Kickstarter

My only regret about the Coast to Coast walk across England that I did with my daughter, is the lack of documentation.  I blogged each day and took some photos, but not nearly enough to truly chronicle the physical challenges, personal victories and friendships made along the way.

We're going to do things differently this time.  Bear with me while I explain the plan.  Its a bit unorthodox.

Have you heard of Kickstarter?  It's a creative way to raise funds for all types of projects.  Everything from books to video games to music and art are brought to life through the financial support of people around the world.  Since its launch in 2009,4.7 million people have raised over $760 million dollars for all sorts of artistic projects.

How does it work?  People like us come up with an idea.  They describe it and establish a funding goal with a deadline.  People can decide to pledge any amount of money, from $1 to every cent they own, in return for rewards.  No money changes hands unless the funding goal is reached.  It's a risk, but worthy projects often exceed their funding goal.

Lauren and I have decided to launch a Kickstarter project for our Irish Coast to Coast Adventure.  Our goal is raise $6,000 in thirty days.  Ultimately, we will produce a hard cover book that chronicles our journey, full of color photos of the landscape, it's people and the cuisine.  The money we raise will be used to upgrade our camera equipment, publish and print the book and fund a small portion of the costs of travel.  The bulk of the funds will be used for production costs.

We're working to create rewards that will make people want to back this project.  Some of the ones we've already decided on include a postcard sent from a random location along the way, an 11x14 glossy photo of a either a castle or a seaside view made from a photo taken during our walk and a signed book.  We plan to offer something for every budget, from $10 to a couple hundred.

The bottom line is that we want to produce a beautiful compilation of photos to accompany the story of our 32-day journey across a foreign land.  We hope to build a successful Kickstarter project so we can share our adventure with you.

Our project will launch in December or January, I'm still working out the timing issues.  I just wanted to give our readers a heads-up regarding our future plans.

The excitement builds.

A Change in Course

Lauren and I have agreed on a change in course.  We'll end our Walk Across Ireland by walking the Dingle Way (I know, it's funny) rather than the Kerry Way.  There are a few reasons behind this decision; the Dingle will be less crowded and it's less touristy to boot.  If those weren't reason enough, there's one more....

Our old friend Owen is going to join us!  Yes, that's right!  Lauren's dwarf, the one we befriended on our Coast to Coast walk across England is going to meet us for the last leg of our next big adventure.  That alone would be reason to alter our plans.  Lauren and I are both very excited to walk again with our cranky little companion.

Walking through the Dingleberry Forest with a dwarf!!  What could be better?

It's important to get all of the "dingle" jokes out on this side of the pond, before Lauren's dwarf joins us, because he doesn't find them funny.  Owen once told us about walking the Dingle Way and we laughed so hard, we ended up on the ground, unable to stand or breath.  Owen left us where we were and kept walking.

Owen is not a funny dwarf, but we adore him in spite of his lack of a funny bone.  We learned late in the walk that he has a great weakness for chocolate.  Lauren and I plan to carry loads of it for those times when he gets snarly.

I have some additional plotting to do to figure out our new itinerary, but it is with great happiness that I do so!