Chicago IL-My journey with MHD started July 3, days after hanging out in Keene NH and riding with Jason and friends in MARV to Lancaster for Porcfest.  Afterward, Jason contacted me and asked if I’d like to join him and Pete on the road. I couldn’t refuse.

Social Sunday in Keene NH

Jason picked me up in Keene and we headed north for Grafton, where some rebels had organized an annual ritual involving a burning porcupine.

After briefly visiting Maine, then swinging through Boston, visiting Lysander Spooner’s grave on the way, we drove to Irvington NY, where we spent the next several days meeting the people at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) .

Historical FEE home

Before long, I was sitting at a bus stop waiting to go to Rochester. Meanwhile Pete and Jason were driving through Vermont in anticipation of going to Canada to meet freedom lovers there. I couldn’t go because I didn’t have a permission slip.  But that wasn’t so bad. I met many cool people at the ant Hill coop in Rochester.

Departing in NY

It was not long before we met back up. Jason and Pete were, not unpredictably, denied access to Canada for what was apparently thought crimes and the government’s own deep paranoia. They swooped me up from Rochester and we headed to Vermilion OH as we initially planned to.  Sue Foote invited us to her home at Lake Erie and we had a blast sun gazing and kayaking.

Sue Foote and Carol Dunkle at Lake Erie

After an exciting afternoon, we drove to Pete’s folks house in Findlay OH. Elaine and Tom were really fun to talk to and they spoiled us beyond justification. Staying there for a week, it was evident the extent that Pete influenced their thoughts on freedom and government, and I found their openness to our ideas inspirational.

Lunch at Main Street Deli with Pete's folks

Columbus Tea Party

Before leaving Ohio, we visited Columbus for the Tea party held there. Outnumbered and surrounded by individuals who seemed lost in arbitrary rejection of some thieves and forms of theft, Jason and I attempted to persuade some to the ideas of a free society. After the events, we briefly interviewed retired Judge Andrew Napolitano before leaving for a flight.

Later on, we traveled to Detroit MI for a tour of the government carnage caused by hubris and supposed good intentions.

Recording the Carnage

Unfortunately a wrong turn took us some where that we did not feel very welcome. We were entering Windsor.  Several hours of international coercion, detention, and invasion confirmed again why we fight for freedom.

The next few days were much less oppressive and way more consensual. That night, we went to the Detroit meet up and met many cool activists there. We even met some comrades of Canadian residence that met us in Michigan since we could not meet them in their region of the world.

Detroit meet up

Successive meet ups in Lansing and Milwaukee followed through the week. As always, I met and shared insights with many fascinating people.  After visiting Lansing, we drove to Jackson WI to visit Adam and meet his family. Jason humorously titled the experience the ‘MHD Summit‘ referencing the fact that the entire crew was together in one place. The week was similar to the week in Findlay OH. We were able to get a lot of work done in a nice environment and Adam’s mom Kathy spoiled us. Adam noted that he never ate  that well before, suggesting that we visit more often.

MHD Summit

After an exciting week in Wisconsin, we drove to Chicago IL on August 12 and spent a day with our friend Arno at his home in Chicago where there will be a meet up tonight. However I will not make the Chicago meet up tonight because I’m parting ways with MHD.

I will be departing from MHD this afternoon, and will board a flight to Anchorage AK where I will spend a couple weeks before returning to Keene NH. Today will be the 42 day I’ve traveled with MHD, yet it will likely not be the last. I will continue contributing to MHD remotely from home with promotion efforts, events and however else I can. I will be glad to join Pete and Jason or other documentarians on the road later on if the opportunity emerges. Regardless, this is not goodbye and I’m excited to continue the fight for freedom from another front.

To every one I’ve met along the way, I’m deeply grateful for the discussions, encouragement, insight, inspiration, and the memories we shared. The friendships we’ve made are invaluable and I hope to further our relationships and meet again.  Thank you again to every one for your support. I’ve had an amazing time searching for freedom, I’ve learned a lot, and gained experiences that are truly unforgettable. To Pete, Jason, Adam and other future fellow travels, best of luck in your journeys.

We arrived in Jackson WI around 9 a.m. on August 5, a few hours ahead of schedule. Pete woke up early to drive the distance to Jackson from a spot we pulled in the night before, that we drove to after a meet up in Lansing OH hours prior.

Adam was expecting us in the afternoon, so we contacted him to notify him we’d be early. We pulled up to the driveway at the Jackson Motel minutes later and parked at the far end of the lot. We caught up and later met Adams mother Kathy, his brother Matthew, his sister Stephanie and her son Landon. We’ve had fun conversing and learning about each other over the past few days and we’ve been lucky to stay here while we’ve worked. In addition, we are appreciative to Kathy for having served us many great meals and for securing rooms for us to sleep in.

We originally planned to have a meet up in Jackson, but because of complications, we chose to toss it for the Milwaukee meet up the next evening (basically every one who was going to attend the Jackson meet up was going to the Milwaukee meet up as well). Adam contacted every one who RSVP’d for the Jackson meet up and notified them about the change in plans. Then in the middle of the night, we heard a voice emerge: “Motorhome Diaries?” Startled, Adam went to the window to determine who was there. It was Daniel Lakemacher (an individual I recently learned of after hearing about his site War Is Immoral) outside the window of the hotel. Adam went out to talk with him (though at the time I didn’t realize who it was). Adam returned after several minutes and explained that Daniel traveled for hours to meet with us for the Jackson meet up, which he unfortunately did not know was canceled since he did not RSVP. We were unable to have Daniel over at the time, but luckily he was able to join us in Milwaukee for dinner the next evening.

Before driving out to Milwaukee, Adam planned to have a potluck type event inviting the community over for priceless burgers and bratwursts and to meet the MHD crew. He fired up the grill around noon anticipating a consistent amount of hungry people spanning over the following five hours. It was pretty quiet. Perhaps people were not compelled by our sign.

Landon and our free food sign

Regardless, we did have a few guests join us, and we had fun talking with them while eating outside in the bright sun. Afterward, we got ready and left for the Milwaukee meet up scheduled for 7 pm.

We drove a ways and parked outside of the Power Plant bar and met up with some members of the local Liberty On The Rocks. We entered the bar, and predictably, with in moments identification of age was requested of me, and I stated I had no form of ID with me. I was informed by the bartender that ID was required and I asked if that meant I had to leave, and if I was in violation of law. She answered yes to both questions. She never asked me to leave though. Then she called the management to determine if I would be allowed to stay in the bar. While she did so, I initiated a discussion with a woman at the bar who appeared to think I was unfairly judging the situation. I asked her if an individual has the authority to choose to consume a beverage. She did not understand, so I challenged her to consider the fact that governments coerce bar owners with fees, license confiscation, and ultimately robbery and caging, if they choose to serve some one under the age of 21 years, a beverage with particular properties, and it was for those reasons that I was being discriminated against. The woman was not convinced of my views, however we shook hands and went on our way.

About 14 of us left the bar and relocated to the Palomino bar and restaurant nearby. We sat outside and it seemed like a more comfortable setting anyway.  Some musicians who were hanging out at the Power Plant bar also followed us over.

Dinner with fans of freedom

The dinner was fun, and I had some neat discussions with a variety of people who all were together motivated by an instinctive pursuit of freedom. After dinner, several of us continued the discussions back at the Jackson Motel for a couple hours until the party died down.

Milwaukee meet up

Also, to those who were unable to join us in Milwaukee, please make sure you join us today in Madison.

Due to technical difficulties (unavailability of a network connection fast enough to upload video), today’s thank you Thursday will be in text format. No cause for alarm, variety is the spice of life.

First, a thank you to every one who has donated via PayPal:

Alexander McCobin, Michael Yakubovich, Ryan Gove, Pam Makino, and Laurie Paravati.

Thank you to all of our in person donors:

Jason Osborne, Lauren Zemens, Janet Neilson, Matt Bufton, Jim Riley

We’d also like to thank Adam’s mom Kathy Breidel for having us stay at her home, serving excellent meals and giving us a nice place to work from. Thank you to the Jackson Hotel owner Larry Hamlin for setting aside a room for us.

More appreciation goes to all of our meet up hosts and organizers. Thank you to Jack McHugh for hosting the Lansing meet up, Kurt for hosting the Detroit meet up, and Steve McMaster for hosting the Findlay meet up.

Thank you to Andrew Napolitano for giving an interview while we were in Columbus OH.

Thank you to Pete’s parents Elaine and Tom Eyre who took really great care of us while we stayed at their home in Findlay last week.

And thank you to Allison Gibbs and Mike Powers who helped MHD land two radio interviews and one television interview.

We rely on voluntary contributions to keep MHD rolling and we really appreciate all of your support.

While at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in Irvington NY in July, we had the pleasure of meeting with, among many other fascinating people, Steve Horwitz, Professor of Economics at St. Lawrence University.  He agreed to do an interview with us before giving a superb analysis of the current recession later that night. In our interview he discussed topics such as the family, love, choice,  and independence in relationship to free markets.

We were also able to interview the president of FEE, Lawrence Reed afterward on FEE’s present and future methods for spreading freedom.

On July 23 Lew Rockwell, Pete and Jason joined Ernest Hancock on his radio show “Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock” for a discussion about “Anarchy In America”. Anarchism has always been a philosophy opposed to aggression, recognizing the State as the largest perpetrator of aggression in the world through history. Thus, we find the ideas of anarchism of  substantial value and relevance to our goals of achieving a social order of freedom, consent, and peace.

In the first hour, Lew Rockwell discusses the essentials of the State and its’ rational alternative, anarchism. In the second hour, Pete and Jason continue the discussion on anarchism and talk about their previous experiences with those who purport to have extraordinary authority beyond that of everyone else in society (hint: those people call themselves “the government”).

MHD family photo

As Pete expressed in an earlier blog entry, the last week was eventful for all of us. We pulled into Pete’s folks driveway in Findlay OH on Monday July 27, and spent the week editing videos, networking and coordinating events and media appearances, while having the pleasure of meeting with Pete’s folks, Elaine and Tom Eyre.

A big thank you goes to both of  them for preparing amazing meals, giving us nice beds to sleep on, getting us guest passes to the local YMCA, and for enabling us to be able to work continuously in spacious rooms with Wi-Fi. They even bought us chocolate pretzels. I am grateful in saying that you gave and did too much. We really appreciate it!

The first few days were relatively uneventful. We mostly edited, planned events, and caught up on miscellaneous work and videos. In between work, we had many interesting discussions with Tom and Elaine about achieving a free society, and they served several amazing meals like steak dinners and pancake breakfasts through out the week. From Tuesday through Thursday, we managed to make trips to the YMCA facility to work out. Pete was thrilled.

After a great work out, including pool time for me, we all walked to Main Street Deli for what Tom remarked as the best food around. We were also able to meet the deli owner Elaine a Bruggeman and to grab a photo with her.

At Main Street Deli

Hanging out with Elaine Bruggeman

On  Thursday morning, Jason and Pete were interviewed by Chris Oaks on WFIN’s Good Mornings! radio show to discuss MHD and its purpose of inspiring people to the ideas of a voluntary society.  In the afternoon, Pete swooped Allison up from the airport, and we all hung out over the next couple days watching movies and eating delicious meals. One night, Allison, Pete and his folks engaged in a game of pool.

Pete and Elaine Eyre playing pool

On Friday morning, we received a phone call from WLIO news of Lima OH and MHD was asked to do an interview to air later that night. With in an hour WLIO’s Tricia Bell pulled up to the house. She asked some great questions and we were appreciative for the exposure.

The following morning, we woke up early for the Findlay meet up. We arrived around 8:30 AM at a nearby Wal-Mart to meet several dozen activated individuals, many who just recently began realizing the excessive amount of government control and its’ devastating cost to our freedoms. Pete departed and we left for Columbus OH.

We caravanned for two hours to the Capitol building in Columbus where protesters were setting up for the Tea Party there. The area was packed. Jason and I walked around, talking with various people who caught our intrigue, explaining MHD and our goal of a society based on consent. After former Judge and host of Fox’s Freedom Watch,  Andrew Napolitano gave a powerful speech warning of the atrocities and rapid growth of government control currently and through out history, we were able to catch him before taking a flight, to talk briefly about his speech and the potential of a voluntary society.

Jason and I with Andrew Napolitano

Afterword, we were able to get an interview with Ohio resident Greg Kerr (aka Rushfan), who actually named the notorious MARV, and  he gave some fascinating insights to his strong belief in freedom.

Jason and Greg

Greg had to leave, but we were able to meet up with Sharon and Jason Osborne (of Think Twice News) for dinner and discussion about the Free State Project, Keene, and activism techniques. Jason was generous enough to pay for our meals. After dinner, we did a quick interview and he told us about some of his current and upcoming projects.

We headed back to Findlay for a good night rest before leaving this afternoon for Michigan. On the way, we dropped Allison off at the airport, then headed to Detroit where we stopped at a Starbucks,  where we’ve working on content and preparing for our Detroit meet up tomorrow and Lansing meet up the day after. We’re glad to be back on the road and eager to resume meet ups and interviews with many fascinating and insightful individuals.

Vermilion OH – After an exciting week at the Ant Hill housing coop I rejoined Pete and Jason on Saturday when they picked me up in Rochester NY. I originally intended to leave the coop on the 24th in the direction of Vermilion OH, but after Canadian border thugs denied them entry to Canada, Pete and Jason picked me up in Rochester around midnight. We set our course for a Flying J truck stop in Buffalo NY approximately 45 minutes away where we crashed for the night. After breakfast at the Country Kitchen, Jason cleaned up the mess left after the Canadian border agency’s ransacking while Pete and I hammered down some content and created an update for our Facebook fans. After several hours of work, we loaded the MARV with fresh water, dumped our black and gray water and left Buffalo around 2 PM.

We began a five hour trip to Vermilion OH, where Sue Foote, a long time libertarian, and delightful individual, generously invited us to stay at her families beach front home located on Lake Erie. When we arrived, Sue introduced us to her parents Joyce and Harvey Foote and her friend Carol Dunkle, then gave us a brief tour of their home and vegetable garden out back. The garden, impressive with its supply of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peas, raspberries, apples and more is a result of Harvey’s many years of extensive gardening experience.

Jason and Sue

We hung out at the house for a bit and while discussing our travels, Sue mentioned her amazing voyage from Lake Erie to New Zealand, which she chronicled in her own book The Sailing Adventures Of La Boatique -From Lake Erie to New Zealand. She gave us a copy of the her book and signed the front page with “From one adventurer to another”.

Afterward, Sue led us across the street and we walked through the Heidelberg Beach neighborhood to the beach at Lake Erie. We walked down a small hill to the shore and walked along the beach for a few minutes capturing photos and video along the way.

Pete documenting Heidelberg beach

The view was absolutely breathtaking. The sky lit with pink, blue, and purple, while the sun, bright and orange, illuminated the clouds as the waves pounded the shore below. We then walked back up the hill and sat for a couple hours watching the sun slowly disappear. After gazing at the awesome tide and sky, we went to bed for the night.

Lake Erie at sunset

This morning we woke at 7:30 AM for breakfast with Sue and her parents before walking back to the beach for a two hour kayaking adventure that Sue suggested the night before. Sue, Jason, Pete, and I each grabbed a kayak and set out for our journey. We pushed off from the shore and began paddling out. The waves rocked our kayaks as we paddled and floated for approximately 40 minutes until we drifted to a nearby marina. After passing numerous boats stationed there, we entered a tunnel below a bridge above leading to a creek. At the other end of the tunnel was  a Great Egret, an elegant tall and thin white feathered bird. As we floated by, it took flight and relocated a couple times, still in our sight, before finally taking off.

Lake Erie sunset

The creek narrowed the further we drifted, and became increasingly crowded by floating logs. Eventually we hit a dead end with several logs restricting further access. We turned back to go out the way we came, resuming paddling in the lake. We continued splashing and traveling through the water for about an hour before residing to the beach. We headed back to the house for a bit before leaving for Pete’s parents house in Findlay OH.

We all had a blast meeting the Foote family. They were very kind and inviting, and we are very appreciative of their hospitality and to Sue for the wonderful kayaking adventure. It was a truly memorable experience.

Depection of Internet Network

BUFFALO, NY – To paraphrase what Steve Horowitz (who’s interview will be published soon) told us last week, “oppression creates resistance”. When Canadian border patrol agents aggressed Jason and Pete, they unwittingly provoked a network of committed activists and journalists to sound the alarm and disseminate information about their wrongdoing . Below is an incomplete compilation of the numerous blogs and sites that have helped in diffusing this story.

Xaq Fixx talked with Pete and Jason on the phone, and quickly posted information at Fr33 Agents, getting the news on the radar of many activists.

The Washington City Paper remarked that they were writing about Motor Home Diaries on Freedom Friday for the second time in several months, and how devastatingly ironic it was that MHD was denied access to Canada as a consequence of that prior injustice that they previously reported on:

Need another example of the universality of angry cops asserting their authority for no good reason? Last night, libertarian activist J.D. Talley and Pete Eyre were turned away at the Canadian border after being detained for over four hours. The two are touring the U.S. and Canada as part of the Motor Home Diaries; basically, happy hours, talks, and meet-ups with other libertarians. Pretty harmless, right?

They went on to say:

The Canadian border patrol cited an incident in Jones County, Mississippi as the reason for denying Eyre and Talley entrance. We wrote about the same incident many Freedom Fridays back. To refresh your memory: Talley, Eyre, and an additional friend–all of them white–were pulled over by a Mississippi law enforcement officer. When the Motor Home Diaries crew asked why they had been pulled over and then refused to identify themselves until the officer answered them, the officer placed all three men under arrest, charged them with violating bogus public safety laws, and impounded their vehicle. They were held overnight and lost a lot of money in incarceration fees to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.

Macleans.CA documented the incident and commented as well:

Honestly, two wrongs don’t make a right, and it seems ridiculous to allow a couple of border guards to prevent what appear to be entirely harmless, if perhaps a little bit loopy libertarians from crossing the border —  just as ridiculous as the Galloway ban, in fact. Here’s hoping that the minister will do the right thing, and put an end to this silliness once and for all.

Mike Gogulski wrote an entry at NoState.com:

What is a border?…

I got to thinking about this because the Motorhome Diaries crew (agorist comrades Jason Talley and Pete Eyre) just got stopped and searched and denied passage across one of these “border” things. From the reports, it sounds like the “border” in question was one dividing two political entities which call themselves “United States of America” and “Canada”.

I offer a few alternative definitions for your consideration:

bor-der (bôr’dər) n.: 1. An imaginary line near which organized criminals in and out of uniform may stop, search, kidnap, cage, shoot, rob or otherwise harm peaceful people without consequence.

J. D. Tuccille, author of the blog Disloyal Opposition shared his thoughts:

The libertarian journalists of The Motorhome Diaries were detained at the Canadian border and denied entry into the Great White North. Apparently, the abuse they sustained at the hands of authorities in Jones County, Mississippi was cited as a reason to bar them from the country. That, and the “heinous propaganda” they were carrying.

Psychopolitik 2.0 shared their disapproval of the treatment MHD received:

Actually, they decided that letting a couple libertarians in would be an intolerable risk to the security of their country.  Instead, the authorities confiscated & destroyed their video of the trip, spewed some crap about looking for pornography (WTF, since when was porn illegal in Canada?) & “heinous propaganda”, looted their vehicle, held their computers as evidence, and sent them back the other way as if they’d bounced off a force field.

Le Minarchiste Quebececois transmitted the story in French.

Brad Taylor, Blog Of Bile,  Freedoms Phoenix, Reflections From A Rotting Nation, and The Agitator also relayed the information, contributing to its circulation.

Thank you to every one who helped with spreading this information. This collaboration indicates the strength of our network as individuals and that when we work together and we accomplish a lot. Let’s continue the fight to stop government violence from standing between us and those we love, despite some imaginary, yet militarized, line on a map.

Ant Hill sign front porch

ROCHESTER, NY – I am typing this entry from a chair at the home of the Ant Hill Co-op (blog), a Rochester housing cooperative who’s combined efforts provide reasonably affordable housing and food for members (including Thursgiving, a weekly potluck for members and guests alike), and a place to launch creative projects and activism. The Ant-Hill residents have been kind enough to let me stay at their home for several days, until I can catch a ride with Kyle Hartz to Mentor Ohio on July 24, where I will then meet with Greg (aka Rushfan). I will be interviewing both of them and I look forward to hearing their unique perspectives.

Ant Hill home

Elaborate and visually stimulating free trade poster inside the home. Text: Free trade area of the Americas, global resistance to corporate colonialism

Cooperatives, through pooling resources and combining activism efforts from a single location or home, can present an effective medium for action that I think is of value and interest to the viewers of this site. So while I stay at the co-op, I will interview one or more of the members of Ant Hill and they will have an opportunity to describe the benefits of cooperative organization and share their stories and ideas. Additionally, I would like to meet up with and interview other freedom oriented people in the  Rochester area, so if you would like to talk with MHD and share your story, please contact us.

Though previous blogs may have indicated s0me uncertainty in finding transportation to complete my trip, I am glad to announce that with the help of Kyle, Greg, and Pete’s Mother Elaine, I will rendezvous with Pete and Jason in Findlay Ohio in ten days. With the complexities of planning out of the way, I’d like to thank all of the people who have generously offered to help with this trip. I look forward to getting to know each of you over the next few days.

As I travel, I will attempt to keep y’all updated on my activities (which may vary based on internet access), so keep an eye out for the interviews I produce and have a wonderful week where ever you are.

Next week will be full of adventure for me, considering that while Pete and Jason explore Canada (attending a Montreal meet up, the Liberty Summer Seminar, among other events), I will be traveling from Concord VT to Findlay OH.

“Hold up! Why aren’t you traveling through Canada, meeting the cool activists, and attending all the fun events there?” Unfortunately I do not have a permission slip from the government and so I will not be going. I will blog more about this soon.

I will depart from Concord VT on Tuesday July 21, from where I will move in the direction of Findlay OH, where I will rendezvous with the crew on Thursday July 30. Pete’s mother has kindly offered and confirmed a ride to Findlay OH from Vermilion OH, where I may stay for a night or two. Also, an individual named Greg has generously offered to give me a ride from the Mentor-Eastlake-Willoughby, OH area to Vermilion OH, though the date is not yet confirmed (presumably between July 27-29).

With a portion of the route guaranteed, and another in the process of being determined, I am asking for rides to complete the trip. From Vermont, to the Mentor-Eastlake-Willoughby OH area, I have not yet confirmed rides. I would be most appreciative of your support.

Also, as part of this experiment and adventure, we thought it would be great that I do interviews with people who give me rides along the way. As we drive, you can tell me your story about how and why you fight for freedom and responsibility and oppose government control. Your interview would then be broadcast on MHD. So,  if you are interested in helping with a ride, and would like to tell MHD your thoughts about freedom and experiences with government, please contact us and indicate your location, availability, and other relevant information.