Renewing passports

While the US passport is desired by many in the world for a variety of reasons, renewing it is highly inefficient, expensive and takes a ridiculous amount of time. https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php The US passport ranks behind about 20 other countries now. This is based on how many countries one can travel to without visa or gettingContinue reading “Renewing passports”

Mina Port, Abu Dhabi

Much of Abu Dhabi and Dubai is very modern with over the top malls. A great contrast to that is the Mina Port area that has a wonderful fruit and vegetable market and a huge seafood market. I often rode my bike along the Corniche to arrive at this colorful part of Abu Dhabi. ThereContinue reading “Mina Port, Abu Dhabi”

Cairo, Egypt December 2016

Living in the Middle East made it seem that we had to get to Cairo and see the pyramids, which I had seen in photographs throughout my lifetime. From Abu Dhabi it is a pretty short flight so we booked for four nights. Two nights we stayed right next to the  pyramids in a beautifulContinue reading “Cairo, Egypt December 2016”

Bahrain Weekend Trip

Denny and I decided to take a quick weekend trip from Abu Dhabi to Manama, Bahrain. It is about an hour flight and quite cheap. Bahrain is an extremely small country. It is located close to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Qatar is tiny but much bigger than Bahrain. There are around 1.5 million citizens. WeContinue reading “Bahrain Weekend Trip”

Lopez Island, Washington State – Family Property

My dad, Robert Boyce (same name as my son), purchased 10 acres on López Island in the San Juan Islands in the mid 1960s. I won’t mention the price but you will pay more for a used car now. It is a sort of pie shaped property, wide at the road and narrow at theContinue reading “Lopez Island, Washington State – Family Property”

The “Makito,” and phone theft protection strategy in the Dominican Republic

As some of you may recall I was robbed of my cellphone in broad daylight waiting to board a bus in Santo Domingo a couple of weeks ago. It created more than a few problems for me. I had so much data and documents on there that are simply gone. By good fortune, I hadContinue reading “The “Makito,” and phone theft protection strategy in the Dominican Republic”

An Impulsive Decision

So the ski season had come to a close and we had to decide what to do next. It had been an exciting year building trails, skiing and living out of a van for a while. I was so content even though we had little money. I had the option of the Safeway job thatContinue reading “An Impulsive Decision”

Greece March 2014 with my Daughter Sierra Danielle

It was 2013 and I had been in the Middle East for two years. My son and daughter had come and visited us in Abu Dhabi in the Spring. For 2014, I asked them both where they would like to travel. Fun concept. My son chose Panama, which had fascinated him for some time. GreatContinue reading “Greece March 2014 with my Daughter Sierra Danielle”

Working at Squaw Valley Ski Resort, California

I was quickly offered a position selling tickets for ski school lessons at Squaw Valley and my wife got a job at a ski and clothing shop near Alpine Meadows. I also started working at a 7-11 convenience store near Squaw Valley. We both got Season tickets for skiing at Squaw Valley so we wereContinue reading “Working at Squaw Valley Ski Resort, California”

Living out of a van in Southwest America

During the work on the Pacific Crest Trail,  we had learned that the team had won a bid for a 50 mile stretch of trail near Big Sur in California. It was in the La Ventana Wilderness Area. It was to be a 6 month job paying 25 dollars an hour, which seemed like aContinue reading “Living out of a van in Southwest America”