Jeanine has sent me several lovely photos from Belgium and it sounds like she is having a wonderful time. I look forward to her return and will invite her to complete this post with the details of her visit.

Guest Blogger: Jeanine Calabria

Forty years ago Frances Verstraete spent a year living with my family attending my local high school and graduating with the class of 1981.  I spent one month with her family in August of 1984 accompanying them on a car trip to Stockholm from Leuven where I learned how to drive a standard transmission and then spent time with my own Swedish relatives on their farm.  So this visit was long overdue and it was wonderful to see each of her siblings this time. Instead of launching their studies/careers they were retiring and tending grandchildren!   I enjoyed spending time touring Leuven by foot and electric bike and appreciated her taking me to the nearby Flemish historic towns of Bruges (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges) and Mechlin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechelen).  After my barrage of questions about historic buildings, she invited her sister Benedicte, who is a local guide of the city and former high school history teacher, to accompany us by e-bike .  Most notably, I learned that the city of Leuven is transforming all the old breweries/factories, military barracks and significant historic sites into housing – complete with affordable options for students and refugees.  Major destruction included the French Revolutionists that removed all religious statues and World WW I & II bombing of entire neighborhoods.  The University of Leuven Library was burned down in WW I and US higher education institutes were the major financial backers of the reconstruction. I recognized many universities that family or friends have attend; University of Cincinnati, Union College, Indiana University, and the Middlesex Boarding School (in Concord!) inscribed into the stonework.  I felt proud that my country had assisted with the rebuilding of this amazing structure. The tributes to victims of the Holocaust were sobering as I contemplate today’s rise in violent racist acts.  My favorite part of my week with her family was playing with her new grandson “Fil” and taking our morning walk with Bélan, her 10-year old Vizla rescue hound!  I left inspired by the complete transformation of the transportation system to promote biking over cars and how universal childcare subsidies makes a two-parent-working-family possible.

There are some things one does not expect to see in a grocery store. I think a shopper dressed as a chicken qualifies as one of them. At first, I thought the chicken was part of some kind of promotion. After trailing it for some time, I concluded that it was simply at the store to buy groceries. What I found most entertaining was how other shoppers were not the least bit curious about the chicken and went about their business as if there was nothing unusual about the situation.

After catching up on some work items for one of my clients, I jumped in the car and took off on a three-state road trip. Fall foliage and weather conditions were near perfect although the sky clouded over by late afternoon which diminished the color intensity of many of the photographs. Fall color closer to home should reach its peak this weekend giving Jeanine a chance to enjoy it when she returns from Belgium.

The effects of jet lag caught up with me today and I decided to take it easy. I spent a little time working on the River House and took a break to enjoy the fall color. In a future year, I will use the time-lapse camera I am using now to document construction to capture the entire fall foliage season as seen from our home.

While we were in Turkey, progress on the house continued. The basement walls were waterproofed for a second time; the first application did not have time to cure before rain washed some of it away. Drainage tile was installed around the exterior and interior perimeters of the foundation, the later terminating in a sump pump basin. The initial plan was to connect these loops to each other and to have a sump pump discharge to a location outside the 100 foot river boundary (per stipulations of our natural resources permit), not a very elegant solution. After excavation, however, we discovered that the foundation will be surrounded by clay on three sides and sand on the river side. Clay, I have learned, is almost entirely impermeable which means that three sides of our foundation, if properly graded, should never come into contact with water. The fourth side will naturally drain through the sand into the river. Due to these conditions, we have decided that it will not be necessary to install a sump pump at all. The exterior loop will drain any water that makes its way past the clay down to the river side where it will filter through the sand and down to the river. This is a very ideal passive drainage system. There is, however, one scenario we needed to plan for. During a severe flooding event, should the river rise above the level of the basement floor, it will pass through the sand in the other direction and start to exert hydraulic pressure on the slab which, at some point, could cause it to buckle. In this case, water will enter the interior drainage loop and come up through the sump basin which will serve as a pressure relief valve. This will protect the slab at the expense of letting water into the basement. This may seem counter intuitive, but repairing water damage is far easier than repairing a failed foundation slab. Should the river ever reach this level, which is 22 inches above the 100-year floodplain, we will use a high capacity gas powered pump (20,000 GPH) to evacuate the sump basin. This should buy us another several inches, possibly a foot of margin. Hopefully, we will never have to find out how much. In a time of global climate change, however, it only makes sense to plan for more severe flooding events. Also completed while we were away was the installation and compacting of the Glavel base on which the 6″ basement slap will be poured. This morning I visited the site and insulated any remaining gaps in the ICF while excavation for the garage foundation was completed.

The Golden Boot is awarded to the top goal scorer in the World Cup. Nico officially scored 8 goals in 7 games. Had his first goal against Indonesia not been ruled an own goal (his shot deflected off an opponent before going in), he would have shared this year’s award. Nonetheless, he had an outstanding tournament by any measure and is universally regarded as one of the top players in the world today. There are several professional amputee soccer leagues in Europe and Nico is thinking about using the remainder of his leave of absence from teaching to play professional soccer abroad.

The USA faced perennial rival Mexico in its final match. We most recently lost to Mexico in the World Cup Qualifying tournament. That was not the case today as we scored the game’s only goal in the final 10 seconds of the match. The kids and I watched the live stream from the Brussels Airport while waiting for our return flight connections. It would be hard to script a more dramatic ending to the World Cup for Team USA which finished in 15th place. Had either of the tied matches gone our way in overtime, the outcome would have been very different. In my opinion, the US now has a starting team that can compete with the best in the world. We will need a deeper bench, however, to place higher in a World Cup tournament where teams play 7 matches over 9 days and where so many outcomes are determined in overtime.

Our trip to Turkey proved to be a wonderful wedding anniversary celebration, a thrilling World Cup tournament, and a family vacation that will be remembered forever.

All the mosques in Istanbul are very beautiful. The Süleymaniye Mosque, however, is the most lovely to my eye. Although I already photographed it from the river side, I decided to capture it from the opposite side this morning at sunrise.

In his match against Poland this afternoon, Nicolai scored his eighth goal of this World Cup. It tied the score at 1-1 before the half. In the second half, the coaches gave our backup goalie a chance to play. While he made some amazing saves, he also committed a pair of rookie mistakes at the expense of two easy Polish goals. The entire team is rather banged up and bone tired with one more match to go on Sunday. Tomorrow they will have a much needed day off. Although he has seen little of Istanbul, Nico just wants to rest and take it easy.

Jeanine and Maya took a Turkish cooking class while Kyle worked from the hotel and did some solo touring. Alissa left for her return to the states. All watched the live stream while I attended the match in my capacity as the sports action photographer. Here are links to all of the media that is currently available.

USA vs England Photos

USA vs Argentina Photos

USA vs Indonesia Photos

USA vs Haiti Photos

USA vs Japan Photos

USA vs Poland Photos

USA vs England Highlights

USA vs Argentina Highlights

USA vs Indonesia Highlights

USA vs Haiti Highlights

USA vs Japan Highlights

USA vs Argentina Video

USA vs Haiti Video

USA vs Japan Video

USA vs Poland Video

USA vs Mexico Video

Finally, here is a link to a nice article about US Amputee Soccer.

The USA faced Japan today and once again came from behind to tie forcing the match into overtime. Japan scored within the first minute and again in the eleventh putting the US in a dire situation. Nicolai scored to bring the game back into reach and Japan responded with a third first-half goal. Things looked bleak at half-time with a 3-1 deficit to overcome but the team battled back. Nico had an assist and the match equalizing goal to force overtime despite the fact that he was often double or triple marked by Japan whenever he was within striking range. Unfortunately, Japan scored once more handing us our second overtime loss in as many days. Nicolai and most of the team is pretty beat up and their match against Poland, third ranked in Europe, tomorrow will not be an easy one.

Each day we spend about an hour and a half traveling from the heart of Istanbul to the Turkey Football Federation Training Grounds where most of the World Cup matches are being held. The trip involves a combination of metro trains and a taxi van ride. On the metro today, I took this picture of brother and sister sitting side by side and realized I was doing the same with my sister. It has been great having her join us on this trip to share in Nicolai’s exploits, support team USA, and enjoy Turkey together with our family.

We returned from today’s game in time for some golden hour photography and I chose the ancient Yeni Cami Mosque as my subject for the evening.

The Turkish Museum of Archeology was our first stop this morning. Once again, Kyle had to work so it was just Jeanine, Maya, and my sister Alissa who made the visit. We could have stayed for much longer but had to make our way to Riva where all preliminary games are being played. We hop the metro and take it to the other side of the Bosphorus (usually about 15 minutes depending on the snafu of the day) where we pick up a taxi van to complete the 45 minute remainder of the journey.

The game was a nail-biter. Haiti scored first with a lovely flick on goal. The US responded when Nico buried a penalty kick near the end of the first half. Haiti opened the second half with another fine goal. Once again, the US battled back and found a way to put the ball in the net to equalize with only seconds left in the match sending it into overtime. Overtime consists of two ten minute halves which is a lot after a full match. Haiti scored first putting pressure on the US to find another goal. We pushed our team forward to press the attack but left ourselves exposed to the quick counter attacks Haiti is known for. Once they had a two goal lead in the overtime period the game was out of reach and for every attempt we made at scoring, Haiti countered with another goal of their own. Although we tied in regulation time, Haiti scored 4 unanswered goals in the overtime period and thus eliminated any chance the US had for a place in the top eight standings. Although the team left the pitch feeling dejected, they played a hell of a match, left everything they had on the field, and showed a ton of grit down to the final seconds. Haiti was the stronger team today and deserved the win. The US played with great composure and intensity and can be very proud of their effort.

Today, all teams have been given a day off before the elimination rounds commence. I was up with the sun and down to the Galata Bridge where I launched my drone for some nice views of the Süleymaniye Mosque, which is one of the most impressive buildings we have seen so far. After breakfast, I joined Jeanine and Maya for a tour of the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar. Jeanine purchased several spices and Maya, a lamp. Kyle had to work and stayed behind at the hotel.

In the afternoon, we rendezvoused with the team for a 5-hour cruise on the Golden Horn and Bosphorus River. It was a most relaxing experience providing excellent views of the famous palaces, mosques, and exclusive homes which line the water’s edge. We anchored for about 30 minutes during which most members of the team enjoyed high diving from the boat’s top deck into the chilly water which separates Europe from Asia.

With a 5-0 win over Indonesia this afternoon, the USA advances to the knock-out round of the World Cup and will face Haiti on Wednesday. Nicolai scored 4 goals and had 1 assist. One of his goals was ruled an own goal but if you watch the video, there is little doubt that Nico’s shot was what created the goal. Haiti defeated the USA 6-0 in our last international friendly but we were playing without our full squad. During the World Cup Qualifier’s we defeated them by a one goal margin so it should be a very competitive match.

Nico emerged from the day’s match with an assortment of painful looking injuries. Whether they were inflicted intentionally or not, the result is a reminder of how rough this sport can be.

Earlier in the day Jeanine, Kyle, Maya, Alissa and I toured the Topkapi Palace Museum. I was blown away by the clock collection where we saw some incredible mechanisms that would be marvels by today’s standards. We learned that some of the clocks represented an entire lifetime of work for the maker. The weapons exhibit was also quite interesting and we had to send in a retrieval party to extricate Kyle. The Imperial Harem  contained more than 400 rooms and was home to the sultan’s mother; several hundred concubines and the four wives of the sultan; and the rest of his family, including children; and their servants. The men touring this exhibit seemed to agree that it was a pretty nice arrangement, an opinion not shared by the women.

Pictured above is the main greeting area within the Harem. The Sultan would have welcomed friends and guests here surrounded by his wives, children, and concubines. Formal state visits would have taken place in the Audience Chamber located in the Third Courtyard.

I set out for the Hagia Sophia this morning before dawn so that I could position myself for a good photograph at sunrise. Drones are not permitted within the tourist complex’s cordoned-off grounds but are allowed outside. Skies were overcast which made for a slightly muted shadow-free scene. I am really pleased with the result. I then toured the interior of the mosque which was equally beautiful.

By the time I returned to our hotel it was time to wake Kyle and Maya who arrived late last night. After breakfast, we left to watch the USA vs Argentina match. Nicolai scored a thunderous goal early in the game and immediately ran to the sidelines to embrace his siblings. Unfortunately, Argentina battled back with three unanswered goals. Torrential rain preceded the game and continued through the opening minutes leaving the field incredibly slick. Limited crutch traction put a real damper on the US athletic style of play and favored the Argentinian short pass game.

After the match, we returned to Istanbul and toured the Blue Mosque, the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmet, and the Basilica Cisterns.

Even though many areas are currently under renovation, the Blue Mosque is still an amazingly beautiful example of Ottoman-era architecture. For the shot, I launched my drone from the rooftop terrace of the nearby Sirkeci Mansion where we are staying while in Istanbul.

The primary reason for our visit to Istanbul is to watch Nico compete for team USA in the Amputee World Cup. In our opening match, we faced England, second place finisher in the European championships and a highly regarded side. Cheered on by a small but highly vocal contingent of US supporters, the US managed to better the English squad with a 1-0 result. Nicolai had the assist for the winning goal and just missed what would have been a very pretty goal using a reverse flick (the equivalent of a bicycle kick in amputee soccer,

When the match ended the team’s exuberance was borderline hysterical. The win demonstrated that the US has graduated to a premier level of play. Although our roster is not deep, we have strength in every position. We play Argentina tomorrow and based on how they dismantled Indonesia, I would say we have a very tough match on our hands.

This morning we made the 5 1/2 hour drive from Ephesus to Istanbul where we returned our rental car outside the city and took a cab to our hotel. There, we connected with my sister, Alissa, who came to Turkey to support her nephew and enjoy a much-needed vacation. The opening ceremony for the Amputee Soccer World Cup was held at the Ülker Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium where professional matches are played. The entertainment featured a procession of the 24 flags representing all the countries that are competing, a drumming ensemble, dancers, and an apparently famous singer. While very nice, it did not come close to the opening ceremony at the last World Cup in Mexico which was more of a cultural celebration of the country and its history. After the ceremony, the host nation had its opening match against France which had little chance against the top rated team especially when supported by thousands of fans. Security at the venue was like nothing you can imagine. Hundreds of police officers, heavily armed, many in riot gear. Jeanine had her power bank, lipstick and hand sanitizer confiscated. Alissa had to surrender her cell phone charger. I was detained because my camera was too professional. After a long delay and checking with other officials, I was finally permitted to enter with my gear. The people we have met in Turkey are as friendly and welcoming as anywhere we have ever travelled. Today’s experience at the stadium, however, was a reminder that this is still a country where the police and military rule with an iron fist.

We arrived in Selcuk this morning after a relatively short 2 1/2 drive from Pamukkale and spent the afternoon visiting the amazing ruins of Ephesus. The ancient port has a history dating back to the 11th century BC and was once considered the most important trading center in the Mediterranean region and the most prominent city in then Greece. Throughout history, Ephesus survived multiple attacks and changed hands many times between conquerors and ultimately declined after the toll of so much conflict and natural disasters. It was also a hotbed of early Christian evangelism and remains an important archaeological site and Christian pilgrimage destination. The Library of Celsus was definitely a highlight, with the Great Theatre and Terrace Houses a close second. The massive site remains one of the most complete archeological excavations of an entire city in the world.

After a brief respite in our quaint hotel, we explored the Basilica of St. John and the Ayasuluk Fortress before enjoying a lovely dinner to celebrate my 64th birthday.

We arrived in Pamukkale after a long drive from Konya made more interesting due to a flat tire we experienced along the way. Despite my many significant accomplishments over the course of our marriage, I don’t think Jeanine has ever admired me more than by watching how efficiently and effortlessly I dealt with changing tires on our rental car. It was scarcely a ten-minute blip on our journey and another half hour to find and have the tire repaired at a local auto shop. Fortunately, we arrived at our destination with plenty of time to visit Pamukkale and the Hierapolis ruins. Pamukkale, meaning “cotton castle” in Turkish is famous for a carbonate mineral left by the flowing of thermal waters. Although still remarkably beautiful, the site has been loved to death by the throngs of tourist who come to enjoy bathing in the pools. The series of pools pictured above were artificially created to replace a motorbike access road once built there. The terraced pools pictured below are natural and what I was most interested in photographing. Regrettably, the lack of recent rain left them dry. As a consolation, the golden hour evening light made the basins appear slightly blue in color which gives the impression of them being filled with water. As I was leaving the site to rendezvous with Jeanine who spent most of her time visiting the ruins, I saw a couple having their engagement photos shot. As is always the case in such situations, I studied what the photographer was doing to see if there was anything to learn. In this case, I concluded that he had no idea what he was doing and that all his shots taken into the setting sun without any fill flash on the couple would be terrible. I decided that such a lovely scene should not go to waste and took my own photo of the couple from a completely different angle.

This post is not completed and I will add more photos when time permits.

For now, enjoy this low-resolution version of a video I shot with my drone this morning. Imagine a smooth jazz soundtrack that I will add when I return home.

Reminders for Carl:

Yesterday: hot air ballon ride, underground city, Rose Valley Hike

Today: Love Valley Hike, Drive to Konya, Church

When we decided to vacation in Turkey, it immediately became apparent that we could not miss visiting the Cappadocia region which features geography and human endeavor like few other places on the planet. Pictured above is Uçhisar which means ‘Outer Citadel’ in Turkish and refers to the huge rock cone that is its central feature. Uçhisar is dominated by a 60-meter-high ‘castle’ which is crisscrossed by numerous underground passageways and rooms, which are now mostly blocked or impassable but which served as residential areas and, perhaps, cloisters in Byzantine times. It is believed that around 1,000 people once lived in the castle although it is no longer inhabited today. It was our last stop of the day and I used the drone for a nice golden light shot.

The village of Göreme, located within the Göreme National Park which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985, will be our base of operations while in Cappadocia and is known for the countless eroded rock formations, many of which were hollowed out in the Middle Ages to create houses, churches, and underground cities. Our hotel room is located within such a man-made cave.

Our day began with a visit to the Göreme Open Air Museum. First thought to be a Byzantine monastic settlement that housed some 20 monks, then a pilgrimage site from the 17th century, this cluster of rock-cut churches, chapels, and monasteries was a wonderful introduction to the history of the region. The various churches have been given names by the locals such as the Dark Church, the Apple Church, and the Snake Church based on some of the paintings inside. We hired a nimble 85-year old guide who gave us a complete education on the significance of the site. Photography was not permitted in the churches but was allowed in the kitchens and dining rooms, an examples of the latter is shown below one of the typical carved rock formations. The center section of the u-shaped cutout is a dining table and the areas outside the u-shape are for seating. The fresco on the wall is one of the first depictions of the Last Supper and unlike Michelangelo’s version painted hundreds of years later, Jesus is seated at the head of rather than in the middle of the table.

Last night we began our journey to Turkey where Jeanine and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary (delayed two years by Covid). We had originally planned on Greece but made the change when we learned that Nico and team USA would be competing for the Amputee Soccer World Cup in Istanbul.

Our journey was not without challenges. Our Lufthansa flight from Boston to Frankfurt was delayed causing us to miss our connection to Brussels. Fortunately, the airline rebooked us on the next flight (Brussels Airline) which arrived just in time for our connection to Istanbul on Turkish Air which was also delayed. After clearing customs we hired a taxi to take us from the international airport to the regional airport located an hour away and flew on Pegasus Airlines from there to Kayseri where we rented a car and drove to our hotel. We left our home yesterday at 2:30pm and arrived in our hotel this evening just shy of midnight. We fell asleep minutes after our heads hit the pillow.

The only photograph I had time for today was a picture of the TV on our Turkish Air flight asking me to select a language for the entertainment system. I took it because I thought the pictured location would be a great addition to our itinerary if time permits.

Yesterday, Open Table shared this tribute to Jeanine with their entire community. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Yesterday, Nico asked me to photograph the Concord Carlisle High School Men’s JV Soccer Team which he is coaching again this season. The flash I normally use for such photos was not operating correctly so we had to time the photo for when the sun passed behind a cloud. This provides uniform lighting without causing the players to squint.

We have chosen to waterproof the outside wall of our foundation with a product called Tuff-n-Dri. It is applied with a spray gun and has a tar-like consistency. I spent three hours in the “pit” removing all of the concrete that spilled over the top and onto the footing. Doing so allowed the Tuff-n-Dri to create a continuous barrier over the top of the footing with no pockets for water to pool at the joint. While the family is in Turkey, drainage tiles will be installed around the outside and inside of the foundation walls. The inside of the foundation will be filled with 7 inches of gravel followed by 20 inches of Glavel which will be compacted to 16 inches. The garage footings and foundation walls should also be well underway.

I spent a good portion of the day working on the River House. Tomorrow, a waterproofing product called Tuff-n-Dri will be sprayed onto the outside of the foundation walls. While it is still wet, an insulating water drainage layer called Warm-n-Dri will be set into the tar-like coating. In preparation for this work, I needed to mark out the finish grade elevation around the entire perimeter of the house. This was easier said than done. I used a laser level on a tripod to project a finished grade line onto the foundation. I then climbed down a ladder into the excavated trenches and then up a ladder to mark the level on the wall. I did this for both ends of each of the eight walls and in cases with a diagonal profile, I snapped a chalk line and then created a stair-stepped pattern to simplify the installation process. All in all, I think I must have climbed up and down a 10 foot ladder a hundred times over the course of a few hours. Once the levels were all marked out, I had to drill a screw into the foundation at each location since the waterproof coating will cover all of the marks once applied. Another hundred trips up and down the ladder. Despite the strenuous exercise, I found the work very satisfying and had several frogs to keep me company.

My sister, Alissa, spotted this photo in the Schenectady Gazette newspaper this morning. It was taken 50 years ago in front of the George McGovern campaign headquarters. My father is second from the right and my mother is on the far left. In addition to their passion for ballroom dancing, they were avid folk dancers. I can remember joining them on many Friday night outings to dance with their local group. I still get goosebumps when I hear a slow Hasapiko.

We have decided to use swivel chairs in our new living room in lieu of a traditional sofa. This will allow family and guests to enjoy the views in all directions. While out with Jeanine this afternoon shopping for various new house items (flooring, plumbing fixtures, blinds, stonework) we stopped in to look at a few furniture stores. At one, we found what I consider to be the perfect swivel chair. Having sat in several dozen over the last few months, I can say with some certainty that this will be the chair we finally settle on (likely with a different covering).

Nico shared this photo of himself with his brother-from-a-different -mother, Jovan. The two have been training like mad men for the Amputee Soccer World Cup which begins in two weeks.

Inspired, perhaps, by Maya’s recent spice organization project or possibly my constant displeasure with the state of chaos in our Road House garage, I spent a part of the day organizing things. I long ago gave up on fancy purpose-designed garage organizers which invariably could not handle all of the items or which fell apart over time. Now I just affix a 2×4 to the wall (anchoring on studs) and screw in the appropriate hook for each tool. Much less expensive and infinitely more versatile and reconfigurable.

The concrete pour for the foundation walls was successfully completed last night. No other aspect of our new home project has made me more nervous. It is the only aspect of construction for which there is no way to correct a mistake. We needed five concrete mixer trucks to show up at 30-minute intervals. One breaks down or arrives late and we are screwed. If the pump truck gets clogged midway through the pour we are screwed. If the concrete vibrators malfunction we are screwed. If the ICFs blow out we are screwed. If the walls are not straight and plumb we are screwed. I think you get the idea. A lot of things can go wrong and once the concrete sets, you are stuck with it. I am happy to report that no such calamities occurred and the work appears to have gone perfectly to plan. See the video below.

Thirty-two huge bags of Glavel were delivered this morning. Glavel is a thermally insulating, load-bearing bulk aggregate made entirely from recycled glass. It has an R-value of 1.7 per compacted inch and compressive strength of 116psi. We will use 16 inches of it below the concrete floor in the basement.

Open Table held its annual meeting this evening al fresco at the El Huipil restaurant. It was also Jeanine’s last day as Executive Director of the organization. Three months ago she announced her decision to resign. After 9 years at the helm, she is ready for a new challenge, but not before a well-earned hiatus that will take her to Belgium after our two-week trip to Turkey starting next week. She received a standing ovation and was honored by several speakers for her leadership and passion. During her tenure, the organization transitioned from a volunteer-centered to a client-centered mission, secured its first permanent facilities, added a mobile pantry, introduced online ordering, raised $8M, and prepared tens of thousands of meals for clients in 21 communities. Maya and Nico were in attendance to share in the farewell and are seen below administering our traditional “graduation kiss”. Kyle would have been here as well if not for the fact that he is in Mexico this week.

Kyle sent these pictures from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico where he is spending the week with fellow employees. Team building in the age of remote working is on another level. I thought I was doing well to take my leadership team to Maine for whitewater rafting. How the goal posts have moved.