Hello Everyone, well, September is getting into full swing and I’m certainly enjoying the cooler temperatures here in Washington D.C. Summertime flowers are starting to disappear and I know that the leaves aren’t too far from starting to turn. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for it.
It’s been another quiet week here on the home front. Mason and I continue our adventures together in the woods, throwing rocks in the creek and talking about the leaves and the trees. Shadow Catcher is all fixed and ready to get back out there when the time is right. Many thanks to Flower Hill Automotive in Gaithersburg for doing an amazing job with the brakes and the seals – I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the D.C. metropolitan area. In my spare time I’ve been sitting outside and enjoying the transition weather – cool enough to be out there and warm enough to be enjoying it. I’ve been reading Pirate Hunters by Robert Kurson and really enjoying that as well. It’s the story of the search for the Golden Fleece, the ship of the legendary pirate Joseph Bannister. Kurson wrote one of my favorite books of all time, Shadow Divers, and this is a wonderful follow-up to that story of the quest to identify a sunken World War II German U-Boat they found off the coast of New Jersey. If you’re a diver or a boat or pirate person, I definitely would recommend these books. I miss scuba diving and will definitely be hitting a beach and some reef as soon as all of this is over. Other than that I’ve been keeping up with my walks and trying to make the best of things as usual.
Over the weekend I found out that one of the tour brands I’ve worked for for many years, Trek America, has decided to fold entirely. This is a shame because it’s a company that’s been around since before I was born and I had thought it would be there long after I’m gone. Catering to young, independent travelers, I always enjoyed running Trek trips and will miss not having the opportunity to do so in the future. I really don’t know what my corner of the travel industry will look like on the other side of all of this, but this is one more nail in the coffin of my guiding career. I know I’ll find a job, but it’s a shame it won’t be with the same people and same clientele I’ve been with in the past. C’est la vie, I guess. I saw the writing on the wall, but it was still sad to hear the news. I was interviewed about the closure for Frommers, and you can see the story I was quoted in HERE if you’re interested.
Friday we had another great weekend kickoff party in the basement. This week took us back to the islands for another pirate party (pirates and the islands have been on my mind lately). I went out to grab some delicious bake and shark, a traditional Trinidadian meal, from a nice little Caribbean spot called the Crown Bakery on Georgia Avenue not far from home. It didn’t sit well with my mom, but I enjoyed it. We also had some rum and Ting (grapefruit soda), listened to some Bob Marley music and played a few games of Threes. It was a fun night and a great way to kick off the weekend.
Saturday was pretty quiet and I spent most of the day relaxing, enjoying the weather and generally avoiding the world and all its problems, which was a very good thing. Sunday I went for a nice long walk in the morning and then we had a great barbecue in the afternoon. We enjoyed some delightful burgers and dogs, my mom’s homemade potato salad and deviled eggs and a great lemon pie for dessert. I ate entirely too much and spent the evening plopped in front of the television – not something I normally do, but I didn’t feel in the least bit bad about it.
On Monday, my mom and I set off on another local adventure, this time heading to Baltimore to look at some of the buildings there that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We definitely saw some fascinating old buildings, but also really enjoyed riding around some of the neighborhoods. Baltimore is a really cool city which I’ve spent some time in over the years, but not really as much as I should have. There’s definitely a lot of history there and some great old neighborhoods to check out. It was also a pretty real look at the wealth disparity in America today. We pulled through some pretty run-down neighborhoods on the southwest side of the city where the majority of houses were boarded up and there wasn’t much in the way of businesses at all, and yet there were tons of people on the street who obviously lived nearby. On the other side of town were the yachts and waterfront homes of the more well-to-do Baltimoreans. To be fair, Baltimore is a far cry from the truly wealthy cities of the east coast, but the wealth gap is still pretty incredible. I’m not some everyone-should-be-the-same communist, but I know we can do better than what we are doing. I don’t know if enough people in this country have seen real American poverty, the kind I saw in Baltimore and have seen in plenty of places in Appalachia and other places on my travels – but I think if they did it would sure open their eyes. I’ve spent plenty of time in my life in Central America and Southeast Asia, and I’ve seen poverty that makes these places look half-decent, but it still shouldn’t be like that here, and we could do better. I also don’t think most Americans can comprehend real American wealth – wealth which couldn’t be spent in a thousand lifetimes. To become that wealthy you generally have to step on plenty of people on the way up, and nobody needs that much money. Anyways, it was an eye-opening visit for sure and it got me thinking as all of my travels do, but we enjoyed our drive around town and even stopped for a crabcake sandwich while we were there, a must-have while in Charm City. I like Baltimore and I’d love to see it have a bright future.
Tuesday it was back to work and after a long and wonderful day with young Mason, I went and picked up my van and was really happy to have it back in shape and back in front of the house. That’s one big check off of my list. Today has been another good morning of M&M adventures (Mike and Mason). We went on probably a two mile hike (a lot for a two year-old) through the woods near their house. We take our time and he shows me things he sees and I show him things I see. Sometimes he sees things I completely miss and sometimes I show him things he’s maybe never seen before. It’s pretty special and I’m happy to spend this time with him. After I finish this post, I’m off to cook up some delicious San Francisco food in preparation for this week’s Dinner and a Movie night featuring the awesome Michael Douglas thriller The Game.
This coming week probably won’t be a whole lot different. Settling into a bit of a routine is okay when you’re watching after a little person, which I continue to enjoy. I’ve been sorting and editing some of my favorite National Parks photos which I hope to start posting this coming week, starting with beautiful Bryce Canyon. And I definitely need to get back to doing some writing this week. Now that I have my van back, I’m also going to be looking at a weekend away from D.C. in the near future as well – just to clear my head and have a bit of alone time. Not this coming weekend, but soon. I hope you all have a wonderful week out there yourselves. Stay safe, stay healthy, keep active and I’ll see you right back here next week. Thanks for reading.
-Mike