about vinod kurup

If you go on adventure trips, you should read “Deep Survival”, by Laurence Gonzales. I finished it on my marathon subway rides yesterday. It’s partly a voyeuristic look into how people do or don’t survive when bad things happen. This part is pure storytelling and who doesn’t love a good story? At times, the outdoorsy jargon made it hard for me to follow what exactly was going on, but on the whole I was sucked in, turning pages to see what happened to our poor characters.

The other part is an analysis of why one person survives and another seemingly more equipped, more experienced person succumbs. There is, of course, no hard answer and luck is a huge component, but some common characteristics do emerge. Survivors tend to remain calm, come to terms with their likely mortality, yet continue to strive against it by adapting to their new situations as best as possible. On the other hand, “The Rambo types are the first to go.”

Parts of Deep Survival made me wonder if I should ever go hiking in the woods ever again. His description of seemingly innocent trips gone horribly bad can scare you. But (and the author makes this clear), this is NOT the point. Life is about enjoying beauty and constantly extending your abilities. It’s just critical to understand that nature is not a supervised playground and that there are always real dangers, no matter how simple the excursion. Knowing that fact, being properly outfitted and prepared, and most importantly, being aware of your surroundings and instincts will decrease your risk. And with risk managed properly, the reward-to-risk ratio of immersing yourself in nature easily beats out staying secure in your daily life, which is by no means risk-free either.

So check out Deep Survival if you like a good story and if you want to learn a little more about what gives you the best chances of surviving a bad event.

Can you believe that it’s been a year since we got married? Me neither. For our wedding, Mike and Ellie gave us a generous gift certificate to the bed & breakfast of our choice. It took a while to find the right one. We started at bedandbreakfast.com and surfed dozens of listings. This industry really needs some web consulting advice. Most B&B websites don’t provide nearly enough information. I want more photos, more reviews. I want to get a feel for the atmosphere.

We finally found a website that showed off those things and made a reservation at Ecce. We had high expectations, but I’m happy to say that they were exceeded. You won’t find more hospitable proprietors than Alan and Kurt. Our room was tastefully designed and was stocked with a gourmet coffee machine, TV/DVD/VCR, fridge and jacuzzi! It was pure luxury. The breakfasts were over the top. Definitely try the french toast with chocolate.

The house sits on a bluff overlooking the Delaware River. The view is amazing. I tried to take one of those panorama pics, but I don’t think it does it justice. This place must be breathtaking in the fall. We saw 4 or 5 bald eagles and numerous hawks from the house. We also saw a lot of deer hanging out near the highways.

Tropical Storm Ernesto was winding through the region this weekend, so we didn’t do too much in the way of outdoors stuff. We did enjoy the Harvest Festival Market and had some great fried food at the bar at Lackawaxen House. We were less impressed with the Front Porch Cafe, but it was very busy and had gotten good reviews, so maybe we just got unlucky.

So thanks again, Mike and Ellie. I’m certain we never would’ve otherwise explored this paradise just 2 hours from our front door. And thank you Mala, for the best year of my life (so far!)