Family Adventures
We have had many wonderful opportunities both for travel and outdoor recreation.
This page gives a quick view of some of our adventures. It is sort
of a snapshot. Many wonderful places and people are omitted, mostly
by accident. I have broken the adventures up roughly chronologically
and by activity. Would love to chat via ICQ (1884995) or email (bill@billperson.org)
about any of them. Exciting things for the future are much
desired.
Here is a pointer to our current ski
adventures.
Our other, past adventures include:
Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Son Eric attended Carleton College in MN, so we have two family trips to
Boundary Waters in 1992 and 94. Each of those times we used Tom and
Woods as our outfitter, entering from Moose Lake. The first trip
was US only. The other we got a Canadian permit. The Canadian
journey is much nicer. We will do that again.
Algonquin Park Canoe Area
For our honeymoon in 1965, we were introduced to the wonders of Algonquin
totally by accident. The AAA travel agent at Oberlin suggested an
Algonquin resort for our honeymoon. What an adventure in the last
week of June. Surprisingly the bugs were not too bad. But we
were the ONLY guests at the resort. Breakfast in our cabin because
they didn’t want to open the dining room. Having our own personal
staff was super. A little canoeing but mostly as a honeymoon should
be. Algonquin is about a hundred miles from both Toronto and Montreal.
Two years later we returned to Algonquin for a “real” canoeing
trip. It was the occasion of buying our first packs, sleeping bags,
etc. We had the bug!!! A wonderful trip. Remember a mouse
eating through our pack and two layers of plastic bags to get to the GORP,
eating the nuts and leaving M&M and mouse turds. Algonquin is
a granite dome that heaved, creating many very deep cracks which are lakes.
Another winner.
The Appalachian Trail.
In 1968, our friend Henry Beale introduced us in words to the Appalachian
Trail. What an important event that turned out to be. The thru-hiker
bug bit Bill hard. Never got over it. In 1969, we made
a fall trip from NYC to the Great Smokey Mountains to hike the north half
of the park. A wonderful healing time.
While we were in New York, we visited the White Mountains and the famous
AMC Huts. We have been to the Whites at least four times, Molly and
I in 69 or 70, with the AMC range hike a year later, on a six week hike
at the end of our New York stay, and then in 96 as a part of Bill's Appalachian
Trail thru-hike.
San Francisco and the
South Pacific
After a stint in the Midwest, we made it to San Francisco in 73.
Our next adventure was in 1975 when we got a company boondoggle to Australia
to consult with the Fire Brigade there. Melbourne was wonderful as
both a place to visit and live. Also got a chance to briefly see
Sydney and Adelaide. On the way home we got to spend time in
New Zealand, Fiji and Tahiti. Hard life. Still remember
standing among the tropical fish and coral, just like being in a tropical
fish tank. Beachcomber Resort in Fiji was the best of the best.
The boys early years slowed our pace. We skied and camped a lot
in the Sierra in that time. Especially memorable is the winter of
73. The snow on Donner Summit was so deep that we didn’t recognize
summer houses that just looked like big snow covered rocks. I fell
on that trip and found that there was at least eight feet of snow without
a crust. For a minute, thought that was the end of me.
In 1980, three of us formed PSW3 and began to consult at Visa.
Another pivotal event. PSW3 has given me the financial freedom for
my current adventures. In the early days, it also had a sabbatical
plan which sent us to Europe for three months in 1984.
Europe
The four of us began in Sweden picking up a Volvo and rambled over Europe
for six weeks with most of the time in the Benelux countries, Germany and
Austria. We then drove to Cork, Ireland where we had a three week
home exchange. That was followed by a three week exchange in Cardiff,
Wales where we had an architect’s home on the Llandaff Cathedral Green.
There were many many kid adventures such as playing cricket on the cathedral
green. I most remember visiting the burial church for the Danish
kings which dated from 1050. The boys ran from tomb to tomb, with
a book listing the many King Christians and King Fredricks. After
a while, Tom complained “How many Fredricks were there.” Eric shook his
head and said “Boy this place is old!”
Mexico
We squeezed in two trips to Mexico in those years, one to Guadalajara at
Epiphany and one to Ixtapa. Great adventures with my poor Spanish.
The Pacific Crest
and John Muir Trails
In 88 or 89, Bill did his first thru-hike, from Meek’s Bay at Tahoe to
Mt. Whitney. It was a wonderful six week adventure. He shared
each part with a family member or good friend. Molly or a friend
met him for each re-supply. It was the year of the big Yosemite fire
so the views from the High Sierra were obscured. He had to come back.
Did a partial Muir several years later. Another thing to be repeated.
Europe - Part 2
During the AT hike in 96, Bill took off time for two trips to Europe with
Molly. First, a spring trip to Holland to spend a week on a Canal
Boat with friends Gary and Beth Schwarzman. Wonderful quiet time
but hard to bottle up a thru-hiker on a 30 foot boat. We went to
Freisland, a sprawling wildlife refuge made from medieval peat bogs and
a European vacation destination. Later that summer, we had a family
trip to Paris, Eric, his girlfriend, Molly’s mother Jean, Molly and I.
Reliving Jean’s year in Paris in the ‘30s. Museums, tourist sites,
lots of good food and more of the same.
In 97, we went to Paris again. This time with both boys and Jean.
A little traveling and a little bicycling. The big event was that
Eric and Angie got engaged on the trip. Eric bought Angie an engagement
oboe. Both were wonderful trips. Found everyone so friendly.
Just terrific.
Pooh Corner
When Bill hiked the Appalachian Trail in 96, he was overwhelmed by the
generosity and kindness of Trail Angels who reached out to thru-hikers
and provided what they needed or merely wanted. The Pacific Crest
Trail runs a few miles from our Sierra cabin, so we decided to become Trail
Angels here. We spend July at our cabin meeting thru-hikers and providing
a home away from home for them. Also get a chance for a lot of hiking.
Scuba and Cozumel
In 1998, both Bill and then Molly took Scuba classes, a long time dream
of Bill's. Then in November, 1998, they made their first diving vacation
trip to Cozumel` a classic dive destination off the east coast of Mexico
near Cancun. Molly completed her certification there and Bill completed
his advanced course. We both had a wonderful time. Here
are a few photos from the trip.
The Future
Pooh Corner
Providing thru-hiker hospitality and doing thru-hikes will also be a big
part of our lives as well as local hikes in the Sierra.
Water
More scuba trips are very likely. Bonaire and a South Pacific trip
are both in the works. A major raft trip down the Grand Canyon or
Salmon is likely as is a sea kayak trip to Monterey and to Baja.
General Travel
Alaska is our number one travel destination. Another trip to Europe
is probably in the cards, maybe London Theater or Greek Islands.
We would like to go to Costa Rica on a nature trip. We would like
to return to the Four Corners area. A New England fall colors trip
is also likely. Also another canoe trip to Boundary Waters or Algonquin.
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