A big highlight this spring was getting to run our first overnight camping & rock climbing trip with youth in the Sierra Juarez high desert (about 3 hours drive from La Misión). Unfortunately, a few of the youth dropped out last minute, but we still had an epic time with the boys that went, along … More Of Dudes and Donkeys
The rains have come again, and the river is flowing! We kicked off 2023 with a combined kayak and beach cleanup, working together with our friends at Kayak La Misión and a crew of local surfers. It was so fun to see young people getting stoked about cleaning up their local coastline, engaging in a … More Rivers, Rocks and Resurrection
Muddy roads and chilly offshore mornings are a telltale sign that the 2022 candle is burning low. In the wake of a busy summer season, the late fall and winter months feel like a lull between the waves–a time to slow down and turn an eye toward the horizon. In these months we’ve deepened relationships … More Going Deeper
In rock climbing, the hardest move on a route is called the “crux.” Working through a difficult crux is generally some form of type 2 fun (i.e. not actually fun until it’s over.) It’s exhausting, humbling, and sometimes even discouraging. Pro climbers can spend years getting shut down by a specific crux before completing a … More An Invitation to Grow
We want to start this post by highlighting someone in our community that inspires us.Friends … meet Pablo Cruz. Watching Pablo surf gives fresh meaning to that line from Walt Whitman’s poem, “I too am not a bit tamed . . . I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” (I never … More Pura Tortillas
Several months ago, on a warm fall night, a fire broke out by the river near where we live. It’s not clear how the fire started, but I remember seeing smoke and flames and quickly packing the essentials in case we needed to evacuate. Fortunately the town’s volunteer firefighters managed to put the fire out … More Restoration
Living south of the border reminds me that eating mounds of turkey and mashed potatoes on the fourth Thursday of November is primarily a tradition of the United States (one that I still plan to keep this year). However la acción de gracias—the practice of giving thanks—is an ancient human activity that extends across borders, … More Gratitude
September marks 8 months of life in La Misión and the end of our first Aleph summer season. Reflecting on the past several weeks brings a flood of joy-filled memories shared with youth and new friends in our community. We are stoked and so incredibly grateful for the supporters and partners who have come alongside … More Coast to Crag
It’s been six months since we landed in La Misión! The wild but mostly mundane journey of language learning and cultural adjustment continues through its highs and lows. Early summer days are long; the south swells have been good; the Pacific Ocean is still cold. Relationships are slowly deepening into friendships. In May an exciting … More Rock On Summer
There are days we wake up with a feeling that the world is normal, only to discover how fragile normalcy really is. So it was on a Monday in March when we heard the news that Brendan was at a hospital in San Diego. The doctors had found tumors in his brain. Thirteen years ago … More Foundations
