With the trials and tribulations of our insurance debacle getting manageable, we’re hitting the road. We live a frustrating,  firsthand experience of the need for insurance reform. (When I was a kid, I think they called it “reform school.”)

Things turn around in April, when our good friend Sumner invites us to accompany him to Boston. We tour Mass General Hospital, where his late wife worked for 18 years as a nurse. We also took an exclusive tour of the “Ether Room” where the first patient was anesthetized in 1846. Then we tour the almost finished construction of a new wing, which will house 150 patient beds and use 28 operating rooms. Sumner is a significant donor to the hospital and nursing school. We even lunch with a recipient of one of his nursing school scholarships.

Batter Up!

We can see Fenway Park from the fanciest room we had ever stayed in. Wait, we went to a Red Sox game, ate lobster in the private restaurant in Fenway, and met the owner of the team, John Henry! Our seats, above home plate, helped us absorb the convivial atmosphere of a real baseball town. Thank you Sumner for one of our best times, food and company ever!

One month later, we hop a motorized raft down the Colorado River, though the Grand Canyon, with our good friends Mark and Sue. Some rapids, a few nights camping in places of the canyon we would never see otherwise, we hike out on the third day full of good memories.

Cool Canyon

Now…stay tuned. We’re loading up the truck, along with our dog, Jack, and heading north. We will camp and mooch off of relatives and friends as much as possible for the next three months. Our preliminary plan is to go through Colorado, Wyoming, and hang on the beach watching Sister Pat’s house for couple of weeks in Waldport, Oregon. Then we head north for Canada Day in Vancouver, BC. (Oh Cannabis Day as they refer to it in Vancouver) After a few days stay with none other than Sumner, we’ll ferry to Vancouver Island for exploring and camping. Then we ferry back and drive north to Alaska, seeing what we can get into along the way.

You are invited to join us. (We have two trusted souls and a slew of good friends watching our house this time!) We even have special ops friends volunteering to secure the joint.