Ted’s Blog

We just returned from a fabulous week-long trip to one of our absolute favorite countries, Costa Rica.  It took a while to get there from Seattle, but once we arrived, we made the most of it. 

Costa Rica is a wonderful country in so many ways.  It’s a very progressive place, and now generates 95% of its energy use through renewable sources.  They protect over 25% of their land, and the amount that’s forested has doubled in the past twenty years.  Also, the people are incredibly nice, and the diversity of wildlife and plant life is second to none. 

We flew into San Jose, and drove directly to La Selva, staying at the Selva Verde Lodge.  The lodge is a couple of hour drive north of San Jose, located in the middle of a rain forest.  We met a long-time family friend there, J.D. Willson (more later), who had spent a few hours exploring the area.  He immediately showed us some great reptiles, including a Satiny Parrot Snake.  Also, at the very beginning of our first hike, about 100 yards into it, I actually found a snake.  This would prove to be singularly unusual, as I never saw anything interesting after that, and relied on others to find the interesting sightings.

Selva Verde Lodge is basic, very basic.  And the rooms are a long walk from the dining area.  But it got the job done for us, and we had a great two days there.  In addition to just walking the grounds of the lodge, we went to the research station at La Selva, and got a great tour there.  Anyway, if you’re looking for plush eco-friendly accommodations, this area may not be for you.  But if you want to see some great wildlife, this is a great spot, and a must for anyone doing serious birding in Costa Rica.

While in the Selva area, we did a couple of other fun things.  One afternoon, we all went on one of Costa Rica’s top ziplines to tour the Canopy.  We went with Adventuras Sarapiqui, who did a great job for us.  Most of the legs (14 in all) were short to medium in duration, but we had a few that were long, high, and over water!  That was exciting.

We also made a night-time visit to the Tirimbina Rainforest Reserve, and got a great overview on research being done there on bats.  Bats are a very misunderstood mammal, since almost all of the more than 1,000 species of bats feed entirely on insects or fruit.  Costa Rica itself has 110 species of bats, and we got to see a few of the species close up.  They were quite tiny, and really interesting to see when they’re still.

I made my first trip to Costa Rica twenty years ago, and was amazed at the Corcovado area on the Osa Peninsula in southwest Costa Rica.  We were excited to return there, and I was thrilled to see it’s almost as undeveloped – and beautiful – today as it was twenty years ago.  Costa Rica gets high marks for conservation.

We started out stay at a lodge called Bosque del Cabo, about a half-hour drive from Puerto Jimenez.  The lodge itself is quite nice, and is run by an ex-pat couple from the U.S. with a small baby.  We did a night hike our first night there and saw a few interesting things.  And some researchers gave a very interesting talk about the cats of the Osa Peninsula – ocelots, puma, and jaguars. 

The next day was characterized more by what we missed than what we saw, including being a couple of minutes too late to see a Boa Constrictor.  After our uneventful morning hike, we labored through a bollixed up afternoon.  We started with a quick (very quick) stop at the Osa Biodiversity Center, but didn’t stay there long enough to really get a sense of the place.   We then went to a private house overlooking the Pacific, which was a spectacular home with great views.  However, we weren’t really up for spending three hours for drinks and dinner there.  After dinner, we had a real low point of our trip, as the local guide had arranged for us to go out on canoes and kayaks to catch crocodiles.  He forgot to mention, though, that they didn’t have enough room for all of us, meaning one of us got stranded on the beach at night, for two hours, under attack by sand bugs.  The others spent two hours praying that our crocodile-catching experts would finally get a lasso around a croc’s head.  They did, finally, but this was an event well worth missing.

The next morning, we flew into La Sirena Research Center in the middle of Corcovado National Park.  The flight was spectacular, and it was great being in the middle of this park.  We got a decent look at a Tapir during our hike, but some screw-ups on the part of our local guide delayed our arrival into the park enough that morning that we missed the best wildlife sighting times.  We pulled the rip cord on this guide, thankfully, and got the rest of our trip back on track.

We ended our trip with a couple of incredible nights at the Nicuesa Lodge, at Playa Nicuesa, a twenty-five minute boat ride from Puerto Jiminez.  This lodge is beautiful, and tucked into a most spectacular area of the Osa Peninsula.  Everyone we met at the lodge was incredibly nice, and we had some terrific naturalist accompanying us on our hikes.

The lodge offers lots of great options, and we all concluded it was a place we’d like to come back to.  There are lots of great hiking trails originating at the lodge.  And the beach activities (swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing) are really fun.  The food there was excellent as well. 

Our last night hike was particularly exciting at Nicuesa.  Our family friend J.D. and our son Gibson were on fire in terms of finding things, and we got several great looks at really interesting wildlife.  My son’s blog post – http://gibson.dintersmith.org – will do a much better job of describing what we saw than I can do, but it was really great.

For our week in Costa Rica, we saw 20 different mammal species, over 120 bird species, and a whopping 61 herp (reptile and amphibian) species.  Between the wildlife sightings, the spectacular countryside, and the wonderful Costa Rican people, it was a great trip.

We were thrilled to have J.D. Willson with us for our stay in Costa Rica.  I’ve know J.D. since he was three years old, and even then it was clear he was going to be an outstanding naturalist.  J.D. just got his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia, and is a real expert on nature.  He’s also an incredibly nice and thoughtful young man, so we felt honored to spend a week with him.  All of us learned so much from him, and our kids in particular got a chance to observe up close how a top scientist approaches the exploration of a new area.  We couldn’t have asked for a better person to show us the wonders of this great Central American country.

After a glorious week in Costa Rica, we returned to Seattle to find . . . rain.  What a surprise!  We spent Easter Day waiting for a short window of sun for an Easter Egg hunt outside, and finally gave in and braved the elements.  With each passing hour, we couldn’t help but think of life on the trail in Costa Rica.  And as I post this on Monday, April 13th, we’re getting snow here mixed with rain!  Ugh!!

February, 2009, The Baja –  Well, I haven’t posted a single blog since our big trip, and it’s about time I start reporting on our more occasional trips. We’ve taken a few since last June, but we just got back from the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, and this is a trip worth a posting.

For our February break, we booked a trip on the Sea Lion, a ship with Lindblad/National Geographic, and explored the bottom third of the Baja Peninsula. We flew down from Seattle to Los Angeles on Friday night, Feb. 13^th, and then took the trip shuttle from LA to La Paz Mexico the next morning. We then got on our ship and departed.

We had immediate great news on this trip. There were three other terrific families with children the ages of our two children. And all five of these kids were keenly interested in nature, so they formed quick bonds. During our travel year, we rarely encountered other kids and, all too often, they were video game addicts. When we went to the Galapagos, for example, the other children almost never went out on the explorations, choosing to stay in their room! And, equally amazing, their parents seemed happy to pay a good-sized amount for a very expensive seven day video-games-at-sea adventure.

We started on the Gulf of California side, where there is a very dry desert. The Gulf of California is one of the most productive seas on the planet, supporting nearly 900 species of fish, including 90 found nowhere else.  But our focal point for the trip was whales, not fish, and we had immediate great luck. Our very first morning, we got great views of Blue Whales (the largest creature ever), Fin Whales, and Humpback Whales. We had seen all three in Antarctica a year ago, but got superb views on this particular day.

The waters on the gulf were relatively calm, and we had a couple of other fun days there. On one day, we went snorkeling at Los Islotes, although the water was pretty darn brisk. We did see some California Sea Lions quite close up, as well as all sorts of tropical fish.

A highlight of our first phase, though, was a great afternoon playing on the sand dunes of Isla Espiritu Santo. The dunes in Baja are spectacular and so inviting for kids that love to tumble. They did some of the most incredible running dives off the edge of the dunes, often ending up with sand covering every possible body part. The naturalist were great sports and came up with all sorts of contests, and several adults (not this one!) joined the fun.

We headed around the tip of the Baja, stopping for a day in Cabo San Lucas. We went on a fun bird walk, and picked up two endemic species – the Xantu Hummingbird and the Belding Yellowthroat. We also got a glimpse of a snake with its head out of the water, although no positive identification has been made as of yet.

As we rounded the cape and headed north in the Pacific, the seas got considerably rougher. We were fortunate that things were not too terrible, but we definitely noted the swells. But we knew we were headed north to Bahia Magdalena, home of the Grey Whales, and were looking forward to seeing these whales at close range. At times the whales come close enough to the zodiacs that they can be touched, but we weren’t counting our whale-touches before they hatched. As a family, we’ve had a long history of pretty dismal whale kharma, so we had no challenge managing our expectations down for the final phase of the trip.

When we reached the bay, the Gray Whales, as promised, were everywhere. Local guides estimated that some 400 whales were hanging out in the bay. These whales weren’t feeding, but had come to the Baja to mate and to nurse along the young (in some cases, only a few weeks old). We were excited to go exploring!

We went out into the Bay three different times, and the Gray Whales were all around us. We got some really good looks at many adults and baby calves. The highlight for us was a baby who came up to our Zodiac and ducked under it. We didn’t quite get to touch the baby, but came within a foot or so. While Grays aren’t the biggest whale by a longshot, it was really impressive to see these 60 ton animals at close range. They are big!  And hearing a whale blow air out its spout from less than ten feet is a sound we’ll never forget.

While we got some really nice looks at the whales, our whale kharma survived the trip intact. More often than not, we felt we had our best views of other people on Zodiacs getting amazing views of these whales. On Thursday afternoon, we went out on the early shift and didn’t see a whole lot. The late shift, though, ran into two adults and a baby calf that were breaching on a regular basis for about an hour. It was like watching Fourth of July fireworks. Carol Greenspan sent this one picture to us, which gives you an idea of what it’s like to be five yards from a whale that lifts its body 2/3rds out of the water.

On our last day, we spent several hours on what may well be the most beautiful beach I’ve ever been on, called Sand Dollar Beach. The dunes were gorgeous, there is no sign of people or buildings, and the water was at a comfortable temperature for swimming. We could have spent a few months on this beach, but just having a full afternoon was a great treat.

The trip had lots of great highlights, but one real lowlight. Our ship had 50 non-smoking passengers, and one bozo who chain-smoked foul cigars around the clock. The ship’s policy allowed smokers to smoke on deck as long as they stayed in the designated locations. On this small ship, the designated locations were a) at the back of the only area with chairs and exercise equipment, and b) a spot about five yards from our room. All too often, the cigar smoke filled our room, and was completely disgusting, and by the end of the trip, I had a headache from the second-hand smoke, and a real issue to take up with Lindblad.

All in all, this was a fabulous way to spend a week.  The Baja is just gorgeous and undeveloped.  And the chance to see such amazing whales in close proximity is a real treat.

 We went to Denver for the Democratic Convention, which proved to be the best, and the worst, of times.

The highlight was, not surprisingly, Thursday night at Mile High Stadium/Invesco Field.  The atmosphere was electric, and we got there early enough to see the 80,000 seat capacity stadium fill up with attentive and enthusiastic supporters.  Barack Obama’s speech lasted some 45 minutes, but in person it felt like just ten minutes.  My children were seated on either side of me, and they asked lots of questions, and seemed captivated as well. 

What was so impressive about Obama’s speech was that he managed to lay out the case against John McCain (something some were concerned he wouldn’t do) without being personal.  And he did a great job of describing some specifics of what his administration would focus on and achieve.  But most of all, he did an amazing job of addressing a crowd of 80,000 and another 38 million watching on television in a way that seemed personal and connected.  He is, without question, a once-in-a-generation speaker, and is now doing a great job of articulating how his values and vision will translate into governance.

Our time in Invesco was pure magic, and we will all be forever glad that we were there in person to witness history.  It was such a great experience, and I have no regrets about going there.  And I’m thrilled that my children could witness history first hand, and hope this will be an experience they can tell their children and grandchildren about.  But as for the rest of our time there . . .

We had some personal commitments and couldn’t head to Denver until Wednesday.  We spent most of the day Wednesday there and the full day Thursday.  After arriving on Wednesday we were excited to go to the Pepsi Center (home of Denver’s professional basketball team) for an evening featuring Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.  We took a cab there, or so we thought, but traffic was at a standstill.  So we got out early and walked the rest of the way.  After about a 30 minute walk (much of which was navigating through security and to the arena), we got to the security checkpoint (very tight security everywhere) and eventually entered the arena, not at all prepared for the scene inside. 

The Convention Center was jammed to capacity and then some.  Our passes said “Honored Guests” but that didn’t move the needle.  After an hour or so trying to get into the viewing area, we faced reality , gave up, and headed back to the hotel.  Easier said than done.  We walked quite a distance to get to the shuttle buses, only to learn that they wouldn’t start running for another hour!?!?  So we retraced our steps (about a half mile each way) to get back to where we started, only to walk back to the hotel (about a 45 minute walk), arriving just in time to see the last five minutes of Biden’s speech on television.  Ouch!!  This wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for by flying to Denver.

We re-grouped, determined not to make the same mistake twice.  Thursday would be better, if for no other reason than it couldn’t be much worse.

I went to a National Finance Committee meeting Thursday morning and got a chance to hear Michelle Obama (always so impressive) and Joe Biden.  It was the first time I’d heard him, and he’s an impassioned public speaker.  I was mildly positive about the initial choice of Biden (my preferred VP was Chuck Hagel), but he’s grown on me, and seems to be stepping into the role confidently and effectively.

We then had a chance to view a preview of a documentary being filmed on Barack Obama’s implausible run for President.  Two women had heard about Obama in 2004 and decided to follow him in the event he decided to run for President.  They’ve been tracking him since the very beginning, and have over 500 hours of footage already.  We got a chance to see the segment on Iowa.  I was there for the caucus, and these film-makers got it exactly right.  I can’t wait to see the film when it’s released (due sometime in 2009).

On a gorgeous Thursday, we headed to Mile High Stadium (home of the Denver Broncos football team).  Early.  Very early.  We passed through some very tight security and found our way to unreserved seats at about 2:00 p.m., a mere SIX hours before Barack Obama would begin speaking!!  After missing everything on Wednesday, we left nothing to chance, even though it meant we were some of the first people in the stadium.

On the way in, we saw a very remote area designated for protesters.  The fence was quite high, and it was actually hard to figure out what their concern or cause was.  In general, we came to Denver expecting to see lots of discord.  But there was almost no evidence of unrest, and we were struck by the widespread level of harmony and fellowship.

The schedule began at 3:00 p.m., and contained a bit of everything — entertainment, comedy, some moving speeches, some great musical performances, and some pretty dull speeches.   Highlights were Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder, Al Gore’s speech where he noted that he knew a bit about close elections, and six “everyday Americans” who shared their experiences in a very  moving and passionate way.  The one I’ll always remember is a gentleman named Barney Smith from Indiana, who had lost his job and was having a rough time with health insurance.  He concluded his remarks by saying, “I want a President who cares more about Barney Smith than Smith Barney.”

Our seats ended up being about ten rows in front of where Hillary Clinton was sitting.  I wasn’t in Denver to see her speech on Tuesday night, but was impressed with how graceful and supportive she was during the convention.  Having come so close, it’s inevitable that she would have very mixed feelings about the outcome, but she seemed radiant as she took in the proceedings, and gracious when her presence was recognized. 

After Barack’s great speech, we returned to the torture zone.  Getting back from Invesco was challenging beyond belief, and we patched together a miserable combination of waiting, walking, taking the light rail (crammed beyone belief) and a shuttle bus (even more crammed).  It took an hour and a half to get back.

We left on Friday morning, but not before another highlight.  I went down early to buy a newspaper and a cup of coffee and ended up in line behind Tom Brokaw.  We talked a bit about the convention and the chaos in security and logistics.  He’s such a wonderful person, and I’ve often thought how great it would be to have him in office.

Friday’s other noteworthy event was learning of McCain’s choice for Vice President.  If his goal was to shift media attention from Obama’s great speech to the Republicans, he accomplished that.  If his goal was to manage a thorough and careful process to pick an outstanding running mate, he botched it beyond belief.  I work with tiny little start-ups and if a CEO ever told me, “I’ve just hired a VP that I’ve heard really good things about and met once for fifteen minutes,” I’d fire the CEO on the spot.  But somehow John McCain can completely fail to do his homework for his most important pre-election decision, and then blow his stack when reporters question his judgment. 

We have many people to thank for their help during this most unusual year in our lives.  Without this help, we couldn’t have pulled this off, let alone had such a great and successful year.

The original inspiration for this trip came from Dick and Patty Simon, who took their family around the world over a decade ago, and generously shared with us their experiences and perspectives.  Also, many, many others were happy to take time to provide us with advice and suggestions about places they’ve traveled.  The only way we can possibly repay such kindness is to do the same for anyone who approaches us.

Long-time family friend Kristie Jochmann, now living in Milwaukee, did so much to help us on our trip.  She managed all sorts of logistical things for us during our travels.  And she worked tirelessly to make our baseball efforts a big success — finding teams to meet, setting up the meetings, and making sure the hats and equipment we were donating made it to the recipients.  The challenges of working with customs officials throughout the world are enormous, and Kristie made everything happen flawlessly.

We could not have made this trip without the great assistance of Jacqui McCoy, Kate Bragg, Jayne Casey, and Maria Cella of Paul-McCoy Family Office Services.  Historically, they have handled all sorts of tax and financial issues for us, but went above and beyond during our year abroad.

Our travel planners, Samantha (Sam) McClure and Maggie Harshbarger of Small World Travel in Austin, Texas, took on the challenge of planning out this trip with very little lead time.  They worked tirelessly to put together our itinerary, and let us focus on our travels, instead of trying to pull together all sorts of complicated logistics from the road (generally from a third-world country).  While there were some bumps in the proverbial road during this trip, we really appreciate everything that SWT did for us.   This amazing experience would not have been possible without them.

We loved working on our blogs and website as we traveled.  We couldn’t have pulled that off without great technical help from David Cancel, Andy Payne, and Julia Holland.  Julia runs a small consulting firm in California (Blue Penguin Consulting) and really took care of so many things on the fly.  We’ll have a lasting cyber-memory of our trip, and couldn’t have possibly pulled all of this together without such great help.

All of our family members, especially our mothers, were so supportive during our travels.  Not seeing grandchildren for most of a year is not the easiest thing to be enthusiastic about, but they were so excited for us and our adventure, which made the trip a joy.  And special thanks to the Yandow’s for taking care of our fifth family member, our dog Scallop, who couldn’t make the trip with us, but had a great home in Needham for the past ten months!

Finally, we want to thank the many thousands of people we met along the way.  People everywhere were just incredibly kind and enthusiastic, and helped enrich our trip in so many ways.   It was a great privilege for us to learn so much about the lives of people throughout our great world, and we thank the people who shared so much with us.

And, now that we’re back, we will thank in advance everyone who will help us with re-entry to a normal life.  We suspect we won’t adjust all that readily to it, but our family and friends here mean so much to us, and we hope they’ll be tolerant of this wayward family returning to life in the U.S.

On a memorable Saturday night, August 16th, we were fortunate enough to be a part of the Boston Red Sox pre-game ceremonies at Fenway Park.  We had kept the Red Sox up to date on our around-the-world trip, particularly the baseball aspect.  And they had helped us initially with a set of overseas contacts that we pursued to find the right groups to meet with.

We were lucky in that the night before’s game was rained out.  Our game had one brief shower around the third inning, but otherwise had gorgeous weather.  We got there early, and were able to go down on the field to watch batting practice.  Gibson got Vernon Wells’ autograph, and we got great looks at many of the players, including David Ortiz.  And I for one was relieved to go to Fenway without the prospect of watching Manny Ramirez, and loved watching Jason Bay.

Before the game, they put a few of the photographs from our trip up on the scoreboard.  I’m not sure how many of the fans knew what the context was, but it was exciting for us to see some of the kids we had given hats and equipment to featured at Fenway Park.   I wish that the many kids we had met along the way could have been there to see their own photos in an American baseball park.

The highlight of the night for us was having Gibson throw out the first pitch.  They gave him the choice of throwing from in front of the mound, or throwing from the regulation location.  He opted to throw from where the pro baseball players pitch.  The first pitch took place just a couple of minutes before the start of the game, so the park was almost at capacity.  And with more than 30,000 people looking on, Gibson wound up and threw a strike from the same mound where many great pitchers over the year have stared down at batters.  He left the field beaming, and it was a great moment for all of us.

I got several e-mails during the game from friends who were at Fenway that night by coincidence and had watched the pre-game ceremony.  One came from Ross Garber, who was at the game with his son.  Ross lives in Austin, Texas, and I first met him when I invested in his company, Vignette, about ten years ago.  Vignette went on to be a big success, and Ross and I have stayed in good contact ever since.  He had tracked us on our trip, and it was great to have him at the game.  And they were sitting right on top of the Green Monster, and he was able to get this great picture of Gibson throwing out the first pitch.  Minutes later, Ross caught a home run hit by Alex Rios, so Ross had a great visit to Fenway.

The night at Fenway was a complete thrill for the four of us, and a great way to end the baseball phase of our trip around the world.  We thank the Red Sox organization for their enthusiasm for what we did, and we especially thank our contact, Adam Grossman, for his interest in our initiative, and his being kind enough to arrange for us to be part of August 16’s pre-game ceremonies.

Check out a video of Gibson’s first pitch or our Fenway Park picture album.

And just like that, it was over.  We hopped on a plane in London’s Heathrow, had an uneventful flight to Logan, and touched ground again in New England, more or less exactly where we left from ten months ago.  In some ways not that much had changed.  Same four people, same eight suitcases.  To the right above, we have the before photo, and below right the “after” photo.

In other respects, a lot had changed.  During this ten month journey, we did the following:

• Continents: 7
• Countries: 37
• Airplane trips: 99
• Lost luggage 0
• Late flights 2
• Air miles: 103,128
• Places stayed: 112
• Items stolen 0
• Bird species: 1204
• Mammal species: 166
• Reptiles and Amphibians: 175
• Red Sox hats given away: 760
• Continents in which Gibson lost a tooth: 5

Once on the ground, we headed out the Needham, MA, to the home of Elizabeth’s cousin Julie Hazard Yandow.  The Yandow’s were kind enough to take care of our dog Scallop during our time abroad, and gave Scallop a fabulous and loving home.  We were a bit worried that our dog wouldn’t recognize us, but she seemed to still know who we were.  Anyway, we are most grateful for the Yandow’s for taking care of Scallop, since we could have never left without being sure she was in great hands.  And Scallop will get to see her second family from time to time this summer in Rhode Island, which she very much looks forward to!

So we’re now back in Jamestown, Rhode Island, and are catching up with our friends and family.  We got back in time to see the Celtics trounce the Lakers for the NBA Championship.  And I’ve already made a trip out to Chicago, and gotten reacquainted with the misery of domestic airlines.   I wish I could say unequivocally that it’s great to be back home, but it’s not.  But if we had to pick a place to be, Jamestown is the best place we could spend the summer! 

I may be wrong, but I believe the world is in grave trouble.  I felt this way before our trip, and am more convinced now.  I fear that our nation lacks the wherewithal to make the hard decisions and sacrifices to reverse so many troubling trends.   I fear our generation will be the first in our country’s history to pass on to the next generation a future that’s impaired, not improved.

During this past year, we had a wonderful opportunity to explore the world.  We wanted our trip to be educational, not an extended vacation.  We wanted to see for ourselves the greatness in the world, but also to see its challenges, its sadness, and its horror.  And we did.

We saw nature at its most spectacular.  We saw stunning accomplishments of ancient civilizations.  We saw beautiful cities, remarkable works of art, and advanced technologies.  And we saw the joy and hope in so many people, many of whom live in poverty.  It was inspiring. 

We also saw the unmistakable signs of global warming.  Acute deforestation.   Pollution in places like Beijing, where air quality gets worse by the minute.  The oppression of Tibet.  Indescribably poor townships and villages.  Children growing up without education, struggling to find daily food and water.  Auschwitz.  And the damaged state of our country’s standing abroad.

I was born in 1952.  Elizabeth’s and my parents were part of America’s Greatest Generation.  All four parents sacrificed immensely during World War II, with both fathers in combat and both mothers working in the U.S. to support the war effort.  Their lives have been ones of dedicated sacrifice to make sure their children had a better future.  They succeeded at that goal. 

I am embarrassed that my generation may be the first in our country’s history to hand our children a degraded future.  We’ve swept a pile of dirt the size of Mount Everest under the rug, while the planet is in peril.  It’s like living in a house that’s burning down, while we bicker over whether to watch “American Idol” or “Wife Swap.” 

As I said, I may be wrong.  Why worry about global warming?  Our addiction to foreign oil, in a nation of gas-guzzling SUV’s?  The staggering U.S. debt that threatens our financial underpinning?  Increasing foreign control of our economy, jeopardizing our ability to stand up to atrocity?  The fool’s errand called “Operation Iraqi Freedom” that has poisoned the world’s view of the U.S.?  The accelerating divide between the rich and the poor?  

Sixty-four years ago,  our greatest generation led the way to saving the free world, built the U.S. economy, and re-built Europe.  Now, our government earns the scorn and enmity of people all around the world for our failed foreign policy and our lack of discipline or resolve.   We are on our way to being one of the most irresponsible generation in the world’s history.  In contrast to Saint Luke’s words, “Unto whom much is given, much shall be required,” we have been given much, but just want more. 

What will it take to reverse these trends, to pass on to our children a future better than what we inherited?   Certainly not business as usual.  Not if we continue to focus on our own narrow self interests.  And not without compelling objectives that we achieve through ingenuity, shared sacrifice, and collaboration.  We need, more than ever before, a great generation to step forward, to lead us, and the world, forward to create a better world for the future.

So we are now at end of our ten-month round-the-world journey.  But we also mark the beginning of our next, less-defined journey into the future.  I struggle today to say what impact our trip will have on each of us.  My fervent hope, though, is that it will influence each of us to stretch, to help fight immense challenges, and to begin turning back a tide that threatens to sink our future.

The Normandy coast of France is so beautiful that, even if it hadn’t played a unique role in the world’s history, it would be worth visiting.  The countryside is so idyllic, spotted with gorgeous historic chateaus, beautiful pastures, lovely meadows, and stunning beaches.  We spent three days exploring this area, and had a great time at our last stay in continental Europe.

The beaches of Normandy lie about 150 kilometers from the southwest coast of England, in a sparsely populated area of France marked by a few small villages and the important town of Cherbourg.  This area is about 200 km. of Calais, which is where the Germans assumed the Allied invasion would land.  The beaches are generally flat and wide, often abutting steep cliffs of moderate height (10-50 meters). 

We walked the beaches that the Allied forces code-named Utah, Omaha, and Gold — names that will live forever.   Each has lots of resources explaining its role in the Normandy Invasion, including some informative museums, statutes, and plaques.  But the highlight is just walking along the beach and imagining what it must have been like to land there on the morning of June 6th, 1944, and making your way through landmines, enemy fire, barbed wire, and every conceivable obstacle slowing your advance.

The U.S. troops landed on Utah and Omaha, the British on Gold and Sword, and the Canadians on Juno.  Losses were quite asymmetric.   For instance, the U.S. lost just 197 troops at Utah, while losses at Omaha totaled some 3,000. Canadian forces lost some 500 troops, and the British lost over 2,500 soldiers on that fateful day. 

At Utah, losses were contained by two factors.  The pre-landing bombing at Utah was very effective, largely immobilizing the German line of defense.  And high winds and a strong northerly tide resulted in the landing at Utah ending up a mile or so to the north of the target location, which — fortunately — proved to be a safer spot.  At Omaha, in contrast, the pre-landing bombing inflicted more damage in inland villages than on the German forces positioned on the coast, and casualties were high.

We also visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, which is a place every American should visit.  It underscores the debt of gratitude we owe to our military, who willingly sacrifice lives to protect the free world.  There are almost 10,000 graves at this location, and it’s hard to walk the grounds without being moved.  

What also struck me about our time in Normandy was the nature of the military effort behind D-Day.  The level of planning was exceptional.  The Allies had to keep their plans secret, and actively worked to reinforce the German’s view that the landing target would be Calais.  The future of the free world hinged on holding this secret, held to some degree, by more than a million people.  And the military commanders understood the importance of invading with an overwhelming show of force.  In a relatively short period of time, more than 1,000,000 Allied troops landed or parachuted into the Normandy coast area, enabling them to drive out the Germans and establish a strategic position that proved pivotal to re-taking Europe and defeating Hitler.

As a citizen of the U.S. in 2008, it was impossible to walk the beaches of Normandy without contrasting D-Day to the Iraq invasion.  D-Day was planned by military experts, many of whom were on the line and lost their lives as Normandy was taken, including Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. (gravestone at right).  The Iraq invasion was planned by arrogant bureaucrats like Donald Rumsfeld, who had no  personal exposure to the dangers, but rammed an ill-conceived strategy down the throats of the military leadership.  Normandy was about protecting the interests of the free world, while Iraq is about a set of lies propagated by the Bush Administration to justify a war that should never have been waged.  Normandy preserved the life and freedom we love.  Iraq jeopardizes the future of our country and the world.  The differences couldn’t be more stark.

Click here to see our photos of Normandy.

In London, we took in two different museums that are part of London’s Imperial War Museum complex.  The first was the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms Museum, located at the bunker compound used by Winston Churchill and the top British military during World War II.  And the second was the main Imperial War Museum complex (photo above).  Both played important roles in our tour through Europe’s World War II history.

Winston Churchill wrote a six volume history of World War II.  You’d have to be highly motivated to learn more about that period to take on these works, but an afternoon at the Churchill Museum provides just the motivation for learning more about such an important person in history.

The Churchill Museum provides full background on Churchill’s fascinating life.  He was head of the British Navy in World War I, and failed so miserably in this role that he was removed from his duties.  He scraped and clawed his way to some level of political redemption afterward, and then in the 1930’s was the British politician most consistently pointing to the dangers posed by Hitler.  As Hitler’s power rose, Churchill’s credibility soared.

As Hitler’s empire expanded and Germany conquered Poland, Britain declared War on Germany.  Churchill again ran Britain’s Navy, and the first major World War II naval encounter was another major British disaster, but the blame was allotted to then-Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.  Chamberlain resigned, no other leader was willing to step up, and Churchill became Britain’s new Prime Minister.  He worked round the clock on the war campaign, provided leadership around the globe for the free world, and developed close working relationships with U.S. Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. 

Did Churchill’s effective leadership solidify his political standing in England?  Hardly.  In 1945, he was defeated in an election for Prime Minister, a defeat hardly in keeping with his contributions to save the free world.  He retreated from the political limelight, but re-emerged over time as a powerful voice throughout the world.

As we walked the halls of Britain’s World War II bunker compound, it was quite clear the sacrifice made by everyone in England during World War II.  The top military commanders worked round the clock and were often in harms way.  Churchill himself demanded to be part of D-Day’s landing brigade but was over-ruled by others.  And the English population, exposed to daily bombing raids, fought valiantly across the board, with deep sacrifices.

We saw a great exhibit at the Imperial War Museum called “The Children’s War” which described the impact of World War II on the children of England.  Some 7,700 children are estimated to have been killed during the war, a similar amount seriously wounded, and about 1,000,000 children in total were relocated from London and coastal areas to safer locations — ranging from Britain’s countryside to other countries.  These children were parted from their families for periods of years to lifetimes.  And some enlisted in the British military at ages as young as fourteen.  As we stood taking this in, with our almost-twelve year old boy and ten-year old girl by our side, we could only be thankful that they’ve not been exposed to such wartime horrors, and pray that they never are.

And the Imperial War Museum has a very powerful display on the Holocaust.  We had already walked the grounds of Auschwitz, so seeing the very powerful photographs and short documentary films at the War Museum was all the more moving for us.  They featured interviews of several Auschwitz survivors, as well as some of the only surviving photographs of daily life in Auschwitz. 

The Auschwitz exhibit at the Imperial War Museum was our last activity, apart from normal trip logistics, of our ten-month journey around the world.  I’m sure some would question the appropriateness of exposing our children to the horrors of Auschwitz and, at the very least, ending our fabulous trip on this note.  The museum at Auschwitz doesn’t recommend children under 14 as visitors, for example.  But our objective in this trip wasn’t to entertain ourselves, but to educate ourselves.  And we want our children to understand the full range of experiences the world has to offer, from the sublime to the horrific.  And, most of all, we hope they, we, and all readers, will understand that certain things are so consequential, so precious, so fleeting that they are indeed worth fighting for, even dying for.

As part of our exploration of sites in Europe related to World War II, we visited Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam, after each of us had read books relating to her life.  No photos were allowed inside the house, so I can’t offer much of note photographically.  And, Anne’s father Otto desired that no furniture be left in the house as it transitioned to a museum, so there wasn’t much to photograph in each room.

Somewhat incredibly, I had never read Anne Frank’s diary before our trip.  This book, I believe, should be mandatory for all high school students.  It’s such a powerful story, with the innocence and life joy of young Anne (she wrote this when she was 13-15 years old), and the devastating and sad conclusion of her life.  As the Allies mounted successful initiatives in Europe, and as the German choke grip was beginning to loosen, someone betrayed the Frank family, and they were arrested and sent to Auschwitz.  Anne’s diary stops two days before being captured, and the specifics of her life after that aren’t known in fine detail.  But she, her sister Margot, and her mother died in Auschwitz within weeks of the liberation of prisoners there.  Her father was the only family survivor and went on to live to reach age 91.

In reading the diary, it was clear that young Anne had only a limited understanding of the consequences of being arrested.  She knew the occupying Germans were evil, and that many friends and relatives were being arrested and deported.  But there is no sign that she understood the horrors awaiting anyone who was arrested.  It’s possible the adults in the Frank house had a clearer understanding, but my guess from Anne’s description of household operations is that they were also unaware of the certain death awaiting anyone arrested by the Nazis. 

Many things were imprinted on my from reading Anne Frank’s diary, and visiting the house and museum in Amsterdam.  Among them is the urgency of taking action.  Had Anne Frank survived just one month longer, she might well be alive today.  Had the Allies not turned the tide on the Germans when they did, many more would have died.  Sometimes matters of life and death are exactly that.