| Students’ travel site goes off the beaten path |
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| Written by Caitlin Rice -Argonaut | ||||||
| Friday, 01 September 2006 | ||||||
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The first week they met in Boise, University of Idaho students Scott Falconer and J.R. Pelkola spent every night building a twelve foot igloo in their backyard. Since they came to UI, they have been coming up with even more bizarre and inventive ideas, but GoSleepGo.com has been their biggest yet, Pelkola said. The travel Web site is a wealth of information for those who want to get off the beaten path and find out-of-the-way, quirky places to eat, sleep or cliff jump in almost every part of the world. The site boasts links and information compiled by members from every continent — except Antarctica, and they’re working on that, Pelkola said. The register questionnaire asks new users for a user name, password and if they would be willing to let someone pitch a tent in their backyard. The newest addition enables users to book flights and hotels from the site as well. “We’re not really world travelers, more like road-trippers,” said Pelkola. “For a while Scott’s fiancee was living in Portland and when we would go down there we were always looking for random stuff to do along the way. You can always find a restaurant, but we wanted cool and quirky stuff.” The idea for GoSleepGo.com came about unexpectedly one day in February, 15 minutes before class. “J.R. and I had been roommates for a long time, and we were walking to class one day and J.R. said, ‘We should try to start a business.’” After a quick session of whispering through class, scribbling drawings and passing design ideas to each other, they had their business plan. The Web site was up 24 hours later. “It was just a skeleton, but it was up,” said Falconer. “Scott did most of the design. He’s the biggest computer geek,” said Pelkola. Nothing about the design was conventional, including the construction process. “I sat in my room for four days and lived off of gummy worms and $3 champagne from WinCo,” Falconer said. For the six months the Web site has existed, Falconer and Pelkola have been adding features and improving the site to make it more useful. They added things they wanted (random information only the locals know) and left out things they hated (hundreds of ads popping up on the screen). The plan was never to make money, just to have fun, said Falconer. “It basically just pays for itself,” Pelkola said. “We make an extra 30 or 40 bucks which we mostly waste on gambling or buying steaks.” Their most recent business purchase was 13 pounds of stickers that advertise the Web site and its slogan, “Travel Like A Badass.” “It’s kind of a new game for us,” said Pelkola. “We stick them everywhere. … It’s really fun to see them different places — I just saw one on a taco truck in Boise.” The site is mainly geared toward college-aged travelers, but anyone can make use of the advice that covers everything from high-end travel to cheap thrills, Pelkola said. “Travel is always expensive, but there are last-minute deals on the flights and hotels, and really a whole range of prices,” said Pelkola. “I know kids who will go rope swinging or jump off cliffs for fun and then go out to a really nice restaurant at night,” he said. And this site will tells where to find both. The site also has a broad range of destinations, from nearby road stops to far off exotic locations, so day trippers and globe trotters alike can glean travel ideas, which is just what Pelkola and Falconer wanted. “At first people would just send in information about their big trips to Europe or Egypt or someplace,” said Pelkola. “It’s nice to have the pyramids, but you want to have the little coffee shop too.” The two are happy with the progress of GoSleepGo.com but their minds are already onto the next great and completely random idea. “After we’re done with the business, the next thing we are going into is lap swimming,” said Pelkola. “Yeah, or pogo-sticking,” added Falconer. Q & A with the creators of GoSleepGo.com Name: Scott Falconer Age: 25 Hometown: Meridian, Idaho Major: Psychology What kind of car do you drive? And do you have a name for your car? Subaru Impreza Outback Sport. Isn’t that pretty much the same question twice? The car’s name is Subaru Impreza Outback Sport ... but seriously that’s not important. What is, is that it’s better than JR’s car. What was the best road food you’ve ever had? White Castle is pretty top notch. Not top notch in taste or quality, but top notch in gnarlyness. Bull Ice and a taco truck in Shoshone, Idaho made for a real good meal one time. I bought one of those giant, two-foot long, WinCo sandwiches and ate the whole thing on the drive to Portland once. What is most important to you in the world? Freedom, knowledge, and candy — possibly in that order. 2 things you want to do before you die: 1. Walk on the moon. 2. Carve “Eat it Earth” into the moon. I went to Space Camp when I was a kid — it’s nothing like the movie. Best driving music: Wheat, Jason Mraz, The Eagles, Tilly and the Wall, Jimmy Eat World and Survivor’s “Vital Signs” ... nothing else by them, no “Eye of the Tiger” or any of that, just “Vital Signs.” I used to see how far I could drive in one rotation of Skynyrd’s “Freebird”...my record was 13 miles. J.R. will say he beat this. J.R. is lying. Name: J.R. Pelkola Age: 23 Hometown: Boise, ID Major: Sociology What kind of car do you drive, and do you have a name for you car? Audi A4, and it needs to. What was the best road food you’ve ever had? Oh man ... so many. There’s the taco truck in Salem, cheap ice cream at Little America in Wyoming — You can basically throw the term “road” in front of any food and it’s that much better. What is most important to you in the world? People, experiences, learning. 2 things you want to do before you die: 1. Set a legit world record. 2. Run the Western States 100. Best driving music: Skynyrd’s “Freebird” is a must for speeding. I think I hold the record for most miles driven in one play at 15. Format, John Mayer, Godspeed “You Black Emperor!”, Aesop Rock, Mountain Goats, Waxwing, Postal Service, Mitch Hedberg.  Add as favorites (384) | Views: 8510
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