To say my boys love their “bare footing” would be an understatement… Our youngest, in fact, considers being required to wear shoes to be the ultimate threat. So when we hatched a plan with PopPop (their grandfather), and Great Uncle Dave, to climb Mt Washington, it was no surprise when our 3 boys Kai (14), Cove (11), and Zev (7), replied, “Yes, let’s go barefoot!”  Well this unorthodox style would no doubt bring attention, judgment, and possibly repercussions on this popular mountain, so we came to an agreement with our intrepid hikers.  “Okay boys, you can hike barefoot up Mount Washington on the condition that you strap your shoes to your backpacks for all to see…”  PopPop, Great Uncle Dave, Heidi, and I would be donning footwear because, unlike the boys, our feet were not up to the challenge.  We chose to ascend via the Lion’s Head Trail, and descend via the Boott Spur Trail. Our total distance was just shy of 10 miles over some seriously rugged terrain. But when ...

Well we didn’t actually drive all the way back to Maine to re-register BaseCamp as an RV, like the Mexican border agent demanded — or did we? Well there was the additional detail of Maine summer employment, so we had ourselves a 2 birds/one stone journey north.   Here we were in January 2023 — one year later— back at the Mexican Border town of Piedras Negras, after a 6000 mile detour to clear up paperwork and earn some dollars.  New RV class registration in hand I climbed the steps to the Banjercito office to get our TIP (temporary import permit). I was pleasantly surprised to see no line, but my confidence wavered when I recognized the woman at the counter. It was the same mujer that sent us packing last round. “Never mind last time,” I thought as I handed her my paperwork, “we’re good now.” There was a long uneasy silence as she analyzed the registration. She looked up at me — Did she recognize me, the dejected bus guy? She spoke, “Voy a necesitar ver su vehículo.” Things we...

There were a lot of requests for a Cliff Island summer, followed by requests for a Cliff Island fall — complete with apple season, birthdays, Halloween, deer season, and more time with our Cliff Island family. Heidi and I needed this as much as the boys, so it was an easy, “Yes, Yes, YES!”