Spartans let Web site visitors plan spring break to Texas

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For both Tom Chodl and Jon Wiita, a road trip to Texas is the last spring break hurrah as MSU students — with a twist.

Instead of pulling out the ol’ Rand McNally paper map, Chodl and Wiita are turning to Google Maps and asking users to plan the trip for them through their blog.

“The personality of Jon and I (is that) we like to think out of the box,” said Chodl, a food service management senior. “A lot of people have asked ‘Is this for class — why are you guys doing this?’ Well, this is who we are.”

Although other students across campus prepare for their warm weather destinations next week, their trip is planned with Internet users in mind.

In just two days after devising the plan, more than 30 ideas of factory tours, restaurants and Wal-Mart stores were pinpointed on the map. And to think it all began with visiting a friend living in Dallas, they said.

“We may not be able to do all of those suggestions, but let’s put them all up (on the map) and see where it goes,” said Wiita, an applied engineering sciences senior. “It works perfectly with the highway system.”

Based on Chodl’s calculations, most logistics of any trip have been set — mileage, route and a rough cost. Both men will spend approximately 49 hours on the road (2,800 miles) with the hope of spending less than $500 during the duration of the trip. As for housing, they want users to decide or even offer a place to stay for the night.

“It might mean sleeping in a car in Missouri,” Chodl said. “If that’s what we have to do, then we’ll do it.”

Justin Sailor, a 2006 MSU graduate in sociology and advertising, can relate to Chodl and Wiita’s upcoming experience. From September 2006 to 2007, Sailor traveled to every state — Alaska to Wyoming — during his “Hometown Invasion Tour.”

Sailor was able to secure a sponsorship through Jeep, with a Jeep Compass to drive during his adventure.

During the course of the trip, Sailor received donations to fund most expenses and stay the night in more than 100 households of complete, yet welcoming, strangers.

From experience, Sailor gives Chodl and Wiita advice on what to expect and how to make the best out of any experience.

“For anyone going on a road trip like Tom and Jon, you must be flexible and take adversity lightly — it’s inevitable,” Sailor said. “You have to seize the moment and go with the flow, live life to the fullest and always take the long way around; that’s where the good stories happen.”

With constant connection on the road through their Sprint mobile broadband cards and Blackberries, Chodl and Wiita’s Facebook profiles, Twitter pages and eventually a YouTube site will be flooded with instantaneous information on their whereabouts and activities.

They said the best part of the trip is staying connected with the people they care about and those who have helped them push on with their trip.

“The great thing about having friends help you is that they’re really good at other things,” Wiita said. “They can most likely be things you’re not good at.”

To follow Chodl and Wiita on their road trip to Texas and to post suggestions on what to see and do, visit roadtriptotexas.wordpress.com.

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