Be Brave Not Safe

One of my favorite quotes…

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

Information shared on this page is for the purpose of demonstrating what is possible when you follow your dream (a.k.a. learning, growing, working VERY hard, saving, investing and NEVER giving up)! And, it isn’t (just) about having the funding for these adventures. It is having the time and flexibility to do so!

Here are a handful of the fun getaways and adventures my family has experienced.

Quebec, Canada – For our 2014 Christmas adventure we spent several days in Quebec, snowmobiling and skiing. Below is a picture of the family with our “crotch-rockets” for the snow. An amazing trip, which wasn’t without incident. You’ll need to read the post “Parlez-vous Anglais?” to learn more 🙂

Mooselookmeguntic Lake, ME – During the summer of 2014 Cindy and I made multiple trips to camp in the northwestern woods of Maine, on Mooselookmeguntic Lake. You can read about these trips in the blog portion of this site. Click here for a summary of the 1st trip. Below is a picture of Cindy and I at the “Height of Land” which is a vantage point, where the Appalachian Trail crosses the highway. Mooselookmeguntic Lake is in the background. If you follow the jut of land to the left of my shoulder, the next piece of land to the left is Student’s Island, where we stayed for 2 of our trips.

Sunday River, ME – For school vacation February 2014 I took my son Evan (16) and his friend Mat (yes, single “t” Mat) to Sunday River for some downhill skiing. I truly tasted fear :-). We skied a double black diamond called “White Heat.” It is kind of like skiing down a VERY LARGE wall. We did it twice. Evan blew by me and I took the best wipe out this year (no yard sale though). He had to wait at the bottom for me for over a minute! I said to Evan, “I have nothing more to teach you — about skiing.” Below are 2 pictures from the top of White Heat, just before it plummets over 1,000 feet!

Allagash Wilderness Waterway, ME – This was a 5-day canoe / camping trip I took with my 2 middle boys during the summer of 2013. We began our trip at Umsaskis Lake, in northern Maine and followed one of the only rivers in the northern hemisphere that travels south to north. It was roughly an 80-mile trip. We ended up in the St. John River at the boarder of Canada, in the town of St. Francis, ME. If you’d like to experience such a trip, I highly recommend contacting Blaine Miller – Allagash Guide. He was fantastic! The ONLY thing you had to bring was your personal gear and adventuresome spirit. He provided EVERYTHING else. The first picture is of me and my 2 body guards (I mean boys, Aaron and Ethan) when we were near the end of the trip (just arrived at the border of Canada). The 2nd is of our 4 canoes which hauled us and all our provisions for the 5-day trip.

Guanacaste, Costa Rica – One of my business clients has a manufacturing facility in Costa Rica and several of their team members had traveled there. I heard many GREAT things about this country, in Central America, and decided to spend 10 days there for Christmas 2011. We booked our air travel and lodging through Orbitz and arranged “on the ground” transportation through AnyWhereCostaRica, which worked out very well! We stayed at the Riu Guanacaste (an absolute palace). Below is a picture of my family in the jungle after zip-lining, horseback riding and finally a mud bath (our eldest son couldn’t make it; girlfriend 😦 ). The 2nd picture is of the beach off the resort. Tortugas marinas (sea turtles) come ashore at night to lay eggs. We had a chance to hold some babies.

Northern Extremes (Snowmobiling) – I have it rough in the month of February; there is Valentine’s Day on the 14th and then my wife’s birthday on the 15th 🙂 This year (2014) we went to northern NH to go snowmobiling. It had just snowed several inches and we went on a 36-mile ride on freshly groomed trails with few other carbon units (I mean people) to be seen. It was like flying across a cloud. We rented sleds from Northern Extremes, who are HIGHLY recommended. Great staff. And, you have a choice of a guided or a self-guided tour. We chose the unsupervised (I mean self-guided) tour as we have both sledded in the past. Below is a picture of my wife Cindy on her sled and the trail ahead (absolutely amazing sledding).

Antigua – For Christmas 2013 we spent 13 days in Antigua (pronounced an-tee-gah), in the Caribbean. The whole family was able to make it! Below is a picture of us during a snorkeling excursion. The boys are in the middle (youngest to oldest / left to right: Evan, Ethan, Aaron and Ian). My left hand and arm, and right shin were ON FIRE as the salt water was eating at (cleansing) the gashes I had acquired after a wave crashed down on top of me, at Devil’s Bridge, providing the opportunity to do some body surfing across some nice sharp rocks (2nd picture below). There should have been a sign that said STAY CLEAR OF THE SIDE OR YOU COULD DIE!

Copenhagen, Denmark – One of my client’s European headquarters is just outside Copenhagen, Denmark. I had been there twice previously and decided to take my family on this trip (November 2012). I was delivering CRM training during the day as they toured the city. The first picture is of the boys freaking out my wife as they dangled their legs over the side of the walkway, into Kobenhavns Havnebade (Copenhagen Harbor). The 2nd is of me and the 3 youngest boys about to be launched up The Golden Tower at Tivoli Gardens, the 2nd most visited theme park in the world! While brief, the view of Copenhagen from the top of that (63m / 206′) tower was amazing. If you visit during Christmas season don’t forget to try the Glogg!

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic – For Christmas 2012 we spent 12 days in the Dominican Republic (kiteboarding capital of the world). After watching kiteboarding for several days the 2 middle boys and I decided to give it a try (multi-day lessons required). Day 1-Manage the kite while walking up and down the beach (without cutting someone’s head off). Day 2-Manage the kite while it drags you around in the ocean (hope I don’t go out to sea). Day 3-Manage the kite while it drags you around the ocean and try to get up on the board. We each managed to make it up on the board for a quick spill back into the ocean. Day 4 promised to be the day to truly enjoy the sport. There was no wind on day 4 (can’t fly a kite without wind); we left the following day 😦 The first picture below is of the family in front of the Christmas tree at our resort. The 2nd may be the best picture I’ve taken in my life. Who needs a camera when you can take pictures like this on an iPhone?