the touristy stuff…
We are planning a trip back to in-and-out burgers. Awesome place
Thanks for the ideas
There’s also a lot of natural beauty to see in that (the LA) area, especially if you like hiking. Crystal Cove State Park is about 25 miles (30-40 minutes) south of Anaheim (Disneyland), and it has short/moderate hikes (2-4 miles) with stunning views of the ocean. The beaches are relatively quiet – it’s a nature-lovers beach, rather than a “bacon in the sun” beach, though you could certainly swim there. There’s also a forested area and meadow with small mammals & other fun critters.
Another place that was recommended to me (though I’ve never been) is the Satwiwa Waterfall in the Santa Monica mountains. It’s a bit to the NW of LA, just off highway 1.
Of course, the king of waterfalls in North America is Yosemite, which is at its madly rushing, gushing peak right now, due to a very wet winter. But it sounds like that’s quite a bit out of the way of your intended travel route.
Ya, Knott’s Berry farm is a really fantastic park, or Six Flags Magic Mountain is also really fun.
If you want to do more Disney, you can always do Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure (though I wouldn’t recommend California Adventure because they are in the middle of a multi-billion dollar renovation)
My friends classify me as a theme park geek, so if you have any questions about any US park, I can probably help.
So TOMORROW is the day we leave! Team aMEss will be boarding the plane and heading for LA then onto Orlando.
This has come around very fast. But we are ready!!
We start our roadtrip today! First leg is to Mobile… Im not sure we know what we are in for with the distance we have to travel.
We are leaving on a high though! The World Championships was an awesome event. The VEX guys did an amazing job with the setup and running of the event and our guys are buzzing with the win and excellence award.
Thanks to all the team that were there and made the event what it was. Congrats to all the teams and especially those that pulled through as Champions!
Maurice,
Congratulations to you and your team, First and Third Place College Division?!!!
Quite honestly, this is the first time ever that I have regreted the fact that it was Spring Break! We could have held an assembly and let 1700+ high school students see you show off your robots.
Thanks for reminding me that I need to charge my camera!
For all, this will be my first time to have the opportunity to see a VEX robot (other than the Protobot) and WOW! World Championship Robots from New Zealand!
Maurice and Team, drive safe… It is an easy drive.
See you this evening and don’t eat too much on the way. A luscious meal will be awaiting the deserving team!
I am so excited!
Ann
We drove from Orlando to Houston on I-10 , the drive is fairly straightforward, stop by Rice University and give me PM if you want to check out our engineering facilities.
Team aMEss just left my classroom an hour or so ago. All of their robots were packed and ready for shipment.
The team arrived at Dauphin Island last night at around 9:30pm CDT. We stayed up and talked until about 11:30. I left before they were up. So, they took a quick tour of the Island and ate breakfast.
When they arrived at my school, we had more time to talk. VEX is so new to me, and this is a tremendous challenge that I have undertaken.
Gotta tell you! This team is awesome! Not just because they build a great bot and know how to make the best of it, but because their personality, the strength, the honesty, the willingness to discuss issues and concerns about lack of parts etc…
They are so AWESOME, and I do not wish for you to take this lightly!
Team aMEss spent the day at my school, during spring break, visited the office staff who were more SMILES and laughing more than I ever seen before. Team aMEss may not realize it, but they were a great HIT! Polite, courteous, patient with my students and the staff, enthusiastic!
AWESOME! I suspect this is the best thing that could ever happen for what I am trying to do.
ALAS! It was sad to see them packing up and getting ready to go.
A memory in my life, forever!
Ann
We were too busy to get a lot of pictures, but this one says a lot!
Team aMEss and Tabatha!
Hey Mo, Marty, Jake and Rhys
Stay safe on the trip. Watch for flying buildings. Need to celebrate when you get back.
Johan
It was great to have you guys stop by the VEX / IFI offices on your drive through. Always a pleasure chatting with you.
Congratulations on another great season! Hope the rest of the roadtrip was fun.
-John
Mo, Marty, Jake and Rhys,
Please let me know that you arrived home safely.
Johan!
“Somewhere over the rainbow…” has hit too close to home, but thankfully, rest assured that the aMEss team was in full contact and would have been warned to seek a hotel and hunker down.
“We’re not in Kansas anymore!” Well, what can I say, the worst of the worst this year has not been in Kansas. The devastation has been a few blocks from the University of Alabama and thankfully, they were spared.
Still, it is scary to hear the news as we were in the same storm path and had the same warnings as they did. Fortunately, I am very good at watching the weather reports and use the Smart Board and my computer to teach my students how to watch and prepare.
We were on the tail end of the storm, and as it happened there were no threats to us. Still, it is hard for me to view the devastation and hear about the number of deaths.
BTW, although this happened, it was 240 miles (386 km) North of us. After traveling accross the US, aMEss knows what I mean.
Guys! Glad you could make it to IFI, and thank you John for welcoming such a wonderful group!
Cheers to aMEss for taking so much time to visit with us! Just wish that it would not have been spring break and you could have shown all to our entire school!
Send me some pics and some videos, if you can.
What a remarkable group of students and fantastic robots!
Thanks!
Ann
So we are home and safe. We had to come all the way back to NZ to see a tornado. We are all safe though it cut through the shopping centre over the road from the University.
Well here is the trip US TRIP APRIL 2011 - Google My Maps
We saw everything we wanted to see.
Thank you to all those who made the Road Trip awesome. We ended up doing a lot more driving then we first expected 4200 miles to be exact.
Thanks John V, Bob and the rest of the guys at Innovation First for welcoming us in and showing us around the facilities you have. We look forward to trying out the new product and getting into the new game.
Gateway looks very interesting… haven’t had a look into it yet but I know the guys are looking forward to it. We will be starting the new season end of this month early next month.
When I figure out how to get pictures up we will. Or we might throw a montage together of our roadtrip and the competition on youtube.com
Thanks again. The hospitality that was shown by the guys in the US was amazing.
Maurice.
Maurice and Team!
I just found out last night about New Zealand being hit by a tornado. Thank goodness none of you were directly hit! Please know that there was deep concern here.
Good news at our school… This week, my class has been showing off the modified robot with omni front wheels that you suggested. WOW! Does it drive so much better! My students are so excited! My principal actually drove it on Tuesday, and he is impressed and gave us permission to take it to various classrooms around the school to ‘show it off’. We will be doing that, on and off, for the next few weeks.
Everyone that we have visited so far are truly impressed. Probably, most impressed is the First Sergeant (ROTC). He had seen it before in my classrooom during grad exams (my proctor), but had never seen it run. I did manage to show him the Omni wheels which had just arrived. First Sergeant was a believer when he saw it before your suggested improvement, but I have to tell you that he is now thoroughly SOLD, especially after he drove it! The front Omni wheels are awesome! His enthusiasm is fantastic! FS has promised to give a list of promising ROTC robotics students for Fall Semester.
Thank you so much for visiting and sharing your massive knowedge. We are now on our way… The aMEss visit helped us more than you can possibly know.
I can’t wait to see the photos of your trip and the youtube!
Stay safe and trust me, we are already studying Gateway!
Ann
From BEST Robotics to YOU!
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bestinc/message/1806
You guys are indeed AWESOME!
Ann