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Terminal Man flew into Oakland on the first day of his monthlong adventure exploring JetBlue's route map, carrying a change of clothes, a book and 10 bucks. We gave him a camera, a laptop and an extra $35 to make sure he could get a decent meal.
For the five or six of you who haven't heard, Brendan Ross will spend the next month milking a JetBlue unlimited travel pass for every mile he can. He's got it all mapped out in an Excel spreadsheet -- he's definitely a Wired kind of geek -- and plans to hit more than 40 cities in 30 days. This crazy idea for a vacation started with a Craigslist ad he posted last month, looking for someone to spring for the ticket because he's unemployed. Brendan's waiting for Uncle Sam to finish the background check so he can become an air traffic controller, so he's got loads of time to kill.
We took the bait, bought him a pass and told him to blog his adventure. The rules are simple: When Brendan isn't flying, he's in an airport. No hotels. This was his idea, and he's fully aware that a few of the shrinks our colleagues at Wired Science spoke to say it may drive him crazy. Some might say the 28-year-old Texan is crazy to begin with, but having spent an hour with him at Oakland International Airport, we can say he seems relatively sane.
Though he admits that could change.
"A lot of people are betting on me to crack," Brendan told us as the bartender in a dreary airport lounge (is there any other kind?) lined up a sampling of three local microbrews. Brendan downed them -- they were small glasses, more like shots -- then ordered iced tea. "I know this is going to wear on me after awhile."
Still, he's looking forward to the adventure and has a whole bunch of cool stuff lined up, including taking part in a security sweep in Buffalo, learning whether it's possible to beat the slots in the Vegas airport and running a four-mile foot race in and around the Baltimore airport. Brandon is looking forward to that one because it'll give him a chance to see the sun and breathe some fresh air. Aside from all the time away from his wife -- who plans to visit him in a few places along the way -- the toughest thing about the trip will be not getting outdoors.
"I'm going to be so pale and soft after this," Brendan, an avid bike commuter, told us.
As for passing all the time between flights, Brendan's got an Acer Timeline netbook and a copy of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris.
"I figured I should bring something by someone who can keep things light," Brendan told us. "I was gonna bring The Long Tail, but I think that would make me crazy. Sorry, Chris."
We're working on getting him a Kindle and a few other cool toys to keep him occupied. He'll need the entertainment, because he plans to hit every airport JetBlue flies to in the lower 48 states except three -- Los Angeles International, Syracuse Hancock and Sarasota Bradenton. The logistics didn't work out with those three, so they didn't make the cut. Brendan also plans to hit San Juan, Puerto Rico at some point, and he's trying to talk us into sending him to Bermuda. We're tempted, if only to have him bring back some duty-free swag.
"I don't spend the night in any city more than once," Brendan said. "But I do go through JFK about a million times."
As for what he's carrying, Brendan's got a change of clothes, a toothbrush and a small package of laundry detergent so his clothes don't get too rank. He's going to get by on those toiletry kits airlines hand out when your flight gets canceled or your luggage gets lost. As for anything else he needs, well, that's where you come in.
"I'm throwing myself on the mercy of Wired readers," Brendan said.
If you'll be flying JetBlue -- or hanging out at your local airport -- and want to buy Brendan a beer, give him a clean T-shirt or just say, "Dude, WTF?", you can follow him here at Autopia and via Twitter or send him an e-mail.
When we last saw Brendan, he was headed off toward the Southwest Airlines terminal where, he'd heard, the chairs were a little more comfortable. A JetBlue attendant had given him one of those tiny travel pillows, and he was preparing to bunk down for the night.
We'll keep you posted on where he's headed and what he's doing, and we expect the first of his posts to land -- ba-dump-bump -- any minute now. Meanwhile, if you've got any suggestions for things he should do, people he should meet or places he should go, speak up (and vote for your favorite) using the Reddit widget.
Photo: Jim Merithew / Wired.com
While you can submit as many suggestions as you want, you can only submit one every 30 minutes. No HTML allowed.
