A Memorable Tour Guide

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to join 6th graders on a field trip to an 1860's farm on a beautiful fall day. I am also grateful for a celebratory concrete mixer at Culver's. (Marathons are worth celebrating repeatedly.) 

When traveling to Maine, we decided to pay for tours to help us better get to know the area we were visiting. We are grateful for both the boat tour we took in Frenchman's Bay near Bar Harbor and the bus tour we took in Acadia National Park.

Here I am with our Acadia guide and driver. Roger was quite the talker and a wealth of information.
He's a local who has been doing tours for decades. His grandfather helped design and build the numerous bridges in the park. Each time we went over or under one of these bridges, Roger gave two honks of the horn--"Thanks Gramp."  That's the kind of stuff he did throughout the 3 hours we spent on the tour. 

Roger clearly had passion and energy (and a practiced routine no doubt) that kept us engaged and connected us as a group during our time together. Thanks Roger! Then we all got off the bus, gave Roger a well-deserved tip, and went our separate ways.

Some guides are short-term. I am grateful for them, but also for the long-term guides in my life.
People who have helped guide me personally and professionally over the years. People who keep me on the right track with recovery, running, writing, gratitude practice. People who set examples of how to slow down, pause, know when enough is enough.

And I am grateful for the true Guide who has put these people in my life.