View source for Ohio trip

{{quote|"There was this one time where I actually thought [a troll] was a woman, and I actually drove a whole, a whole, a whole day's worth back and forth, almost 24 hours, from my house to Cleveland, Ohio, where it turned out that was, that was, that was a bad lead.|[[Christian Weston Chandler]].<ref>[[Father Call]]</ref>
}}
[[File:Nnocac.jpg|thumb|150px|Receipts from his trip to [[Wikipedia:Ohio|Ohio]] in search of [[Julie]] show that he specifically orders his fast-food hamburgers without [[pickle]]s.]]

The [[Ohio Trip]] was an 800+ mile roundtrip car-ride that Chris took from [[14 Branchland Court|his home]] in [[Ruckersville, Virginia]] to Cleveland, Ohio. Chris took the trip on February 24, 2009, under the false pretense that [[Julie]] had been kidnapped and he needed to rescue her.

==Lead up==
During a [[Mumble]] chat on February 10, 2009, Julie first asked Chris if he would come visit her in Ohio. He responded by asking that she come to his hose, saying he isn't comfortable traveling long distances, especially by himself.<ref>[[Mumble 3]]</ref> Over the next ten days, Chris would change his mind and agree to visit, before backing out again, and then agreeing he would start setting aside money for an eventual trip within the next couple of months, though he might bring his mother along. Julie tried to dissuade him from bringing his mom saying "I was thinking that when you get here...[[sex|you know]].<ref>[[BlueSpike PSN Chat 4]]</ref>

During another chat on February 22, Chris stated that he would "feel at unease if I made the trip without the emotional support of my family". He wanted to have Julie talk to his parents in order to win over their emotional support. Julie replied by saying she was beginning to suspect Chris didn't want to see her. Chris stated his [[mom]] was paranoid for his safety, and she suspected Julie might be a police officer posing as an underaged girl.<ref>[[BlueSpike Skype Logs 11]]</ref> The next day, Chris reiterated that Barb was still against him going to Ohio. Chris started looking within his church congregation for a different escort for the trip, and suggested [[Rocky]] might be up for it.<ref name="skype12">[[BlueSpike Skype Logs 12]]</ref>

Things took a quick turn later that day when [[Max]] informed Chris that Julie had been taken ransom by himself and [[Clyde Cash]]. He stated that he would give Chris five days to come to Ohio and rescue her.<ref name="skype12" /> Unsure on what to do Chris turned to [[trolls|fans]] in a mumble chat for advice. He stated that he still felt insecure about going there against his parent's wishes. Members of the chat persuaded Chris to be proactive, and convinced him it wasn't a "To Catch a Predator" sting. Chris stated he was going to talk to his mother some and put his foot down.<ref>[[Mumble 10]]</ref>

The next day (which happened to be his 27th [[birthday]]) Chris went to his [[Aunt Corina]]'s funeral, where he said the spirits of his ancestors wished him a Safe Trip to Ohio.<ref>[[Jackie Chat 7]]</ref> That night Chris sent the following email to Clyde Cash:

"I have NOT failed you, sir, as a matter of fact, I am coming to Cleaveland tomorrow; I am preparing for my journey, my mind is set, and I have the support of [[God]], my relatives and my friends. So quit trying to scare me, because it is NOT working; tomorrow morning, I am coming to Cleaveland (sp), Ohio for Julie."<ref name="clydeemails">[[Clyde E-mails]]</ref>

==The trip==
Chris left at 5:30 the next morning without informing his parents. He left a note for them to read when they woke up, along with a map of his planned trip. <ref name="jackieemails6">[[Jackie E-mails 6]]</ref> After Chris's parents saw the note they called the police, and filed a missing persons report.<ref name="jackieemails6" /> According to [[Bob]], Chris had never driven over fifty miles out of town before. Bob and Barb worried that Chris would get killed.<ref name="emilydate">[[Emily Date Conversation Transcript]]</ref>

Chris traveled on to Interstate 81, where he took the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Ohio Turnpike... and locked himself out of [[Son-Chu|his car]]. Workers at a nearby toll booth got AAA Road Assistance to help him get back in to the car.<ref name="emilydate" /> 

Chris had taken $50 ($40 of which he had got the previous day for his birthday) with him. He found out this would not be enough cash when he was faced with $11 tolls (according to Bob, Chris had never been on a toll road before), starting in Breezewood, Pennsylvania.<ref name="emilydate" /> At around 4:30 that afternoon he stopped in Streetsboro, Ohio to spend money on food and gas. He purchased $11.68 worth of gas from Sheetz, and got a small Hamburger with mayonnaise, and a Lemonberry Slushie from [[Sonic]].<ref>[[:File:Nnocac.jpg]]</ref> According to Chris the slushie was made with real fruit, and 
had two lemon wedges in it.<ref>[[Sarah May Skype Logs]]</ref>

When he got just outside of Cleveland he called his parents.<ref name="emilydate" /> Upon arriving at the address he was given, Chris found a run-down old house with an elderly woman residing in it. The woman, nor anyone else he asked in the neighborhood, had heard of Julie or Max.<ref name="clydeemails" /> Chris turned around and headed back to Ruckersville. He arrived back home at 3:00 in the morning.<ref name="emilydate" />

==Aftermath==
Despite being duped by trolls, Chris saw the trip as a positive experience. In an email to Clyde Cash, Chris stated, 

"I traveled an 800+ Mile Round Trip to Cleveland, Ohio, only to find at the address you gave me led me to a run-down old red house with an elderly woman residing in it, but not you nor Julie; no one in that neighborhood even heard of Julie nor Max.

Go ahead, Laugh it up, but I want to THANK YOU very much for the Traveling Expierence; I actually did have a GREAT TIME on the road, and enjoyed the sights and views. :)"<ref name="clydeemails" />

Chris's parents did not share the same positive opinion of the trip, and told him if he travels at all after the trip to Cleveland, he would not be allowed back into his home, and will be left homeless or even worse.<ref>[[Jackie E-mails 13]]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Events]]