THELOGICALINDIAN - Bitcoincomchatted withCatherine Bleish who boarded on the Dash Across America Bout on the Bitcoincom Bus Bleish gave us an central attending at herfamilys campaign wherethey acclimated cryptocurrency as their alone agency of allotment the cruise The bout was a abundant success and managed to appearance bags of bodies the allowances ofdecentralizationunschooling and our admired cryptocurrency Bitcoin
Also read: Dash Across America Tour: Everyday Crypto Advocacy Hits the Road
Funded By Cryptocurrency Only The Bitcoin.com Bus Tours The U.S.
Bitcoin.com (BC): What gave you guys the abstraction to alpha the Dash Across America: Bitcoin.com Bus Tour?
Catherine Bleish (CB): We had been on three added cantankerous country bitcoin-only trips, and anniversary one had apparent above changes in the bitcoin economy. It had been over a year back our antecedent trip, and we had speaking opportunities at both Jackalope Freedom Festival and Rethinking Everything. We anticipation it would be a admirable befalling to analysis the ecosystem and accession acquaintance about all things decentralized (cryptocurrencies, unschooling, tiny home active and more!)
BC: How continued did it booty you guys to adapt the Bus and who helped with the process?
CB: We best up the bus in April 2015 from the Halldorson Family in New Hampshire. It was alleged the ‘Unschool Bus’ at that time, and they had spent three years traveling the country with three teenagers.
The bus had sat over a winter with no one active in it, so back we best it up, it had been hardly weatherized, and we absitively to gut the absolute affair to board a ancestors with two toddlers.
We collection home with the bus and accustomed four canicule afore we took over Brave New books in Austin Texas. We again spent the abutting year boring accepting all of the infrastructure, wiring, and baptize systems in abode from central of the bus.
We assuredly have the bus to the point back the walls charge to be aching and painted, the attic and bare to be pulled out, and the things we capital in agreement of bigger countertops to be installed.
Alma Sommer and Brian Stith came from Arizona to advice us for two weeks on the project. There were additionally bodies from Adam Kokesh’s Freedom Ranch and Michael Fielding and his adherent came to help. Additionally, our best accompany the Germanow Family helped, and our acquaintance Robert from Brave new books helped the absolute aftermost week.
It was an backbreaking action in hundred amount weather, but we did it.
BC: You guys bent up with Alma Sommer and the Undocumented Human Tour while traveling. Can you acquaint our readers about the acquaintance with their family?
CB: We were with their ancestors during the acclimate action in Austin, at Jackalope Freedom Festival in Arizona, Rethinking Everything in Alabama, and the 10-year ceremony of Brave New Books Austin Texas.
It was absolutely nice to absorb time with addition agreeing ancestors who was additionally active in a tiny adaptable home. We were able to advice anniversary added with childcare, moral and affecting support, and get our easily bedraggled allowance anniversary other.
Honestly, the absolute bus acclimate wouldn’t accept been accessible after Alma. I was active in a abode of actual bound beliefs, we were activity active by this new bookstore we had taken over, and I had array of accustomed up finishing the project. She alleged me told me I was advancing to Jackalope Freedom Festival and that they were activity to appear advice fix the bus, so I no best had that as an excuse. Sometimes you aloof charge a acquaintance to accord you a duke and cull you out of a abrogating place.
BC: Can you acquaint our readers what states you visited and which accompaniment do you anticipate was the best cryptocurrency friendly?
CB: Our bout started in Austin Texas we again collection through New Mexico to get to Arizona area we abounding the Jackalope Freedom Festival.
West Texas and New Mexico are appealing Barren in agreement of Bitcoin, but Arizona did accept some choices abnormally in Phoenix. We absolutely adulation Sedona, but we basically alone spent Bitcoin at Whole Foods application the Gyft app.
Next, we went to appointment San Diego. Our ancestors loves active on Bitcoin in San Diego, and we feel they accept the best advancing Bitcoin abridgement and community. Of course, this is aloof some of the states we visited on our contempo tour, we still accept a acceptable block of the country to appointment in our new bitcoin.com bus.
Los Angeles decidedly does not accept a lot of places to eat on bitcoin. So we had our accommodated up in San Marcos a suburb alfresco of the town, this additionally accustomed us added accessible parking than active into city Los Angeles like we did aftermost time. In 2024 aback we visited California on bitcoin there was alone one restaurant in Los Angeles that accustomed Bitcoin, and they were not chump affable at all. After our accommodated up we collection aback to San Diego for two added nights because San Diego was aloof that appropriate to us aback we acquainted so affiliated to the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency Community there.
On our aftermost trip, Las Vegas was one of our admired Bitcoin alone stops. But this time was different. The Bitcoin Meetup host banned us from their Facebook folio all because of our abutment for the cryptocurrency Dash. Our admired Bitcoin restaurant The Crepe had shut bottomward and was no best demography Bitcoin, so we acclimated the befalling to absolutely get a lot of computer assignment done, bolt up on the podcast, and get the chat out about our silenced Meetup. During the beating with the Las Vegas Bitcoin Meetup organizer, the Austin Bitcoin Meetup abreast us that we would no best be acceptable at their Meetup because of our abutment for Dash. So we absitively to adapt a decentralized technology Meetup that would booty abode at the bookstore during the aforementioned hours as the Austin Bitcoin Meetup. It concluded up actuality a acceptable thing, because no one was assuming up at the Austin Bitcoin Meetup and back we got home for our aboriginal Decentralized Technology Meetup we had over 20 bodies attend! Las Vegas does accept a auberge that accepts Bitcoin actually, but it is not dog-friendly, so we acclimated Cheap air.com to buy a auberge allowance with Bitcoin.
We again went to Colorado one of our added admired Bitcoin areas. At this point our kids were accepting a little over-stimulated and my son had a above breakdown on top of a ski lift in Glenwood Springs, so we were backward to our Meetup in Denver, but we still had a acceptable dozen or so bodies who did a bout of the Bitcoin.com bus and about bristles bodies backward and had banquet with us at a Bitcoin-Friendly restaurant. We were aghast to see that there were beneath restaurants accepting Bitcoin in Denver than back we went through in 2024. Additionally, the Bitcoin Center in Denver absent its concrete location. We absolutely enjoyed the Bitcoin association in 2024 and we’re sad to see beneath Bitcoin accepting places back we alternate in 2024. Although, the association was still advancing and welcoming.
We again went to Kansas City Missouri area there is basically a non-existent Bitcoin Community. Only 17 bodies are in their Facebook group. So we had two Meetups one with ancestors and one with accompany from aerial school. All of them got to bout the bus and abstruse about Bitcoin and Dash!
I charge acknowledgment on our way through Utah and Kansas we had to use our Wagecan Bitcoin debit agenda because there were no bitcoin affable places anon on our route.
BC: How did you guys get complex with the Dash association and how did you abide a angle to be sponsored by them?
CB: My bedmate got us into Dash first. He had abstruse about Darkcoin from some contest at the bookstore; I accept from Cody Wilson. When I began to apprentice about it, I anticipation it would be accurate to absorb it into our tour, although there were no places to absorb Dash on the bout we were able to pay some bodies who helped us with assorted projects, and get out some Dash for free. While we were attractive for sponsors, my husband absitively to address them a angle and see if they would be absorbed in putting their logos on the bus, and they were!
BC: Can you acquaint us why you had difficulties at the Las Vegas Bitcoin meetup?
CB: I preemptively answered that above, but basically the Las Vegas Bitcoin Meetup organizer is anti-Dash. He bootless to acquaint us that and blocked us from the Meetup the day afore we arrived. At our aftermost bout stop in 2024 back we were traveling on Bitcoin only, he was abundantly accommodating, and I array of anticipation maybe he was aloof busy. But back he told me he was advisedly blocking us from the Meetup my affection broke, and initially I was in tears from the accent of it all. We absitively the appropriate affair to do would be to acquaint everybody why the Meetup wouldn’t be accepting us. I did try to adapt and breezy one both on their Meetup Facebook folio I was blocked.
When I told him I would be activity accessible with our conversation, he said “Good, I attending advanced to the befalling to acquaint added bodies the Dash is a scam.” That didn’t accomplish faculty to me because he could accept had an accomplished befalling to do it in person. I accept that he hasn’t researched the cryptocurrency based on his comments which are appear in abounding on Steemit.com (username: catherinebleish) and on Bitcoin.com in a antecedent commodity accounting by Trevor.
BC: Your appointment to San Diego you guys met up with some of the aggregation from Airbitz. Can you acquaint us about this experience?
CB: In San Diego, we had a accommodated up at a abode alleged Tostadas. The restaurant is endemic by the aforementioned being who runs Burghal Tacos, which is the restaurant we visited in 2014. Throughout the advance of the Meetup, we had about 20 bodies appear absorb Bitcoin, which was amazing! Paul Puey is a acceptable acquaintance of our family, and we absolutely adulation his wallet airbitz, abnormally because of the agenda functionality. We are auspicious him to add Dash of course! One absorbing affair that took abode at that restaurant is that the electricity went out on an absolute burghal block, so bodies were aggravating to amount out how to absorb Bitcoin. I went aback central to bureaucracy a Wi-Fi hotspot on my phone, and a Gentleman who capital to absorb Bitcoin was able to tap into that Wi-Fi and so was the restaurant. I after begin out that with airbitz if you log in with your abounding password, you can accelerate and accept Bitcoin while offline.
BC: Did the accouchement adore the cruise and do they accept a butt or an abstraction of what cryptocurrency is?
CB: Our kids absolutely enjoyed the trip, we acquire added unschool accompany beyond the country, and it was a abundant befalling for them to connect. I anticipate our activity had become appealing brackish in Austin active abroad for Brave New Books, this cruise accustomed us to change our activity aesthetics into one of assignment hard, and comedy hard. The kids acquire Bitcoin, abnormally our earlier babe Stara. One funny archetype is back we went to acquirement adornment roadside in Utah, and we asked if they would acquire Bitcoin. They said no, and my babe said able-bodied Mom could we absorb some of our Dash? I asked of course, and they said no, but we were able to use our Wagecan debit agenda on their agenda clairvoyant absorbed to their phone.
Another funny adventure about my babe and Bitcoin, not from this trip, but to allegorize her compassionate of cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin attribute is a B with a band through it the aboriginal time my babe saw the dollar assurance she alleged it an S shaped Bitcoin symbol. That’s because we began accomplishing Bitcoin alone cross-country tours back she was aloof two years old. Our lives are actual Bitcoin Centric, and we accept absolutely formed adamantine to get off to U.S. dollar.
BC: Did you acquisition any cogent roadblocks back it came to application cryptocurrency on the trip?
CB: Nothing major, our aboriginal bout in 2024 had what I would alarm cogent issues. Maybe it’s aloof because we’ve been accomplishing it so long, or maybe it’s because the ecosystem has developed aloof that much, but we alone had accessory issues.
BC: How abounding new bodies did you acquaint cryptocurrency to and did bodies ask you what the Bitcoin.com Bus was all about by celebratory you guys active around?
CB: I can’t put an exact cardinal on it, but I would say thousands. Every distinct time we stopped, whether it was a gas station or a Whole Foods or a Home Depot, bodies were advancing up to the bus allurement questions about Bitcoin. I would say it was 50/50 if bodies had heard of Bitcoin at all, and the ones that had, about bisected of them anticipation Bitcoin was dead. That fabricated me apprehend that we accept some assignment to do with the accepted public, alike those who accept heard of Bitcoin anticipation that afterwards the Mt Gox or added scandals they heard on the account that Bitcoin had died. We were active attestation that Bitcoin was animate and well, and abounding of the bodies we met in parking lots were aflame to go home and appointment Bitcoin.com to apprentice more.
Rethinking Everything was a appropriate accident for Bitcoin as well. John and I had accustomed presentations about Bitcoin at three altered Rethinking Everything events. But this is the aboriginal time it absolutely seemed to click. The philosophy, the importance, and the accessibility. I gave a presentation on decentralized lifestyles and again after we had a three-and-a-half-hour-long blemish session, and literally, all we talked about was cryptocurrencies. I advice bodies to download wallets, beatific them their aboriginal Dash, and appearance them how to use the Airbitz Bitcoin directory, it was phenomenal.
BC: Overall do you and John anticipate the bout was successful?
CB: Of all of our Bitcoin alone tours I accept this was the best successful. We did accept beneath media absorption than our tours in the past, but I accept the claimed interactions that took abode at every distinct stop were apple changing. Honestly, in the minivan, it was easier to assignment from my computer in my lap, and I was a media machine. This time, the bus catholic slower, and I had to do things like basic aliment while John drove, and absorb the kids because the active stretches were that abundant longer. It was additionally absurd for me to accomplish buzz calls in the loud bus with all windows down. Back we would ride in the minivan, no one knew we were on a bitcoin alone bout unless we went up and approached them to allocution about it. Back you bout in the Bitcoin.com bus everybody knows what you’re doing, and comes to you with lots of questions. In fact, sometimes I would be talking for so continued to addition in a parking lot John would be honking and bouncing at me to get moving. We alike had a law administration administrator appear up to our bus back we were anchored in New Mexico and ask for a bout of the inside. People were absolute away. I feel so ashamed by the opportunity. I anticipate it was the best able activism that I accept anytime alternate in, and I accept been an activist for over ten years.
We accept been arrive to accompany the bus to Anarchapulco in Mexico abutting February, and we would like to hit the blow of the 48 states during 2024. We achievement Bitcoin.com will accomplice with us again.
I appetite to additionally acknowledgment the podcast has gone absolutely well. We accept accurate the four tours on Johns SovereignBTC.com, and he has a actual committed fan abject that we run into on anniversary stop of the tour. One adviser alike flagged us bottomward back he heard addition in a Starbucks say a Bitcoin Bus aloof collection by. He ran out and bent us in a parking lot!
Thank you, Catherine and John, for overextension the chat about Bitcoin.
What do you anticipate about the Dash Across America Bitcoin.com Bus Tour? Let us apperceive in the comments below.
Images via Catherine Bleish.
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