Home Sweet Home

Every time we hit the road, we meet amazing people, create amazing memories and learn some important life lessons. After we got home on Saturday night, we lit a huge fire on Lake Ontario and talked about our trip. The highs and the lows always provide good perspective for us going forward. We also talk about things that we are thankful for and during this trip there are a few things we remember in particular.

We are thankful for no mechanical failures.
We are thankful for the incredible timing that created to an amazing adventure.

In the four trips that Lily has embarked on since we have owned her, this is the first one that didn't involve an encounter with a mechanic. Transmissions, alternators, brake cylinders and push rods are just a few of the many things that we have had to replace over the two years we have been tripping. Usually, our trips to the mechanic end up being significant parts of our trips, but thankfully, Lily decided to co-operate this time around.

Timing is always an interesting to think about when we live on the road. Every day is a link in the chain that becomes our adventure. All of our group decisions contribute to this chain, so it is always interesting to look back at how we all shaped the experience with our different leadership styles and decision making processes. If we wouldn't have left Philly on Friday night, we wouldn't have made it to Scranton, but if we had stayed an extra afternoon in Pittsburgh, we never would have been able to meet up with Janice and her family. This isn't a revolutionary way of thinking, all of life moves like this, but it is always great to be able to isolate a week and reflect on how things came about.

We did a lot in a week. We visited three major American cities and stopped in a bunch of others. We met some amazing people and made some great memories. We were able to lend a helping hand when the opportunities arose and made a lot of people smile with our RV antics. Our friendships are stronger and we learned a lot about community.

All in all, The Open Road Project D.C. was a great success. Now it's time to plan our next adventure.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Scranton: The Electric City

As our time in Philly came to an end, we recognized that Scranton was the perfect distance away to park overnight and head home in the morning. Myself (Tyrone), and Jer both being pretty huge fans of The Office, were excited by the novelty of the stop. The plan was to get there in the evening, grab some grub at Poor Richards (a pub frequently mentioned in the show) and head out in the morning. We pictured a quaint little town where Michael Scott roamed free and the smell of freshly printed paper was in the air. This however, was not the case.

After pulling into Scranton off the freeway, it was easy to see that this was not unlike some of the other cities we had visited. What was once a hub of industrial activity was left abandoned and rusted. We arrived at the address of Poor Richards, only we saw a sign for South Side Bowl. Slightly confused we entered and found the pub tucked away in a corner. After taking a seat and being clearly identified as outsiders by looks from those seated around us, we decided to leave feeling discouraged that Scranton might not be all it promised. They used a different set on the show...

Still feeling hungry we headed on over to the local McDonald's where the parking lot looked like a scene out of a Fast and Furious movie. It was littered with souped up cars. Were talking neon underglow, rims, big ol' sub-woofers; you name it, they had it. We were informed that the Scranton Car Club is a pretty big deal and meets there every Friday night. Needless to say, Enns Battery & Tire could make a killing in a place like this. Now here is where our tale takes a turn for the better. In this McD's we happen to pick up that days issue of the Scranton Times and saw a title stating that tomorrow was the much-anticipated Office Wrap Up Party. We read on. In fact, Saturday was a day packed with activities to celebrate the upcoming series finale of the show that helped put Scranton back on the map. Now this was more like it. We researched and found out tickets were sold out, but when has something like that stopped us? We decided we would investigate in the morning and went to bed after a few games of intense euchre.

The beautiful Saturday sun helped us get up and moving to start the day. We knew that the morning activities were taking place at the University of Scranton, so that was our destination. We started exploring the campus and stumbled upon the remnants of the Bloggers Breakfast. An event organizer told us to wait in the back of the line and there might be some tickets left for the next panel event, which was not exactly what we wanted to hear. However, we walked away with some authentic Dunder Mifflin paper supplies and a little voice in our heads telling us we had to get tickets.

We continued to walk around until we found a group of student volunteers, and after telling them our story, they helped round up a few extra volunteer tickets for us. Little did we know we hit the jack pot as these were also VIP tickets. So for the next hour we were all smiles as we listened to the writers and producers of the show talk about their favourite moments over the years. After this was over, we were informed that the cast would shortly parade down main street and that would be our shot to meet them. In between we grabbed some delicious lunch at an Irish Pub to celebrate Tim’s 21st birthday. A couple items on the house for the occasion later, we headed back out to the streets to join the crowds in anticipation.

Now since The Open Road Project began in 2011, there has been a guestbook to help record all of the interesting people we meet along the way. Armed with this is hand, we stood by as the parade started to come our way. First came David Wallace and I was able to go up have him sign our guestbook. From there the floodgates opened. Darryl. Erin. Creed. Meredith. Cast members kept rolling and we kept getting signatures. We were just having a grand ol' time, laughing at our impeccable timing. As some of the more popular characters such as Jim, Pam and Dwight rolled through, the crowds quickly turned to mobs and we took to sitting back and enjoying as wild fans. After the parade was over we hopped back into Lily thinking about how lucky we were to be here in Scranton, PA for this one day, and how the sketchy town that greeted us was in the far back of our minds, now replaced by experiences that seem to only happen on the open road.

We left that afternoon to begin our long haul back home, smiling.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys.

Philly

Tim here. Our time in the City of Brotherly Love was one serious adventure. We began our second day in the city rather slowly, as we waited to hear back from a few contacts that we had made. After walking around for a while we decided it was time to settle on a place that we believed would be the home of Philadelphia’s finest Philly Cheese Steak. Naturally, we wanted to enjoy a true Philly Cheese Steak. A Philly Cheese Steak that people from Philly loved, and not necessarily from a place where hundreds of tourists walking along South Street frequented. As we chatted with locals, we were told about few fine establishments, but a particularly strong recommendations landed at "Ishkabibble's" and let me say we were not disappointed.

After chowing down, we split off into 2’s to meet some people to and spread a little bit of love.  Zach and I walked around for a while and ended up meeting a homeless guy named Robert, who was looking lunch around 3 (the first food he would have eaten all day). We offered to take him out for something to eat and a drink and naturally got chatting. In 1999, he was caught in a drive by shooting and had to have his leg amputated. He has been homeless for the last three years along with his daughter and grandson. He talked quickly about the struggles of finding work and the conditions of the shelter he stays at during the nights. We then prayed with him and wished him the best.

Jer and Tyrone had a great time chatting with a social venture in the apparel industry and with some folks who were tending to a community garden in the city.

Thankful for the sunny days

After we met back up, we went to a record store on South Street and were skimming through the hoards of albums, trying to find a few gems. Tyrone struck gold and finally found his holy grail, Neil Young’s Harvest, at a pretty fine price too. We got talking with the record store owner about his shop, the ups of the early and mid 90’s where business was fantastic and about tough times for him after the digital revolution. Eventually we began talking about the game “bigger and better”. Now if you aren’t familiar with the game, it’s all about trading what you have to someone else for something of bigger or better value. What we had to offer was a box of matches, not much sure, but something. The store owner wanted to give us something he had that possibly was valuable but he wasn’t sure. It was an antique Pittsburgh Pirates pin in a little box that a past customer left and never came back to get. The exchange was made and so the game began.

After we visited Love Park and chatted with some people with a neat organization that helps homeless people called One Step Away, we passed a little pizza shop that seemed quite welcoming. An old man named Ed was sitting eating some za, and let us know that he had been eating at "The best pizzeria in Philly for 40 years!" Well, one thing led to another and we found ourselves eating pizza with Ed and listening to his stories of being in the navy, traveling the world, becoming and architect, running a bank and ultimately turning an old abandoned Episcopal Church into an apartment building. At 80 Ed was unbelievably sharp and loved to crack jokes. He continually reminded us that life was too short to not be able to laugh and joke around. We continually heard Ed say the phrase “Don’t be nervous!” whether it be to us, the cop he talked to at the counter when he paid or when he said goodbye to the grand daughter of the original pizza shop owner. We laughed it off and soon realized that it was a phrase that he tried to live his life by. After a while of talking he asked us if we would want to come see the apartment building he put together. He welcomed us into his personal apartment to show us around and show us some pictures of what the building looked like when he first saw it. He was an incredible guy who was nothing short of humble. Before we left we asked Ed if he would be interested in our “Bigger or Better” game which he said he didn’t want to take anything from us but wanted to give us a gift. From a shelf he grabbed a little miniature replica ship that was put in a little glass block. We asked what the story was behind it and Ed said he wouldn’t tell us and that we should make up a new story for it. After Ed gave us his business card, we shook his hand and promised to visit him again if we were ever in Philadelphia or Washington again. As we said goodbye, Ed reminded us one last time to “not be nervous” and he bid us safe travels.

With some great Old Man wisdom ringing in our ears, we headed back to Lily. Next stop: Scranton Pennsylvania, the home of the beloved TV show, The Office.

Home is where you park it,

Tim and The Boys

D.C. Pt II

Our second day in D.C. brought with it a number of free museums. We spent most of our day at the Smithsonians, with the Natural History and Air & Space museums being among our favorites. We were disappointed to find out that White House tours had been cancelled for the time being, due to budget cuts. Perhaps that was an excuse to keep us out... Regardless, we had a great day. Another highlight was eating at a famous D.C. food truck. The Fojol Bros and their delicious butter chicken treated us right. Here are some pictures.

Tyrone grabbing life by the horns at the Natural History Museum

Whazzzaaaa!?!

Aviation is A.O.K!

#saveDCfoodtrucks

Once we were done with the museums, we headed northeast to a town called Columbia. A friend of my mothers lives there, and she took us all out for a steak dinner! We ate with Janice and three of her five kids, Allison, Michael and Ashley. I had not seen any of these folks since they visited us in Ontario when I was younger, so it was great to catch up. That night we slept at Ashley's house, thankful for showers and free WiFi. We rested our heads that night, realizing that we had just conquered D.C., while narrowly escaping the Secret Service. Accomplishing what we had set out to do was a good feeling. Everything after this point could be considered bonus. Oh, and bonus did we get.

The City of Brotherly Love

We made it to Philly yesterday afternoon. After we strolled around, we grabbed some lunch and decided that we may as well catch a Phillies game. More detailed posts to come (to catch up from DC) but in the meantime, here are a few pics.

We couldn't believe the deals!

Somehow, we ended up pretty close...

D.C.

We woke up in Rockville, ready to take on The Capital. As we drove in, we were surprised by how far along spring was. The greenery on each side of the George Washington Memorial Highway was just exquisite.

We crossed the river and D.C. was upon us. Naturally, we drove around all of the historic sites to get a feel for the city. We may have also been blasting our Vuvuzela horn contraption, honking our horn, waving incessantly and tossing chocolate bars to pedestrians, taxis and security guards alike. I'm sure it was quite a spectacle.

The reason I'm sure it was a spectacle may be because within 20-30 minutes of this madness, we noticed three white vehicles in our rear view mirror. Secret Service. Once we had pulled over, we recognized that we weren't dealing with regular police officers. These were Obama's bros.

The nice thing about us is that we never have anything to hide. Our blog is plastered all over our RV, Lily, so it's easy to tell our story. Although we thought they were going to ask us to quit disturbing the peace with our honking, the reason for our being stopped was due to our broken tail light and slight bumping of a curb as we turned a corner. After the officers realized that we weren't impaired, we had a nice chat about the best sights to see in D.C. and where to park. Sometimes I wonder what these people think about us.

After parking, we mapped out a route to walk and got to it. Before we got to any of the sights, we noticed some young men packing up a large events tent from a recent function. We stopped to give them a hand and ended up learning some cool stuff about the students who were working to pay their way through school.

On our drive in, we tossed some chocolate to someone who would become our new friend and give us the inside scoop on everything D.C.. His name was Fred and he is the security guard and the Bank Of America right beside the White House.  Quickly, we realized that this guy knew D.C. so anytime we would need direction, we would come to him.

We saw the White House, the Washington Monument and hung out with our pal Lincoln. It was an interesting and educational day to say the least. As we toured, we handed out snacks and Love Dollars to people we would meet.

All in all, it was a great day. We were able to see some sights, meet some people and lend a hand. We decided we would spend one more day in the D.C. in order to see some of the Smithsonian museums.

Thanks for reading!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Spreading the love... dollars

As we toured the numerous free museums in DC, we left a trail of love for our fellow patrons.

Pitt

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We woke up to the smell of sizzling bacon. Yes please. After a delicious breakfast made by Julie, we were off to hit the town, thankful for our full stomachs. Tom was an excellent guide and gave us the insider’s tour of the city. We stopped at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and explored some very impressive buildings. Naturally, we left our mark for any other tourists who may be visiting the classrooms.

Tim dancing because he's so stoked about parking

U Pitt

Learning

Monkeying around at the antique shop

As our tour continued, we found ourselves at Peace Love & Little Donuts. Outside, we met a young lad, Derek, who had recently been seriously injured in a skateboarding accident. The pictures his mother showed us were quite gruesome. After we chatted for a while, we left Derek with a small gift for his bravery, some Skittles. We also checked out Enrico's Biscotti, which apparently is on of the best bakeries in America. We also saw the Heinz factory and where our good buddy Sidney Crosby likes to toss a puck around.

Derek, his family, and a little love

When we got back to Tom and Julie's lovely abode, another sweet, sweet aroma was filling the house. We sat down for an amazing Spanish jambalaya and enjoyed every bite after our busy morning.

Thank you Tom and Julie for your amazing hospitality!  You gave us the perfect beginning to our adventure. 

After signing the guest book and saying goodbye, we pulled out onto the road, our sights set on DC.

Home is where you park it, 

The Boys

Love Dollars

As we were preparing for our trip, I found about a cool thing that a community in Philadelphia, called The Simple Way, has been doing lately. It's called the Love Dollar. Essentially, dollar bills with the word LOVE in bold letters are shared in creative ways.

Since we will have nothing to do with our American $1's when we get back to Canada, we have decided to take part in the Love Dollar initiative and give them all away. Look out, one could be coming your way for simply passing us on the street!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Rockville, Maryland

Currently we are about 20 minutes from DC, planning our trip into the heart of America (we will write a detailed post about Pitts very soon). When we got in last night, we saw a diner that looked like a classic spot. When we got to the door we noticed a sign for 50% off the entire menu. What!? Needless to say, a feast ensued. A good one, but also one that begged us to question the food system and the way we eat. Steak and rib combos should not cost $10. More posts to come.

The Steel City

We have made it safely to our first stop: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We are comfortably lounging in the basement of Tom and Julie's house. These two have stayed with my parents a few times over the years during their vacations to Niagara, so they were excited to return the favor to four wandering travellers.

The drive was pleasant and the boys are doing an excellent job becoming familiar with Lily's quirks. The border was an easy cross, which is always a pleasant surprise. Most of the drive was rainy and we napped, read, ate and chatted as the wiper blades sloshed away.

The rain had stopped once we reached Pittsburgh and we were amazed how the big city sort of popped up out of no where. When we arrived at Tom and Julie's, we became reacquainted after a few years having not seen eachother. We were welcomed with open arms. Over a delicious pizza dinner, we had some great conversation; stimulating and enriching.

As the meal was ending, Tom asked us if we wanted to see Pittsburgh at night. An unwritten rule with The Open Road Project is that we always say yes. So we headed to the top of Mt. Washington and enjoyed this beautiful view.

In the morning, we are going to see some more of Pittsburgh and then continue on our journey. Starting off are trip with such hospitality may very well have spoiled us. Breakfast in the morning will not disappoint.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Thoughts before hitting the road

Currently, I am sitting in the RV outside Tyrone's house, stealing his Wi-Fi in classic Open Road Project fashion. The morning will bring a whirlwind of activity as the guys pack their stuff into their designated cubbies and get familiarized with their new home. The air always smells a little sweeter when another adventure is lingering.

This week was good for me, as I gave Lily a long overdue and thorough cleaning. Vacuuming, washing dishes, organizing gear and fixing leaks were on a list that is now neatly checked off. During this time, I noticed a small picture frame that has been hung above the table for two years now. I had looked at it hundreds of times before. It is a picture of a dart heading straight for a bullseye with the quote, "Aim for service and success will follow."

Aim for service and success will follow.

As I cleaned and went about my daily business, this quote danced around in my head. I guess I have found it to be quite true. Over the past few years, we have taken this RV to each end of our grand country (and dabbled in the States as well) with the goal of serving others. This has taken on many different forms (just read any of the stories on this blog) and in the meanwhile, we have also been served in ways that I never could have imagined.

As we travel, I want this quote to encompass everything we do. Not because we crave success and not because we desire to be served in return for our deeds, but because a life dedicated to service, in my opinion, is one worth living.

Oftentimes, our trips take on different forms. Some trips have been more service-based than others. Especially when trips are shorter, it is important to be more intentional with the opportunities that arise. Thank you for reading, and please be thinking about us as we seek to navigate the open road!

The Open Road Project takes on Washington DC

Well, we are back at it again. Surprise, surprise :)

We are pleased to announce that The Open Road Project is heading down to DC!

Starting on Sunday, April 28th, myself (Jeremy) and three great friends are once again hitting the road with the goal to help and meet as many people as we can. Joining me in this adventure are drumrolllll please..... Tim Van Meer, Tyrone Maguire and Zach Grant. For the past two years, I have been living with, and consequently have grown very close to, Tim and Ty. Zach has been friends with Tim and Ty for a long while, and I also know him from working at Camp Mini-Yo-We.

Now that you have a little background information on the guys, I would ask you to be thinking about and praying for us; that we have an enriching time with each other and also are able to find and hlep people in need. That we would be perceptive to the things going on around us while continuing to grow our friendships.

The way it's looking right now, we have established contact with a family in Pittsburgh to stay with on our first night. From here, we will head into the capital of the US of A and check out as many free museums as we can and go with the flow.

Whatever happens, it will be an adventure. We are all looking forward to it. Follow along for updates, we will post as often as we have free Wi-Fi.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Wrapping up West Virginia

When we woke up at Greg and Cindy's, a beautiful scent was floating through the air. West Virginians don't mess around when it comes to breakfast.

We found ourselves sitting at the table with a breakfast feast before us, pinching ourselves to see if we were dreaming. Cindy had whipped us up an All-American classic: biscuits and gravy. As we enjoyed our bacon, eggs, sausage and biscuits, we discussed the possibilities of helping Greg chop some wood, since their house was heated entirely with the natural substance. Greg said he was already good to go for the foreseeable future on that front, and that his main priority was to get us up and running again.

After we ate, we went down to Lily where she was once again receiving a tow. The truck took us to Carl's Garage in the tiny town of Circleville and they had us all fixed up in an hour and a half. While we waited, we ate some delicious sandwiches made by our resident sandwich artiste, Jamie. Dorothy-Anne Bennett, Greg's mother, also came to visit us. We gave her the grand tour of the RV and she left us with some pictures of The Knob. She also showed us her art as we conversed and laughed.

When we pulled out of the garage, I felt deep gratitude. Not only thankfulness for our wonderful hosts, but also for the opportunities that I have in this life. As we drove off, we all knew that we had just made some lasting memories. Perhaps we will visit again soon; we know the door is open to us.

From here we went to visit some of Dylan's family who live just outside Eerie. We were welcomed with pizza and a cold, celebratory beer for our mountaineering accomplishments. We watched "Into the Wild," and then went to bed. We felt as though that was a fairly appropriate movie to watch after our wilderness adventure. When we woke up, we had another great breakfast and then went tobogganing with the kids. What a blast! Check out this video from our time with them.

After our fun afternoon on the slopes (we had an awesome time with all the neighborhood kids) we fired up Lily for the drive back to Niagara. As we crossed back into our mother country, we again could say that we did it. We overcame adversity, braved the elements and made some amazing memories while doing so. Although we weren't able to stop in Pittsburgh and give some clothes away, there were other lessons we learned and it's not like they can't be given to someone else. The best memories and learning come from spontaneous changes to our plans. Thank you for reading!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Ain't no river wide enough, ain't no mountain high enough

We did it! Behold! The top of Spruce Mountain. Spruce Knob!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

The Climb

What did our hike look like? Simply press play to find out!

Thanks for watching!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

New Videos!

The West Virginia videos are here! Here is the first one. We will be releasing them periodically over the next few weeks. Be sure to watch in HD!

Thanks for watching!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Greg & Cindy

With a successful mountain climb under our belt, we marched confidently back down the mountain, ready to hop into our beloved Lily and head to Pittsburgh. As we came down the road, we saw her gleaming in the afternoon sunshine and our spirits were lifted even higher. Life was good.

Looking back, we should have been expecting what happened next. After all of our packs were put away, the key made its way into the ignition. Now, we'll have you know that turning the key on our 1979 beauty is always an adventure in and of itself. Sometimes, Lily fires up instantly. Other times, she needs a few extra pumps of gas. Sometimes, the battery is dead, and you get nothin'.

This time however, was unlike any other. And not in a good way.

While Lily was turning over just fine, it seemed as though she wasn't getting any fuel to complement the sparks and create combustion. So after numerous futile attempts to start her up, we realized that we were going to have to do some trouble shooting. What else is new?

Just then, something magical happened; a jeep rolled up. Wouldn't you know it! It was Greg Bennett, the man on whose farm we had trespassed to climb the Knob. The kindness we were shown over the next 24 hours was the highlight of the trip, and yet another lesson was learned that we can all apply to our lives.

For the rest of the afternoon, Greg could be caught getting down to the nitty gritty with the engine, trying to figure out what was going wrong. Busting out his 150,000 BTU space heater to try and thaw out our potentially frozen fuel lines was one of the many tactics used to try and get us going.

Heatin'  things up!

As the sun continued to set, we realized that we would not be spending the night in Pittsburgh, as we had previously planned. Greg brought his heater home, and said that he would call a few folks who would be able to get us off the mountain in the morning. We figured we may as well pass the time by keeping warm wrapped up in blankets playing cards. After a few rounds of euchre, we saw the lights of Greg's truck approaching.

While we figured he was just coming to give us some more information on the day to come, he was actually coming back to invite us to stay the night at his place! We would have been more than fine to spend the night in the RV, especially as we recalled our frigid tent experience from the night before, but these are the types of offers that The Open Road Project just cannot refuse. 

Jamie and Dylan hopped into the cab of Greg's truck, while Jordan and I got to lay in the back and take in the starriest sky I have ever seen. When we arrived at the beautiful farm house, we quickly learned that Greg had build the place himself. We heated up some soup and Cindy, Greg's wife, provided the crackers and drinks. We chatted about our adventures, and continued to be thankful for the Bennetts' hospitality.

As we rested our heads on warm pillows that evening, we took in the day. Between summitting the Spruce Knob, tearing down camp, hiking down the mountain, finding Lily once again kaput and being taken in by complete strangers, we had once again experienced another unexpected adventure. These, in our mind, are the best kind.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Post by Jeremy Enns

Jamie Grantis: Sandwich Artist

Jamie Grantis is a man who wears many hats. One minute, he is a fearless adventurer, the next an impeccably dressed businessman. When his infamous Sandwich Cap makes an appearance, prepare yourself for the mighty handiwork that is bound to ensue.

Behold! The West Virginian Mystery Sandwich.

This treat has only been created once (according to Le Histoire de la San-weech, a fine French food history encyclopedia) and the secret ingredients are unknown to the human species. This sandwich must be eaten in the dark, as the lack of light enhances man's other senses, particularly taste and touch. Perhaps one day his secret recipe will be passed along the Grantis Lineage, and the WVMS will once again be resurrected. Until then, this grainy iPhone photo is the only remaining piece of evidence.

The Knob

As a cold-blooded reptile sluggishly moves in the cold, so we arose, unwilling to depart from what little heat remained in our sleeping bags. Our once-hot water bottles had lost their life-giving warmth while the fly on our tent had dislodged and was blowing an aggressive draught over our feet.

By the time we rallied together to get moving, more complications arose. Our boots had frozen in awkward shapes and our fire had long dwindled to a lonely pile of ashes. The breakfast we had planned (pancakes) was no longer an option; instead, our morning meal consisted of a special pastry provided by our lovely friends chez Pop Tarté...

After breakfast, we took down the tent and packed up all our gear. After this activity, we began to feel limber enough for our hike to the summit. After some deliberation (take the road around or hike straight up) we opted to take a straight shot up to the summit. Despite the steep slope, the hike was much easier that the day before, since our packs remained at camp.

After hiking for about 20 minutes, we stopped for some lunch. We still had a good sized stash of dried goods, which tasted simply heavenly. It was also at this time when we took a swig of our now mountain cold hot water bottles. We were all surprised with our water's overwhelming smoky aftertaste that had evidently come from the campfire boiling process the night before. We then coined the term Spruce Smoked Water (TM), and are currently exploring different markets where there may be customers to purchase this unique product in disposable bottles. It's possible we'll make millions, so we'll keep you posted.

As it turns out, the woods where we stopped for lunch was a mere 25 metres from the top of the mountain. With some extra spring in our step, we reached the summit. Spruce Knob was ours.

We did it!
Click to enlarge photos.

Being at the highest point of Spruce Mountain, Spruce Knob, was a great feeling. We had accomplished what we had come to do and were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the vast West Virginian wilderness.

Now it was time to climb back down the mountain, and see how Lily was holding up...

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Post by Jeremy Enns