So here it is: the first of many road trips for the upcoming book. I doubt anyone would believe me, but I really hadn’t planned on starting my project on Friday the 13th. It just sort of ended up that way. I’ve never been superstitious, so it will be interesting to see how this all turns out. If it all ends up going south, you have my permission to mock me for starting such a huge endeavor on an unlucky day.
For obvious reasons, I can’t get too specific on where I’m going. Not only do I need to keep the suspense building until the book comes out, but I also want to make sure people don’t show up dressed like extras from the Thriller video and try to scare me (or fake evidence). So specifics about each location will be kept very hush-hush.
But no worries; there will be plenty of things to read about along the way. At the start of each trip, I’ll give you a full list of equipment I’m bringing, which might include a few clues as to where I’m headed. I’ll be sure to throw in all the CDs I’ll be taking along, too. Heck, I might even give you a peek inside the Snack Bag.
As the journey progresses, I’ll be giving Tweets as I go, which might also contain a few clues. Of course, if I come across anything of interest along the way, say something strange and spooky (or just plain tasty), I’ll snap a couple of pics and send it your way, too. And when all is said and done, I’ll do a full blog recapping all the highs and lows.
Now that the general rules are out of the way, here are some specifics about this weekend’s road trip:
- Trip will begin at approximately noon on Friday the 13th and continue until approximately 4:00 am on Sunday the 15th
- Trip will begin in Columbus, Ohio and head northwest, passing through/near Mansfield, Akron, and Kirtland
- Two separate haunted locations will be visited, one on Friday and the other on Saturday
- Estimated total mileage for the two days is 457 miles
Equipment being packed into Ol’ Blue for this trip includes:
- 4-camera DVR
- 3 handheld video cameras
- 2 DVD Recorders
- EMF Gauges
- Thermometers (non-contact and ambient)
- Digital camera
- 2 digital voice recorders
- Korg 8-channel mixer
- 2 studio microphones
- Vernier LabPro (a USB-based data collection system)
- 600 feet of extension cords
- 225 feet of microphone cable
- 8 pounds of batteries
And now for the musical selections:
- Paul Simon: Graceland
- Queensryche: Operation: Mindcrime
- Frank Sinatra: Gold
- Barenaked Ladies: Everything to Everyone
- Velvet Revolver: Libertad
- Pink Floyd: Animals
- Roger Taylor: Electric Fire
- Concrete Blonde: Bloodletting
- Gorillaz: Gorillaz
OK, the road’s calling. Gotta get packing. Wish me luck and make sure you follow me on Twitter for all the latest updates. And keep those comments coming.