Scroll down and watch Grumpus Jump Across the River!

*Disclaimer* Yesterday was NOT a fun-day. JR went to
an energy conference at Tufts and Allie went shopping (which I’ve hated ever
since living in China because a) nothing fit my shoulders/bust/height and b) I had
to bargain hard for everything.) So our post this week will have 1) stuff about our
lame-Saturday and 2) a retrospective adventure from this winter.

 Tufts Energy Conference and Poorly Spent Tax Dollars

Yesterday was our first Fun-Day without a serious adventure
in a long time.  The reason for
this was the Tufts Energy Conference, which Grumpus attended.  The highlight of the Conference was
spending time with our friend Mr. Dipal Barua, the
Chairman and Founder of the Bright
Green Energy Foundation. 
Before starting the foundation he helped found the Grameen Bank, for
which he accepted the Nobel Prize, and Grameen Shakti, the first-ever
organization to use microfinance to extend energy services to people living off
the grid.  He has plans to recreate
the sustainable business model for extending rural energy services to countries
around the globe, and we’re confident that if anyone can be successful in
getting light to 1.5 billion people who live off the grid, it’s him.

Our mini adventure yesterday was a stroll down to the Mystic
River near our house.  The silly
ways in which Medford spends money never cease to amaze us.  The city has more potholes than people,
yet a ton of money went into building a parking lot near the highway (see
picture).  There is a set of stairs
leading from the parking lot to the Mystic, but there’s no beach at the end,
and it just seems random.  We
stumbled upon people in a canoe making a nature video (?) on the Mystic and a
fort that some kid had built with sticks and duct tape on the riverbank. Once
we’re done with school next month, we plan to embark on a new adventure trying
to convince the City to spend money on fixing the streets, not a path to
nowhere.  We love exploring in the
woods and being in nature, but sometimes we scratch our heads when we see how
Medford spends its money.

Retrospective:
Through the Woods in Maine

We took a trip to Damariscotta-Newcastle, ME this winter for
a few days of blissful, snowy winter fun at the Ratner’s home.  We love this place.

Here’s a clip from one of our ventures into the woods…