A very nice change of pace

A year ago I was sitting at a remote hostel having Thanksgiving in Canoa, Ecuador.  My friend Diego and I just finished our second surf session of the day and we found ourselves drinking wine, staring into the beach and thinking life can't get better.

Then it does.  A year later, I'm visiting my friends Jason and Carrie in Vermont at an off-the-grid farm, which is their latest caretaking gig.  About five years ago, I met the two in Los Angeles for our Peace Corps staging event.  Throughout the years, I'm glad to have stayed in contact as they traveled from NYC to Palau to Shanghai.


If you list where they've traveled, you would say they find great places to go.  I think they make the places they go great and Vermont was no exception.  The food was amazing and the company even better.  We hiked untouched snow, went fishing/canoeing, built a snowman and continued to fill out our days and evening.

Among the many things I learned...

• How to use snow shoes
• How to use gaiters
• How to play 31 (cards)
• How to play Chinese Monopoly
• How to play Bananagrams
• How to split firewood with an ax
• How to use a chainsaw
• How to sharpen a chainsaw

Among all that, I came with little notice on a holiday and they also drove out over an hour to pick me up/drop me off.  It makes me thankful that I have friends like that.

Updated with pictures!