Blaine’s Adventures
“The danger of adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort.”
― Paulo Coelho
Mozambique
In 2008 my family and I sold our home and most everything we owned as we set out on what would be an adventure that would take us to several countries and several states, living in over forty homes in twelve years. When we started out, we were a young family of five. We were pretty scared, but super excited for this grand adventure. Mozambique was an incredible first stop, lasting about four months. We learned so much about the world, about hardships, about poverty, about family, about joy and triumph, about cultures, nations, and so much more about ourselves and about being family. Our greatest lesson? Love. Second greatest lesson? Home is not a place … it’s family. All of my adventures over seas had components of leadership, teaching and training, organizational development, and event management. They often included elements of humanitarian aide. They always included love.
Our new home in Pemba, Mozambique.
Our home was the Iris base in Pemba. Home to thousands of internationals, to hundreds of orphaned children. A training center. A hope center, saving lives.
School on base.
Friday dinner. Usually it was just rice and beans.
Back in the day. Zach, Tracey, Micah, Blaine, Isaiah.
Blaine loving on a young child.
Tracey loving on a young child.
Cameon ride into the bush-bush.
Setting up our tents in the bush bush.
Zach loving on kids out in the bush-bush.
When in Mozambique! (I love to do what people are doing).
Love looks like something.
Breakfast in the bush-bush.
Drilling for "sweetwater"
South Africa on our way home. We found the transition back to modern conveniences a challenge.
Israel
From 2012 through 2019 my family and I visited Israel a half a dozen times, spending many months there. We are very grateful for our time there and for the many wonderful friends we have made. Israel is a beautiful, diverse, fascinating and complex country. My family and I became so familiar with the people, the land, and the ways of Israel that we ended up leading many international groups on month-long Israel excursions. On a solo trip to Israel, I encountered the great tension between Israel and Hamas in the war of 2014. I was in a place to provide healing, hope and humanitarian aid in the midst of armed conflict. This would become a passion of mine.
View from our apartment in Abutur. Looking out across the Hinnom Valley into the old city of Jerusalem.
Another view from our apartment. Looking at East Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.
Old City Jerusalem
New City Jerusalem. Jafa Street.
Hinnom Valley after a 100yr - 12" snow in Jerusalem.
Dinner with one of our international teams in our Jerusalem apartment.
Western Wall at Temple Mount in Jerusalem. (Please don't call it the "wailing wall")
Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) with my beloved.
With Holocaust Survivors in the city of Ashdod.
Iron Dome intercept during the war with Hamas.
At an Iron Dome site with an IDF soldier. He gave me his unit's T-shirt.
I had just walked past these cars 20 seconds ago.
UN observing war in Syria
Planning an international conference.
There are extremely complex logistics and strategies for international conferences.
Cyprus & Switzerland
In the midst of our many Israel trips, I was able to make a couple of short excursions to Cyprus and to Switzerland. All of my adventures over seas had components of leadership, teaching and training, organizational development, and event management. They often included elements of humanitarian aide. They always included loving others.
Our home in Cyprus. Beautiful Chalet.
Zach and I enjoying great wine and cheese in Cyprus.
International training.
Wine production.
Vision tour - looking into facilities expansion.
Lake Geneva.
Geneva Metro.
City of Geneva. I had 102 temp. Ugh.
Zach in front of the UN Headquarters, Geneva.
Northern iraq
In 2018 I had the privilege of traveling to northern Iraq. The main purpose was to care for the needs of the Kurdish and Yaziti refugees who had fled the horrors of ISIS in their home city of Mosul. We encountered tens of thousands of refugees. Every person we met told us about their loved ones who had been murdered and of their loved ones that were missing. Our secondary purpose was to work as liaisons between governments and the Peshmerga army in their fight against ISIS. This is where we toured a bombed out palace of Saddam Hussein and then traveled to meet with Peshmerga army leaders in a bunker three miles from the ISIS front.
UN Refugee Camp for those fleeing ISIS
Inside the UN Refugee Camp
Looking out of Saddam Hussein's palace windows into Turkey.
Peshmerga Army checkpoint on our way to the front lines against ISIS.
In a Peshmerga bunker three miles from ISIS. With a famous Peshmerga general.
Meeting with a high level government official.
Federal incident management: wildfires
Wildfires across the US are growing in frequency, size, and intensity. From August through October of 2021 I seized upon the opportunity to work with Federal Incident Management Type 1 Teams in their coordinating efforts to fight massive wildfires in California, Montana, and Washington State. I worked with a subcontracted team providing professional video and digital communications to the thousands of firefighters, multiple supporting agencies and subcontractors, and to the tens of thousands of local residents effected by the fires. Some of these fires employed over 3,000 personnel, hundreds of fire engines, bulldozers, dozens of aircraft, and enough equipment and support resources to fill a county fairground. The fires we worked were tens of thousands of acres. Some had more than a 250 mile perimeter. And sadly, many took over three months to extinguish. I have a new found awe and respect for all the personnel that fight the hundreds of wildfires across the US that occur annually. For more information, go to: www.https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
Every fire has an Incident Map updated twice daily. Red is active fire. Black is containment. X's are bulldozer lines.
Utter destruction.
Morning briefing between three fire camps spread out around the Windy Fire, CA.
Working Alders Creek Fire, Dillon, Montana.
Scope of CA major fires.
Sequoia National Park.
A certificate and Team Coin from California Team 5. It is exceptionally rare to receive these.
Winter Hiking
I grew up in upstate NY. Winters were brutal and forever back then. I eventually developed a pretty strong “allergy” to winter. But for some reason, an annual winter hiking trip actually helped me to get through winters. For over twenty years I made my annual trek into the Catskills or Adirondacks of NY. Trips required crampons and sometimes snow shoes. I eventually stopped using tents because they were just added weight and it was too brutally cold to fold them back up and stuff them back in the pack in the morning. My coldest night was -10. The bonus to winter hiking? Water is everywhere (just have to melt it), it doesn’t rain, very peaceful, no one else is out there. I won’t mention the potential problems with winter hiking :)
These are crampons - that's 4wheel drive for your feet. I found out the hard way that I needed these.
"Breakfast in bed." -2 that morning. Sure doesn't look like fun.
Nearly 6k feet of vertical gain on the first mountain alone.
It's always about the payoff.
Gorgeous. Cornell Mt. Catskills, NY.
One day - One Mountain. On to the next ...
Drums
I can still remember the spring day in second grade, when my parents asked me if I really wanted to take drum lessons. Forty some years later, I’m still drumming and I’ve had amazing experiences along the way. In 1996 I had an offer to go professional, but the timing wasn’t right and I never got a second chance. But I’ve played in some great bands covering everything from classic rock, to gospel, to blues and fusion jazz. Band names are always fun: “The Coffee House Band,” “The Hostile Amish,” “John Havens Blues Review,” and “Allusion.”
Gretsch Renown Purewood kit. This kit is pure rosewood and only 45 ever made.
A reunion gig including band members from "John Havens Blues Review" and "Allusion"
"Allusion" (2.0) Under the skillful direction of Mr. Eric Dombach.
Practice ... lots and lots of practice.
Reunion gig. We once did a major concert for over 2k people here.
Another practice shot.
Had to throw in the mullet! This is the big concert we did for over 2k people in 1989.